The 51-year-old woman and visiting Stanford (Calif.) University School of Medicine professor who accused U.S. Supreme Court nominee of Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault revealed her identity in an interview with The Washington Post Sept. 16.
In her interview with The Washington Post, Christine Blasey, PhD, accused Mr. Kavanaugh and a second male individual of bringing her into a bedroom where Mr. Kavanaugh allegedly proceeded to grope her and attempted to take her clothes off during a party in Washington, D.C. during the early 1980s.
Here are eight things to know about Dr. Blasey:
1. Dr. Blasey, who concurrently works as a visiting medical school professor at Stanford and Palo Alto (Calif.) University, reached out to her congresswoman Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., in July about the alleged incident, NPR reports. Ms. Feinstein confirmed her knowledge of the accusation last week, but kept Dr. Blasey's identity confidential until Dr. Blasey's interview with The Washington Post. She reportedly passed on Dr. Blasey's recollections of the alleged incident to the FBI.
2. A professor and research psychologist living in Northern California, Dr. Blasey has been widely published in her field, where she specializes in the interaction between pharmaceutical companies and the FDA. She received her PhD from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and her master's degrees from Stanford and Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif.
3. Dr. Blasey grew up in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. and attended Holton-Arms School, a private preparatory school in Bethesda, Md. More than 200 alumnae who attended the school from 1967 to 2018 signed a letter in support of Dr. Blasey, including actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
4. Dr. Blasey's lawyer told NPR Dr. Blasey struggled "mightily" with her decision to come forward and that her recollection of the alleged incident is "crystal clear," despite happening nearly 30 years ago.
"[Dr. Blasey] was weighing her desire and her belief that she had a civic duty to provide this information to those making the decision about Brett Kavanaugh with, frankly, her fear about coming forward. And there was going to be great personal risk to her and her family in doing so. And given the political environment, and given how the nomination process was rolling along, she made the calculation that she did not want to come forward publicly," the lawyer said.
5. The lawyer told NPR Dr. Blasey also maintains a plethora of documents — which The Washington Post viewed — substantiating her claims, including medical records and a therapist's notes from a couples therapy session in 2012 that predate Mr. Kavanaugh's nomination. Dr. Blasey told The Washington Post she did not tell anyone, including her husband, about the incident until 2012.
6. The lawyer also said Dr. Blasey was not motivated to come forward by politics, but ultimately chose to do so "so that those making a very important decision can make an informed decision with all the facts," NPR reports.
7. Mr. Kavanaugh has denied the allegations. Mark Judge, the second individual allegedly in the room during the time of the incident, has also denied the accusation he witnessed the assault and said has refused to testify.
8. Dr. Blasey and Mr. Kavanaugh were invited to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee Sept. 24. However, in a letter penned by her lawyers to the committee Sept. 18, Dr. Blasey said she wants the FBI to fully investigate the incident before she appears before the committee.
To access the NPR report, click here.