Christine Blasey Ford, the California psychology professor who accused Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct 36 years ago, received a $1 million windfall and is receiving several requests for book deals after her testimony.
RealClearInvestigations reported Monday that Ford’s 15 minutes of fame before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September has turned her into a millionaire, raking in an estimated $1 million from crowdfunding campaigns supporting her and several book deals since her testimony.
Despite Ford’s windfall, several Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, including Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), said Ford had “nothing to gain” by coming forward with her accusations to the committee.
“You had absolutely nothing to gain by bringing these facts to the Senate Judiciary Committee,” Durbin said during Ford’s testimony in September.
“I want to thank you,” Harris also said during the September hearing. “Because you clearly have nothing to gain for what you have done.”
But Ford had a lot to gain—and not much to lose.
Two of the GoFundMe pages in support of Ford raised more than $842,000 so far, and money is still coming in weeks after her testimony on Capitol Hill.
A third fundraiser collecting money to establish an academic endowment in Ford’s name has a goal of raising $120,000 for that purpose, and the campaign has raised more than $31,000 as of Monday evening.
A GoFundMe spokesperson confirmed to RealClearInvestigations (RCI) that Ford and her husband have access to the money contained in these fundraisers.
Ford and her husband “can withdraw as much as they want whenever they want for any purpose. Payments would be electronically deposited into the Fords’ bank account within two to five business days of initiating withdrawals,” said GoFundMe spokesperson Katherine Cichy.
Ford also did not have too many expenses related to the testimony itself. The RealClearInvestigations report noted that all of Ford’s legal fees and the polygraph she took were funded by Democratic attorneys handpicked by Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats.
“Her lawyers said they were representing her on a pro-bono basis. Why does she need all of this money?” an attorney familiar with the committee’s investigation said, noting that the crowdfunding accounts were initially created to assist her with her legal expenses.
The California psychology professor also benefited from “heightened security” provided by Capitol Police and the Senate Sergeant at Arms—all at the cost of taxpayers.
In addition to her financial gains, Ford is also being given a hero’s welcome in her hometown of Palo Alto.
Palo Alto Mayor Liz Kniss, a Democrat, announced this month that she planned to honor Ford in a public ceremony at Monday evening’s Palo Alto City Council meeting.