All eyes were on Dr Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh as both testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the sexual misconduct allegations brought against him in a eight-hour-long hearing. It saw the Judge passionately fighting back all the allegations. President Trump came out in support of Kavanaugh at the hearing on September 27.
51-year-old Christine Blasey Ford's voice broke as she recounted the incident from 1982 which "drastically altered her life". Asserting that she felt it was her "civic duty" to share her story, Ford said that at the age of 15, she was sexually assaulted by Kavanaugh at a party. Both of them were in high school in suburban Maryland at that time. Two other women have also come out accusing Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, but Kavanaugh has denied them all. Ford was questioned by the Democrats and Arizona-based prosecutor Rachel Mitchell who confronted Ford on behalf of the Republicans.
"I categorically and unequivocally deny the allegation by Dr Ford. I have never sexually assaulted anyone, not in high school, not in college, not ever. I am innocent of this charge," he blasted, repeatedly fighting back tears. Kavanaugh even raised his voice against the senators who questioned him. After the hearing ended, Trump tweeted, "Judge Kavanaugh showed America exactly why I nominated him...Democrats' search and destroy strategy is disgraceful and this process has been a total sham and effort to delay, obstruct, and resist. The Senate must vote". The Senate judiciary committee comprising of 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats will vote on Kavanaugh's nomination on September 28.
The full Senate is expected to start the debate on the nomination on Saturday and a final vote on his confirmation is expected next week. Ford's allegations of sexual assault was supported by the Democrats. In his testimony to the Senate Committee, Kavanaugh blasted the Democrats for destroying his good name. "I have to say that I fear for the future. Last time I was here, I told this committee that a federal judge must be independent, not swayed by public or political pressure," he told the lawmakers.
"I will not be intimidated into withdrawing from this process. You have tried hard. You have given it your all. No one can question your effort, but your coordinated and well-funded effort to destroy my good name and to destroy my family will not drive me out. The vile threats of violence against my family will not drive me out," Kavanaugh said addressing the Democrats.
"You may defeat me in the final vote, but you'll never get me to quit. Never. I'm here today to tell the truth," he said. "After I have been in the public arena for 26 years without even a hint—a whiff—of an allegation like this. And when my nomination to the Supreme Court was just about to be voted on...I am called 'evil' by a Democratic member of this committee...This onslaught of last-minute allegations does not ring true," Kavanaugh said.
Earlier, to a question posed by Senator Dianne Feinstein whether Kavanaugh was the boy who attacked her, Ford responded, "The same way I'm sure I'm talking to you right now..."
When Feinstein followed up with another question: "So what you're telling us is this could not be a case of mistaken identity?", Ford said, "Absolutely not."
As Ford was giving her testimony, Kavanaugh's protesters were standing silent outside the hearing room, clogging halls and elevators. Their mouths were taped shut with "Believe survivors" and "Believe women" inscribed on the tape. Similar messages are written on their raised palms, "I believe...We believe."
Ford said she had kept the episode a closely-guarded secret, except for sharing it with her husband and few of her friends, till the time it started appearing in the press that Kavanaugh was going to be nominated as a Supreme Court Judge. In early July 2018, Ford said, she saw press reports of Kavanaugh shortlisted for potential Supreme Court nominees. "I thought it was my civic duty to relay the information I had about Mr Kavanaugh's conduct so that those considering his potential nomination would know about the assault," she said.
Mark Judge, who was present when the incident took place, has refused to testify. And when the Democrats asked Kavanaugh if he would like the FBI to investigate and clear his name, he did not answer. He went on to stress about his respect for women and mentioned the number of female friends he has. He also said that the allegations were politically motivated and was a revenge by the 'Clintons'.
Giving details of the incident, Ford, who was seemingly on the verge of tears, said it happened one evening at a common friends place in Chevy Chase area where they had gathered. "When I got to the small gathering, people were drinking beer in a small living room on the first floor of the house. I drank one beer that evening. Brett and Mark (Judge) were visibly drunk," Ford, a professor at Palo Alto University in San Francisco, said.
Ford said she was accosted by Kavanaugh and his friend Mark. They thrust her into an upstairs bedroom at the house and locked the door. "I was pushed onto the bed and Brett (Kavanaugh) got on top of me. He began running his hands over my body and grinding his hips into me...Brett groped me and tried to take off my clothes...I believed he was going to rape me," she said.
"I tried to yell for help. When I did, Brett put his hand over my mouth to stop me from screaming...I thought that Brett was accidentally going to kill me," Ford alleged. Ford said that the uproarious laughter the two friends were having at her expense is what she remembers most vividly apart from the stairwell, the bedroom and the adjacent bedroom.
Ford said she was finally able to escape and rushed out of the house with an "enormous sense of relief" that the duo did not follow her. "For a very long time, I was too afraid and ashamed to tell anyone the details," she said.
