In 1991, the administration of Republican President George H.W. Bush directed the FBI to gather facts after Anita Hill brought sexual harassment allegations against Republican Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. The FBI then compiled a report about the claims that included interviews with Hill, Thomas and at least one witness and submitted it to the White House. The FBI investigation, took place after the confirmation hearing — as would be the case with nominee Brett Kavanaugh — but before the committee vote — as it would be with Kavanaugh. It took three days.
That matter was a claim of verbal sexual harassment. The claim by Christine Blasey Ford is a much more severe accusation of assault and attempted rape.
Ford has passed a lie detector test and requested this same established precedence for an FBI investigation as was given to Hill. President Trump — by his own recorded words an admitted sexual predator — has refused to follow precedence and authorize the additional FBI background check to include this claim.
I believe that the citizens of Utah want to know the truth through an appropriate FBI background check, not limited to only two contradictory testimonies of this alleged crime. We do not want to have this matter reduced to a simple he said/she said testimony that the Judiciary Committee can quickly end and rush through to a confirmation vote. I ask that our representatives to Washington D.C. — Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee and Reps. Rob Bishop, Mia Love, John Curtis and Chris Stewart step up for justice and send notice to Trump and the Judiciary Committee that, in the interest of justice, they request an appropriate FBI background investigation into this matter. I ask each of our Utah representatives and all candidates make a public statement if they are for or against an FBI background check so Utah citizens can know what these candidates represent.
Cheryl Nunn, Layton
Nunn is a candidate for the Utah House of Representative, District 16
Anita Hill will be delivering the annual University of Utah Tanner Lecture on Human Values Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Cleone Peterson Eccles Alumni House, 155 S. Central Campus Drive.