It was a tale of two stories today during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee as Judge Brett Kavanaugh and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testified in front of the 10 Democrats and 11 Republicans about the sexual assault allegations against the Supreme Court nominee.
The day began at 10 a.m. with Dr. Ford's opening statement and answering questions about the alleged sexual assault that took place back when she and Kavanaugh were both in high school. Ford told the committee that she was "one hundred percent" certain it had been Kavanaugh who assaulted her that night when she was 15-years-old.
“This was what terrified me the most, and has had the most lasting impact on my life,” she said. “I thought that Brett was accidentally going to kill me."
She told the committee that a drunken young Kavanaugh pinned her to the bed, tried removing her clothes, and clapped a hand over her mouth as she attempted to yell for help. When asked what she remembered most about that night, she cited the "“laughter — the uproarious laughter between the two” she heard from Kavanaugh and his friend who she also implicated in the alleged incident.
When asked by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) if she might have mistaken Kavanaugh for someone else, Ford replied, "Absolutely not."
Rachel Mitchell, a veteran sexual assault prosecutor who has worked for the sex-crimes bureau of the Special Victims Unit in Maricopa County, Arizona for the last 12 years, was hired by Republican senators on the committee to question Dr. Ford during her testimony. Mitchell was cautious while questioning Ford, with many questions dealing with the timeline of the alleged assault, to her fear of flying.
For his part, Kavanaugh strongly and at times, angrily defended himself against the allegations made against him by Dr. Ford, calling them a "calculated and orchestrated political hit" that corrupted the process of confirming a Supreme Court nominee to the court.
Republicans bemoaned the circumstances surrounding the nomination fight, telling the judge that they were sympathetic. Many senators apologized to Kavanaugh and his family for having to deal with the current media circus.
"Watching your mother’s pained face has been heart-wrenching as she’s seen your name dragged through the mud," said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.).
President Donald Trump seemed impressed by his nominee's performance, writing on Twitter that Kavanaugh, "showed America exactly why I nominated him. His testimony was powerful, honest, and riveting. 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!"
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) had one final question for Kavanaugh, asking him whether he had watched Ford's testimony earlier that day.
"I did not," Kavanaugh said, "but I planned to."
He added that he had been busy preparing for his own testimony that day.
Republicans in the Judiciary Committee have scheduled a vote Friday morning to send him on to a full floor vote in the Senate. That vote is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. EST.
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