Ten days ago (Sept. 18), a GoFundMe campaign was set up to benefit Christine Blasey Ford, the professor of clinical psychology who accused Donald Trump’s US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her in 1982. The drive had an initial goal of $150,000—now, the total amount raised exceeds three times that value, and it’s rising, rapidly.
Over 10,000 people have contributed to the campaign, most contributing $20 or $25. But one contributor put forward more than 500 times that amount—and he appears to be Phil Lesh, a founding member of the Grateful Dead. On Sunday (Sept. 23), the bassist (or at least someone using his name) donated $10,000 to Ford and her family.
Since meeting the initial goal, the campaign managers have attempted to push the flow of donations toward other related campaigns, including a fundraiser for the Rape Abuse and Incest National Network, to which phone calls spiked 147% during Ford’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday, and the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund, which supports victims of workplace sexual harassment or abuse.
The GoFundMe effort featured in yesterday’s testimony, as Ford was asked who would foot the bill for her lawyers and her family’s rising security costs. At the time, she seemed uncertain but mentioned the campaign, which she said she had yet to look at. Her lawyers cut in to say that their work was being performed on a pro bono basis.