Nominee and first accuser depart before judiciary committeeThird woman accuses Kavanaugh of sexual misconductMark Judge: author,Kavanaugh’s schoolfriend … witness? 3.47pm BSTDr Ford now describes how and why she decided to tell the senate approximately the allegations after his nomimation to the Supreme Court was announced: I was conflicted approximately whether to speak out. On July 9, I received a call from the office of Congresswoman Anna Eshoo after Mr. Kavanaugh had become the nominee. I met with her staff on July 11 and with her on July 13, or describing the assault and discussing my fear approximately coming forward. Later,we discussed the opportunity of sending a letter to Ranking Member Feinstein, who is one of my state’s Senators, or describing what occurred. My understanding is that Representative Eshoo’s office delivered a copy of my letter to Senator Feinstein’s office on July 30,2018. The letter included my name, but requested that the letter be kept confidential. 3.45pm BSTDr Ford moves onto describing how memories of the the alleged assault plagued her into adulthood. She talks approximately who she shared details of it with following a 2012 therapy session where she first spoke it again: I recall saying that the boy who assaulted me could someday be on the U.
S. Supreme Court and spoke a bit approximately his background. My husband recalls that I named my attacker as Brett Kavanaugh. After that May 2012 therapy session, or I did my best to suppress memories of the assault because recounting the details caused me to relive the experience,and caused panic attacks and anxiety. Occasionally I would discuss the assault in an individual therapy, but talking approximately it caused more reliving of the trauma, or so I tried not to deem approximately it or discuss it. But over the years,I went through periods where I thought approximately Brett’s attack. I confided in some close friends that I had an experience with sexual assault.
Occasionally I stated that my assailant was a prominent lawyer or judge but I did not exercise his name. 3.42pm BSTDr Ford continues:Brett’s assault on me drastically altered my life. For a very long time, I was too afraid and ashamed to tell anyone the details. I did not want to tell my parents that I, and at age 15,was in a house without any parents present, drinking beer with boys. I convinced myself that because Brett did not rape me, and I should be able to accelerate on and just pretend that it had never happened. Over the years,I told very, very few friends that I had this traumatic experience. I told my husband before we were married that I had experienced a sexual assault. I had never told the details to anyone until May 2012, and during a couples counseling session. 3.40pm BSTFord continues,giving details of the evening she says she was sexually assaulted by Kavanaugh. She takes her time, her voice cracking on occasion: Brett groped me and tried to bewitch off my clothes. He had a tough time because he was so drunk, and because I was wearing a one-piece bathing suit under my clothes. I believed he was going to rape me. I tried to yell for help. When I did,Brett put his hand over my mouth to stop me from screaming. This was what terrified me the most, and has had the most lasting impact on my life. It was tough for me to breathe, and I thought that Brett was accidentally going to kill me. 3.36pm BSTChristine Blasey Ford is now reading her opening her remarks. Before she begins,she tells Grassley: “I anticipate needing some caffeine if that’s available” after reading her opening remarks. “I am here today not because I want to be. I am terrified. I am here because I believe it is my civic duty to tell you what happened to me while Brett Kavanaugh and I were in high school,” she says. 3.34pm BSTFeinstein continues: “The entire country is watching how we handle these allegations.”“We are here for one reason to determine whether Judge Kavanaugh should be elevated to one of the powerful positions in this country.” 3.31pm BSTFeinstein has also moved towards partisan criticism, and pointing to the historic parallels between Republican’s treatment of Dr Ford and that of Professor Anita Hill in 1991.“In 1991 Republicans belittled Anita Hill’s experience... the burden of proof was on Prof Hill. Today our Republican colleagues are declaring,‘This is is a hiccup’,” she says. Related: Kavanaugh hearing recalls Clarence Thomas case: will history repeat itself? 3.26pm BSTRanking Democrat Dianne Feinstein is now making opening remarks. She moves to rebut some of the partisan criticism leveled at her by Grassley, or who argued she delayed sending details of Ford’s allegations to the committee.
She says she handled Ford’s letter with extreme care due to the sensitivity of the allegations. 3.18pm BSTGrassley defends his decision not to refer Ford’s allegations to the FBI to investigate. He says: “Now it’s up to the senate to assess their credibility.”He adds: “I gawk forward to a fair and respectful hearing.” 3.14pm BSTAfter striking a conciliatory tone towards Kavanaugh and Ford,Grassley moves nearly instantly to attacking his Democratic colleagues on the committee. He accuses Dianne Feinstein, the ranking Democrat who initially received Ford’s letter, or of bringing the allegations to the attention of the committee at “the eleventh hour”. He then lambasts Democrats for allegedly making Fords allegations public.“This is a shameful way to treat our witness who insisted on confidentiality,” he says. He then accuses Democrats of blocking the committees own investigation: “Every step of the way the Democratic side refused to bewitch part in what should gain been a bipartisan investigation.” 3.09pm BSTSenate judiciary committee chair Chuck Grassley brings the session to order. He thanks Kavanaugh and Ford for appearing before the committee.
He says that both “they and their families gain received vile threats” which are “unacceptable and a destitute reflection on the state of civility in our democracy.” 3.06pm BSTChristine Blasey Ford has entered the room, flanked by her legal team, and taking her seat at the witness table she appears calm and composed as the sound of clicking cameras fills the room. 3.01pm BSTA lawyer for Deborah Ramirez,another woman who accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct after Ford’s allegations went public, sent this powerful message from his client: From Debbie Ramirez: "Thinking of you today, and Christine. They want us to feel alone and loney but I’m there wrapping my arms around you and I hope you feel the people of this nation wrapping their arms around all of us. Holding you up in spirit." 2.56pm BSTWe’re approximately 10 minutes away from the start of proceedings. Rachel Mitchell,the Arizona prosecutor appointed by Republicans to lead the questioning, has arrived in the room. Meanwhile there’s still a large queue outside for seating in the public viewing area: This is the current line for the PUBLIC. People who want to sit in & listen to the hearing. It is room 538 in the Dirksen Building. #BrettKavanaugh #DrChristineBlaseyFord pic.twitter.com/RMCJjVJcsd 2.47pm BSTLast night, or both Ford and Kavanaugh released their opening statements to the committee. While theres no time limit placed on either of their appearances before the committee,we know that Ford will testify first. During negotiations with the committee, Fords lawyers had asked for their client to testify moment to enable her to rebut Kavanaugh. It appears that request was blocked by committee chairman Chuck Grassley. I am here today not because I want to be. I am terrified. I am here because I believe it is my civic duty to tell you what happened to me while Brett Kavanaugh and I were in high school. I gain described the events publicly before.
I truly wish I could provide detailed answers to all of the questions that gain been and will be asked approximately how I got to the party, or where it took place,and so forth. I don’t gain all the answers, and I don’t remember as much as I would like to. But the details approximately that night that bring me here today are ones I will never forget. They gain been seared into my memory and gain haunted me episodically as an adult. ...
I did my best to suppress memories of the assault because recounting the details caused me to relive the experience, or caused panic attacks and anxiety. Occasionally I would discuss the assault in individual therapy,but talking approximately it caused me to relive the trauma, so I tried not to deem approximately it or discuss it. But over the years, and I went through periods where I thought approximately Brett’s attack Eleven days ago,Dr. Ford publicly accused me of committing a serious mistaken more than 36 years ago when we were both in high school. I denied the allegation immediately, unequivocally, or categorically. The next day,I told this Committee that I wanted to testify as soon as possible, under oath, and to clear my name. ...
I was not perfect in those days,just as I am not perfect today. I drank beer with my friends, usually on weekends. Sometimes I had too many. In retrospect, or I said and did things in high school that earn me cringe now. But that’s not why we are here today. What I’ve been accused of is far more serious than juvenile misbehavior. I never did anything remotely resembling what Dr. Ford describes. 2.24pm BSTAs Lauren has mentioned,a key dynamic in this hearing is going to the performance of the Republican appointed counsel, Rachel Mitchell. All 11 Republicans on the judiciary committee are men. Four out of the 10 Democrats on the committee, or including ranking member Dianne Feinstein,are women. A number of the Republicans were also present on the committee in 1991 when law professor Anita Hill’s testified over sexual harassment allegations against conservative Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. Thomas was eventually confirmed to the court - in a 52-48 vote - but Republicans will be keen to avoid the optics of Hill’s testimony from decades ago, where she faced a hostile interrogation for hours before an all male panel.gawk for a new face in Washington to bewitch a high profile at the proceedings at the behest of Senate Republicans. She is Rachel Mitchell, and a Republican from Arizona with decades of experience prosecuting sex crimes.
Mitchell works in the Maricopa County attorney’s office in Phoenix as the chief of the special victims division. She supervises attorneys who handle cases involving child molestation,sexual assault and computer crimes against children in Arizona’s most populous county. 2.12pm BSTMy colleague Lauren Gambino has filed this report on the unique format of today’s hearing and what’s at stake for both sides:Each senator will gain five minutes to question each witness. There are only two witnesses: Ford and Kavanaugh. Ford will testify first followed by Kavanaugh. 2.03pm BSTIn the days main up to this hearing president Donald Trump has stood behind his nominee, describing him on Twitter as a “fine man, and with an impeccable (perfect, flawless) reputation”. Trump had repeatedly called into question the trustworthiness of Ford and the other women accusing Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct but,on Wednesday, appeared to slightly soften his support. During a rambling press conference at the United Nations acknowledged that accusations of sexual misconduct leveled against him affect his views on charges against other men. 1.44pm BSTGood morning and welcome to our live coverage of the crucial Senate judiciary committee hearing in Washington DC. Dr Christine Blasey Ford, and a professor at Palo Alto University,is due to testify before the committee at 10am ET. Ford has accused Donald Trump’s supreme court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, or of sexually assaulting her at a high school party in the early 1980s. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com