Former U.S. Treasurer Rosario Marin is supporting the woman who accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault.
In a Buzzfeed column on Tuesday, Marin, who was appointed under former President George W. Bush in 2001, detailed her own experience with sexual assault and staying silent. She says her experience has pushed her to back Kavanaugh’s accuser Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who goes by Christine Blasey professionally.
The former treasurer said she was exposed to sexual abuse at age five and kept silent about her assault for nearly 20 years. Marin wrote in her op-ed that she didn’t even mention the abuse to FBI investigators as a part of her background check to be confirmed in 2001.
The former head of the U.S. Treasury wrote that she believed Blasey:
Professor Ford has absolutely no reason to make something like this up. This is not fun, and it’s not a pathway to a better life — just the opposite. This is so very hurtful. She has lived with those atrocious feelings all these years, and the trauma even affected her marriage. Why would she put herself on this torturous path unless what she says happened is true?
Blasey claims that Kavanaugh pinned her down, forced himself on her and attempted to take off her clothes without her consent during a high school party more than 35 years ago. Kavanaugh has repeatedly denied the allegations.
Since publicly coming out with her accusations, Blasey has received death threats and been forced to relocate with her family. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R -Ky.) called the allegations against Kavanaugh a “smear campaign” on the Senate floor Monday.
Blasey and Kavanaugh are set to speak to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday to give their personal accounts of the allegations. Senate Republicans, who are leading Kavanaugh’s confirmation process, have denied Blasey’s request for an FBI investigation before her testimony.