Grassley Sets Friday Deadline For Christine Blasey Ford
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley says Christine Blasey Ford has until 10:00 a.m. tomorrow to let him know if she plans to testify before his committee on Monday. Blasey's legal team wants to know what is the rush. Our next guest knows how grueling these hearings can be. Before working at the State Department for the Clinton and Obama administrations, Ambassador Wendy Sherman helped Anita Hill prepare for her testimony during the Clarence Thomas hearings. She's also the author of the new book "Not for the Faint of Heart: Lessons in Courage, Power, and Persistence." Ambassador, thanks so much for being with us. You were with Anita Hill, the weekend before, preparing for her hearings. Let's just start off by asking what was that -- what was that like?</s>WENDY SHERMAN, FORMER ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE, HELPED ANITA HILL PREPARE TO TESTIFY IN 1991, AUTHOR, "NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART": Well, I was actually not part of her legal team. I was a Democratic strategist helping her to navigate the U.S. Congress since none of her team really knew what the Congress was like. And I feel like we're living the same story all over again this time. Indeed, Professor Hill, at the time, very much wanted her corroborating witnesses to be able to testify. They were denied. She needed support from senators. She got very little. The Democrats who were chairing at the time thought this was a hearing. The Republicans thought it was a trial. They put the accuser on trial. They put the accused on the Supreme Court. And I feel like we're in the same place again. People do not understand how tough this is for Dr. Blasey -- how tough this was for Anita Hill. And I think the outcome of this will be very bad for the Republicans whichever way this goes because women in America, in particular -- particularly those who have faced sexual assault in this #MeToo time understand how tough this is.</s>BERMAN: So again, you say Anita Hill was put on trial and convicted. You say you see similarities to now. Given that, why would or should Professor Blasey repeat history?</s>SHERMAN: Well, indeed, I think it's why Professor Blasey and her lawyers are asking for an FBI background investigation. This is something the FBI did in the Anita Hill case. It was actually only three days of talking to witnesses and providing that information to the Senate so that there would be more professional questioning. Though I must say ultimately, the questioning was not very professional because the intent of the Republicans on the committee were really to undermine Anita Hill and to, in fact, move forward and confirm Clarence Thomas. That's what's happening here. When we hear that Sen. Graham is saying that, in fact, he'll quote- unquote "listen to the lady" but is going to proceed to confirm Judge Kavanaugh, we know that we don't have a fair fight here at all.</s>BERMAN: And again, it's given that situation that you lay out -- given the way things are, not the way you think they should be -- the way things are is that this happens Chuck Grassley's way on Monday or it doesn't happen at all. That the only way that Professor Blasey is going to be able to tell her story publicly before the Senate is if she agrees to the terms laid out by Chuck Grassley, apparently approved by Mitch McConnell and the President of the United States.</s>SHERMAN: Indeed.</s>BERMAN: Given that -- given that that is the only way she will be able to tell that story in that place, do you think she should? If she called you and said hey, Ambassador, you've been through this before. You were a political adviser in 1991 -- you saw it then -- what should I do now -- what would you tell her?</s>SHERMAN: I would tell her to do what's in her heart -- what she feels like she is up to dealing with. I think it would be a very unfair fight for her to come on Monday to a hearing where there are no corroborating witnesses, no facts have been found. The Republicans have already stated they're going to confirm Kavanaugh. They're just going to give her this moment to speak but they really don't believe her. Democrats need to embrace her and I would hope that some of the thoughtful Republicans would embrace her as well. We need to say to women we can hear your voice, not just the guys.</s>BERMAN: One of the things we've heard on the show so far this morning -- and I was just on Twitter and Lanny Davis -- who does a lot of different things but he told</s>SHERMAN: I don't think the choice is that simple. Having undergone a sexual assault, as she has told us she has, it is very traumatic to relive these events. I think the choice is hers. Certainly, I'd like to hear her voice publicly, but I'd like to hear her voice publicly in a fair fight, not one that is set up to really dismiss her even before the hearing begins. So this is a very tough choice. I'm going to put my confidence in Dr. Blasey to do what is best for her. Professor Blasey -- Dr. Blasey needs to do what feels right to her in the end because this is her story, this is her life. She's already under death threats. She's living apart from her two sons because she wants to keep them safe. What are we doing to women who come forward when we put them in this kind of a crucible?</s>BERMAN: You know, and it's interesting and she also faces the reality that even if she does come forward and tell this story it's possible, even likely, that Judge Kavanaugh will be confirmed to sit on the Supreme Court.</s>SHERMAN: Indeed, because the chairman of the committee -- the Republicans have already told us in Sen. Graham's comments that they're going to proceed forward. That they're just creating an opportunity for her to speak but they've already made up their minds. So this is a set-up. I understand why she is reluctant to walk into that set-up. And at the end of the day, I want to respect her choice and the choice of all women who have faced such a difficult circumstance.</s>BERMAN: One question on North Korea because obviously --</s>SHERMAN: Sure.</s>BERMAN: -- you've worked so hard in foreign affairs over the years, too. When you see the leaders of North Korea and South Korea meeting for a third time with a successful summit -- in the sense that they met and they keep on talking, and they keep taking small steps toward peace between those two countries -- do you see things moving forward on the Korean Peninsula?</s>SHERMAN: I think the jury's out on that. Indeed, I think we've heard that Sec. Pompeo is now going to proceed forward with diplomacy. Steve Biegun, a special envoy, is going to meet counterparts in Vienna. I think the administration was looking for an opening. They got a slight opening in this summit between the South and the North, with the north saying that they would get rid of their missile launch site with international inspectors there to see that they, in fact, have done it. That they would consider dismantling Yongbyon if the United States takes unspecified actions. I think the actions the North is looking for are quite more than we should be willing to do and I'm very concerned that the maximum pressure sanctions are going to be relieved by this summit. And we're really all about carrots and very few sticks, and I think this is a strategy that needs both.</s>BERMAN: Ambassador Wendy Sherman, thanks for being with us this morning. I appreciate it.</s>SHERMAN: Thank you.</s>ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, John. Coming up, we have a big story that you should know about but probably do not. A Trump cabinet secretary caught in a lie before Congress. So we have the stunning new documents in our "Reality Check."