On Monday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Rachel Maddow Show,” Senate Judiciary Committee member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said there needs to be an FBI investigation before the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on the accusations against Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh and declared, “I believe the survivor, Dr. Ford.”

Blumenthal began by saying, “My strong belief is that there has to be a full, fair FBI investigation before that hearing so that we know facts and we’re not just asking questions in the dark, and that investigation has to involve sworn interviews with, not only Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh, but also other witnesses who should be at that hearing.”

He later stated, “I believe the survivor, Dr. Ford. There’s every reason to believe a woman who has come forward at great personal risk, facing the anguish and terror, as she put it, of a nightmare of vicious and hostile scrutiny, and there are a lot of reasons to disbelieve Judge Kavanaugh after his evasive and seemingly misleading responses to our questions at the Judiciary Committee hearing just a week or so ago.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett