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Yale students react to impact of sexual assault allegations on Kavanaugh confirmation

NEW HAVEN — President Trump challenged Christine Blasey Ford for not reporting her alleged sexual assault by Supreme Court nominee Brent Kavanaugh to law ...

NEW HAVEN -- President Trump challenged Christine Blasey Ford for not reporting her alleged sexual assault by Supreme Court nominee Brent Kavanaugh to law enforcement.

And now students at Kavanaugh’s alma mater, Yale Law School in New Haven are speaking out against the confirmation process. And law school faculty are speaking out as well.

Friday morning, President Trump tweeted out his doubts on Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s allegations against Kavanaugh, claiming "if it were as bad as she said..her or her loving parents would have filed charges with local law enforcement."

Members of both political parties condemning the president’s assertions, with Republican Senator Susan Collins of Main saying she was "appalled by the President's tweet. We know that allegations of sexual assault are one of the most unreported crimes that exist.”

Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal entered the tweetstorm himself saying the "attempted intimidation of Dr. Ford is an effort to avoid her testimony."

Friends of Judge Kavanaugh came to his defense, citing his upstanding character.

And the controversy has come to the streets of New Haven. On Friday Yale faculty members released an open letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, urging them to conduct a fair and deliberate confirmation process, saying a lot is at stake for the both the Supreme Court and the nation. They added that a rush to judgment could harm the public’s confidence in the court.

The law school itself claims it has a strict non-partisan stance.  Dean Heather Gerken released a statement supporting the efforts of individual faculty members to engage in important issues, but stating that the law school neither endorses nor opposes candidates for office.  But when Kavanaugh's nomination was announced, Gerken and the law school issued a laudatory press release, praising Kavanaugh's legal intellect and in which Gerken called him "a long time friend to many of us".

But now others on campus are giving their opinions. Law students put up signs inside and around the law school supporting Dr. Ford and calling Yale Law School a “model of complicity”.

Meanwhile, just before midnight Friday night, judiciary committee chairman Senator Chuck Grassley said he 'granted another extension' as the committee and Dr. Ford try to agree on terms for her testifying before the committee.

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