AntiPolygraph.org Message Board

Christine Blasey Ford Undergoing a Polygraph "Test"

As most readers will be aware, polygraphy has been in the news recently with respect to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee's confirmation hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh, whom President Trump has appointed to replace Judge Kennedy on the United States Supreme Court.

Christine Blasey Ford, a professor of psychology at Palo Alto University in California, has accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her at a social gathering when she was 15 years old and Kavanaugh was 17. At her lawyers' behest, Blasey Ford took and passed a polygraph examination conducted by retired FBI special agent and polygraph operator Jeremiah "Jerry" Hanafin of Arlington, Virginia.

Hanafin administered a Federal You-Phase Zone Comparison Test (ZCT), a procedure with two relevant questions that is documented in chapter 9 of the federal polygraph handbook, and Dr. Ford reportedly passed. Hanafin's report has been submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee, but thus far the audio/video recording, charts, and associated documentation, including the computer data file, which the Committee has requested, have not been provided.

As discussed earlier on the AntiPolygraph.org Podcast, I think that Dr. Ford's lawyers did her a disservice by encouraging her to take a polygraph "test," thereby associating her serious allegations with a pseudoscientific, fraudulent procedure.

During Senate testimony last week, Dr. Ford was asked specific questions about the polygraph, including whether she had offered guidance to anyone else on polygraphs:

Quote:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/national/wp/2018/09/27/kavanaugh-hearing-tra...
...

MITCHELL: Have you ever had discussions with anyone, beside your attorneys, on how to take a polygraph?

FORD: Never.

MITCHELL: And I don’t just mean countermeasures, but I mean just any sort of tips, or anything like that.

FORD: No. I was scared of the test itself, but was comfortable that I could tell the information, and the test would reveal whatever it was going to reveal. I didn’t expect it to be as long as it was going to be, so it was a little bit stressful.

MITCHELL: Had — have you ever given tips or advice to somebody who was looking to take a polygraph test?

FORD: Never.

....

Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee published a letter by a self-described former boyfriend of Dr. Blasey Ford in which he claims that contrary to her Senate testimony, she did in fact help someone prepare for a polygraph examination. The letter states in relevant part:

Quote:

...

During the time we were dating, Dr. Ford lived with Monica L. McLean, who I understood to be her life-long best friend. During that time, it was my understanding that McLean was interviewing for jobs with the FBI and the US Attorney’s Office. I witnessed Dr. Ford help McLean prepare for a potential polygraph exam. Dr. Ford explained in detail what to expect, how polygraphs worked and helped McLean become familiar and less nervous about the exam. Dr. Ford was able to help because of her background in psychology.

...

If the alleged former boyfriend's allegation is true, then Dr. Blasey Ford's denial that she "ever given tips or advice to somebody who was looking to take a polygraph test" was not true, and far from helping her credibility, her having taken a polygraph and offered it as evidence of her truthfulness will end up hurting her credibility.

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