Where the Hell Is Mark Judge 

Throughout Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s first round of questioning in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding her alleged sexual assault at the hands of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, one name has been brought up over and over again: Mark Judge—the man, Ford claims, who helped Kavanaugh sexually assault her in the summer of 1982, and who she says looked almost ill when he ran into her several weeks later.

Judge has said he has “no recollection” of the events Ford describes. But given the fact that he was not only a witness to the alleged crime, but also—per Ford—a willing participant, it would make sense that if the Senate Judiciary Committee were truly interested in uncovering the truth, as Republican chairman Chuck Grassley has insisted, Judge would be in the room with Ford and Kavanaugh, to testify about what he knows, if for no other reason than to clear his own name.

If would make sense, but alas, so far nothing about how the Republicans have handled the hearing has made much sense so far, from Grassley’s bizarre opening rant, to the off-kilter alternating between questions from Republican-hired prosecutor Rachel Mitchell and Senate Democrats, to the fact that Republicans hired Mitchell in the first place. So, the question is: Just where is Judge during all of this?

He’s in Delaware, where he’s reportedly camped out at a friend’s a beach house, surrounded by comic books. When Washington Post reporters located Judge earlier this week, he seemed shocked they’d discovered his whereabouts, asking “How’d you find me?”

As Illinois Senator Dick Durbin stated definitively during his time to speak on Thursday, “Mark Judge should be subpoenaed from his Bethany Beach hideaway and required to testify under oath, but he has not.”

Even Judge’s former girlfriend has spoken out, and said she’d be willing to testify about what she knows about his having participated in alleged sexual assaults. (Judge has denied those claims.) But Judge himself has so far, not been subpoenaed by Senate Republicans or spoken with the FBI.

I wonder why.

Update, 7:41 PM ET: Judge’s lawyer, Barbara Van Gelder, sent Splinter a statement on behalf of Judge following the conclusion of the hearing. She reiterates that he “does not recall” what Ford described in her testimony, but says that he’s “willing to participate in a confidential, fact-finding investigation.”

Mr. Judge does not recall the events described by Dr. Ford in her testimony before the US Senate Judiciary Committee today. We have told the Committee that Mr. Judge does not want to comment about these events publicly. We also have said that he is willing to answer written questions, and he has. In addition, he is willing to participate in a confidential, fact-finding investigation. He will not respond to any media inquiries.