Eshoo said she hasn't met with Ford since their July sit down, although her staff has been in contact with her since she came forward.
'She's a courageous woman, and she has come forward for all the right reasons,' Eshoo told The Mercury News. 'What I'd like to see more than anything else is that she be treated with the respect that she should have — and that there not be a rush to judgment but a transparent process that really seeks the truth.'
She joined her fellow Democrats in calling for an investigation into the allegation.
'This should not be treated as a he-said, she-said,' Eshoo told The Post. 'I've dealt with the FBI when I served on the House Intelligence Committee for almost a decade. They are perfectly capable of conducting an investigation which then becomes foundational for the hearing.'
'That's what they do; they conduct investigations,' she added. 'And what I'm struck by is that there seems to be such a rush to judgment rather than taking the time for justice. There is no question in my mind that the Judge Kavanaugh, from the outside looking in, has excellent credentials. He has served on the bench. He's served in an administration. But character matters.'
Trump has said the FBI doesn't need to investigate.
'It would seem that the FBI really doesn't do that,' he said of the Democrats' demand.
Republicans have questioned the timing of Ford's public statements, which came after Kavanaugh had sat through more than 20 hours of judiciary committee hearings.
He strongly denies the allegation.
Republicans have also been sharply critical of Feinstein, who delivered the letter to the FBI a week ago.
Eshoo said her actions were dictated by Ford's desire for confidentiality as she weighed whether or not to go public. She said only she and one of her senior aides knew about Ford's allegation as part of their effort to keep it private.
'I think it's difficult for people to understand if you haven't dealt with people that have been subjected to something like this,' the congresswoman told The Post. 'They keep it to themselves. They feel guilty. They bury it. They tell themselves to move on. And so there wasn't any kind of political process in her mind whatsoever.'
