Dear Mr. Trump,

We all know of your misogyny, of your fondness for “grabbing p***y” and bragging about it, your cheating on wives, your demeaning statement that a female reporter was “bleeding from wherever,” your walking into the dressing rooms of your Miss America pageant because you thought you owned the contestants, your hypocrisy in decrying Bill Clinton’s alleged acts of sexual violence (which denied) but then looking the other way about the alleged acts of your Supreme Court nominee.

But your attack on Christine Blasey Ford is utterly disgusting. You claim she should have called in the FBI immediately if her accusations were true. First, the FBI has no criminal jurisdiction over claims of attempted rape, unless that occurs on a federal installation. Second, however, and more importantly, the victims of sexual assault are frequently scared and embarrassed and thus commonly try to pretend that the incident never happened.

“Sexual assault … remains the most drastically underreported crime in the U.S.  In college, fewer than 5% of completed or attempted rapes are reported to the police. …  Survivors may think they won’t be believed ….” https://www.csbsju.edu/chp/sexual-assault-survivors-guide  Yes, the victim is often attacked when she comes forward with her allegations, just as you and your Republican colleagues are attacking Professor Blasey now. No wonder that “many victims/survivors find an immediate coping strategy in indulging in the denial that the assault ever occurred in the first place.” Id.

I hope that my readers will immediately call their Republican senators – particularly in Alaska and Maine – to tell them that Judge Kavanaugh should not be confirmed. Inform Senators Murkowski and Collins that American voters will not stand for a Supreme Court justice who thinks he can get away with attempted rape. If they vote for putting Kavanaugh on the nation’s highest court, they should know that they’ve lost their chance for reelection.

Very truly yours,

Bruce J. Berger