GOP picks prosecutor

Breaking: Senate Republicans picked Arizona-based sex-crimes prosecutor Rachel Mitchell to question Kavanaugh and Ford at Thursday hearing

In the interview, Ms. Mitchell was questioned primarily about sex crimes by adults against children, and specifically molestation in churches.

The use of a sex crime prosecutor to question Ford will save the panel's 11 Republican men from the optics of questioning a woman who has alleged sexual assault.

NEWS: The story on Rachel Mitchell, the Arizona prosecutor likely to question Judge Kavanaugh and Dr Ford on Thursday. W/⁦@WaPoSean⁩ & @postroz:

GOP bringing in Arizona prosecutor Rachel Mitchell to handle questioning during Senate hearing for Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford.

Who is Rachel Mitchell, the prosecutor hired to question Kavanaughs accuser during Senate hearing?

Mitchell was one of the prosecutors tasked with finding out why hundreds of sex crimes were unresolved or not adequately investigated by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, said Cindi Nannetti, former county prosecutor and Mitchell’s predecessor at the unit.

Jerry Sheridan, a former county chief deputy sheriff who oversaw the reexamination of unresolved cases, said the unit under Mitchell had a key role in establishing protocols and victims crisis centers across the Phoenix metro area in the wake of the controversy.

Just in - @ChuckGrassley confirms WaPo scoop that Rachel Mitchell of the Maricopa County Attorney’s office in Arizona will lead questioning for Rs at Thursday hearing

A WaPo scoop: Arizona prosecutor Rachel Mitchell emerges as GOP choice to question Kavanaugh and accuser at hearing Via @WaPoSean @jdawsey1 and @PostRoz

Ms. Mitchell spoke about how she became involved in sex abuse cases in a 2012 interview with FrontLine Magazine, the journal of Foundations Baptist Fellowship International, a fundamentalist group that cautioned in a blog post this week that some women fabricate allegations of sexual assault.

Rachel Mitchell, longtime ARIZONA prosecutor, strong ARIZONA ties. Jon Kyl, former ARIZONA Senator led Kavanaugh’s confirmation team and met all Republican Senators. Kyl is again ARIZONA’s Senator, appointed to replace John McCain. He gets to vote on seat. Did he recommend her?

Autoplay Show Thumbnails Show Captions Last SlideNext Slide Mitchell will take the lead for Republicans in questioning Christine Blasey Ford on Thursday about her allegations that Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed, groped her and tried to remove her clothes at a party in the early 1980s when she was 15 and he was 17.

Grassley on hiring Rachel Mitchell to lead questioning: The majority members have followed the bipartisan recommendation to hire as staff counsel for the committee an experienced career sex-crimes prosecutor to question the witnesses at Thursday’s hearing.

Mitchell is the chief of the special victims division of the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, which deals with sexual assault cases, among others.

In the interview, Ms. Mitchell said she first became familiar with issues around child sex crimes when she was paired up with a senior attorney who was working a case involving a youth choir director accused of misconduct.

JUST IN: Senate Judiciary Committee releases Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaughs prepared written remarks ahead of tomorrows hearing.

Im a former prosecutor. If Rachel Mitchell was interested in the truth, the first thing she would do right now is demand that she be allowed to question a witness that the victim remembers was at the scene of the crime. Why is the GOP hiding Mark Judge from the American public?

USA TODAY Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 6, 2018, on the third day of his Supreme Court confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C.(Photo: Getty Images) Rachel Mitchell, an Arizona sex crimes prosecutor, has been chosen to lead questioning for Republicans during the potentially explosive hearing involving Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and a woman accusing him of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers.

Grassley now confirms that Rachel Mitchell is the prosecutor the GOP has brought on to ask questions at Thursdays hearing. Heres our story from earlier tonight:

Female Prosecutor Revealed - Rachel Mitchell Will Question Christine Ford on Thursday via @gatewaypundit

“She’s one of these career prosecutors who specializes in sex crimes,” Paul Ahler, who worked at the county attorney’s office years ago, told The Arizona Republic.

Mr. Grassley’s statement called Ms. Mitchell a “widely recognized expert on the investigation and prosecution of sex crimes,” who has frequently spoken on the subject and has instructed detectives, prosecutors and others on the best practices for interviewing victims of sex crimes.

Earlier this year, Mitchell talked with KJZZ-FM (91.5) in Phoenix about a new protocol manual that the County Attorney’s Office introduced to Arizona as best practices to ensure justice for victims.