Christine Blasey Ford said during a tense Senate hearing on Thursday that it was 'absolutely not' possible she mistook another teenage attacker for Judge Brett Kavanaugh, saying she was ‘100 percent’ certain he was the man she says sexually assaulted her in 1982 when she was 15.
Dismissing claims of a 'Kavanaugh lookalike,' she told Senators during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing that he was certainly her attacker at age 17 -- 'very much so.'
And when asked her degree of certainty it was Kavanaugh, Ford leaned down into the microphone and said: ‘100 percent.’
Committee Republicans have suggested that someone else, not Kavanaugh, groped and tried to disrobe Ford 36 years ago, and they have interviewed at least two men who believe it might have been them.
But Ford dismissed the idea.
Questioning began with sex-crimes prosecutor Rachel Mitchell acknowledging that Ford was 'terrified.'
And, in one of the more emotional moments of the morning, Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy asked Ford what stuck out to her in her memory.
‘Indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter,’ Ford said, her voice breaking up. ‘The laughter, the upraised laughter between the two and their having fun at my expense.’
‘You never forgot that laughter?,’ Leahy said as Ford nodded and one of her lawyers patted her back for reassurance.
‘I was under one of them while they laughed. Two friends having fun together,’ Ford said.
Ford’s morning began with her own testimony, where, over deep, shaky breathing, she said Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge had been 'extremely inebriated' on the summer 1982 night.
Her voice quavered as she described her trauma.
Christine Blasey Ford looked emotional during a tense Senate hearing on Thursday where she testified that Judge Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in 1982 when she was 15
Questioning began with sex-crimes prosecutor Rachel Mitchell (pictured) acknowledging that Ford was 'terrified'
Both Senator Chuck Grassley (left) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the ranking member, (right) clashed in the opening remarks to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday
Ford held back tears as she described the teenage party where she claims Kavanaugh attacked her as his friend Mark Judge watched.
'I don't have all the answers, and I don't remember as much as I would like to,' she said. 'But the details about that night that bring me here today are ones I will never forget. They have been seared into my memory and have haunted me episodically as an adult.'
'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 were visibly drunk. Early in the evening, I went up a narrow set of stairs leading from the living room to a second floor to use the bathroom. When I got to the top of the stairs, I was pushed from behind into a bedroom. I couldn't see who pushed me.'
'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,' she recalled.
'This was what terrified me the most and has had the most lasting impact on my life. It was hard for me to breathe, and I thought that Brett was accidentally going to kill me.'
She added: 'Both Brett and Mark were drunkenly laughing during the attack. They both seemed to be having a good time.'
Ford said that moment scared her the most, and the memory of the boys' laughter left the most indelible imprint on her mind.
She also addressed questions about why she did not report the assault at the time.
'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, at age 15, was in a house without any parents present, drinking beer with boys,' she said.
'I tried to convince myself that because Brett did not rape me, I should be able to move on and just pretend that it had never happened,' Ford noted.
Donald Trump, left at his press conference yesterday, revealed he was 'more annoyed than angered' as he prepared to watch the blockbuster Supreme Court hearing of Brett Kavanaugh, right, earlier this month before a Senate Judiciary Committee
Ford looked frustrated and appeared to be struggling to keep her composure as she explained it was 'absolutely not' possible she mistook another teenage attacker for Kavanaugh
Dr. Christine Blasey Ford was sworn in ahead of her testimony on Thursday morning
Ford revealed that she had first mentioned her allegations to her husband during a major renovation of their home in Palo Alto, California (pictured). Ford said that she had wanted two front doors as a result of the anxiety and nervousness she had been left with as a result of the alleged attack. Eventually she told her husband what she says occurred in therapy
Mitchell’s questioning focused on the facts surrounding Ford’s story. She tried to pin down how Ford came to the conclusion the party happened in 1982.
‘I can’t give the exact date and I wish I could,’ Ford said.
She added she used her memories to narrow down a year.
‘I’m just using memories when I got my drivers’ license,’ she said. ‘I did not drive to or home from that party and once I got my driving license I liked to drive myself.’
President Donald Trump was watching the hearing from Air Force One, as he returned from meetings at the United Nations in New York, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said.
In her testimony, Ford also explained why she came forward when she did, saying she thought it was her duty to offer her knowledge about a nominee to the Supreme Court.
'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,' Ford said.
She recounted how she wanted to keep her name confidential so she would not have to put her family at risk. Ford and her family had to leave their home after her name became public and she has received threats to her life. Security for herself was one of her conditions for Thursday's hearing.
'My hope was that providing the information confidentially would be sufficient to allow the Senate to consider Mr. Kavanaugh's serious misconduct without having to make myself, my family, or anyone's family vulnerable to the personal attacks and invasions of privacy we have faced since my name became public,' she said.
But, she said, that changed when reports emerged Sen. Dianne Feinstein had a letter about a '#metoo' situation involving Kavanaugh.
Ford had reported her allegation against Kavanaugh to Democratic Rep. Anna Eshoo, her California congresswoman. She also contacted The Washington Post's tip line.
'I stated that Mr. Kavanaugh had assaulted me in the 1980s in Maryland. This was an extremely hard thing for me to do, but I felt I couldn't NOT do it,' she said.
Ford met with Eshoo's staff on Jul 11 and with the congresswoman herself on July 13. She then wrote a letter to Feinstein outlining her allegations, which was delivered to one of the senator's aides by one of Eshoo's aides.
'Reporters appeared at my home and at my job demanding information about this letter, including in the presence of my graduate students. They called my boss and coworkers and left me many messages, making it clear that my name would inevitably be released to the media,' she said.
'I decided to speak out publicly to a journalist who had responded to the tip I had sent to The Washington Post and who had gained my trust. It was important to me to describe the details of the assault in my own words,' Ford noted.
She offered words of appreciation for the thousands of message of support she has received but also described the threats against her.
'My family and I have been the target of constant harassment and death threats. I have been called the most vile and hateful names imaginable. These messages, while far fewer than the expressions of support, have been terrifying to receive and have rocked me to my core,' she said.
Rachel Mitchell, a prosecutor from Arizona, gestures to a map as she examines Ford
Message: An unknown writer left this note on the desk where Christine Ford will sit to testify
Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) talks with Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) prior during the confirmation hearing
Junior senator Corey Booker passes an emotional Ford a coffee as she testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday. She was sat with attorney, Debra S Katz
'People have posted my personal information on the internet. This has resulted in additional emails, calls, and threats. My family and I were forced to move out of our home,' she added.
Ford spoke so softly at the start of her remarks that Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, asked her to move the microphone closer so she could be heard.
She spoke of her fear at being before the panel of 21 senators.
‘I am here today not because I want to be. I am terrified,’ she said.
She also requested some caffeine and was brought a cup of coffee by Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey.
Grassley offered a break after her testimony but Ford declined.
‘I'm okay. I got the coffee so I'm okay,’ she said.
Questioning was then turned over prosecutor Rachel Mitchell, who was hired by Republicans to ask questions for them. All eleven of the Republicans on the committee are white males, an image the GOP wants to avoid when it comes to asking questions about sexual assault.
Senators have the option of using Mitchell to ask their questions during their five minutes of time or asking them themselves.
Grassley, who started off the questioning, opted to use Mitchell.
Mitchell, a career prosecutor of sex crime cases, began her questioning with an apology. She noted Ford said she was terrified to be here. ‘I just wanted to let you know that I am very sorry,’ she said.
At one point, Feinstein asked how she could be so sure that Kavanaugh was her attacker.
'The same way that I’m sure that I’m talking to you right now. Basic memory functions and also just the level of norepinephrine and epinephrine in the brain that sort of as you know encodes - that neurotransmitter encodes memories into the hippocampus so the trauma related experience then is kind of locked there whereas other details kind of drift.'
Feinstein: 'So what you are telling us is this could not be a case of mistaken identity?'
'Absolutely not,' Ford replied.
Ford's emotional testimony came after the senior Republican and Democratic leaders of the committee clashed in their opening remarks over her and Kavanaugh's treatment and the handling of Ford's initial allegations, made in a letter to Dianne Feinstein, who is both the ranking Democratic member and the senior senator from Ford's home state of California.
Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, complained that committee Democrats sat on accusations from Christine Ford for more than six weeks, raising 'secret evidence' only after Kavanaugh's hearings were thought to be over.
And he claimed no committee Democrats participated at all in vetting Judge Brett Kavanaugh, saying 'stonewalling' political opponents had slowed down a search for the truth.
Ford submitted to a polygraph test earlier this year, regarding her claims, which she passed
The nation will be watching as Brett Kavanaugh, right, leaving his Maryland home Wednesday, gives his testimony today
Ranking committee Democrat Dianne Feinstein of California has said she kept them quiet at Ford's request.
'She wanted this held confidential, and I held it confidential up to a point where the witness was willing to come forward,' Feinstein acknowledged, saying she understood how women who make sexual misconduct allegations can be dragged through the mud.
The panel's ranking Democrat, Dianne Feinstein of California, took immediate steps to broaden the case into a test of the general treatment of female accusers.
'How women are treated in the United states with this kind of concern is really wanting a lot of reform,' she said at the top of her remarks.
'The entire country is watching how we handle these allegations she said.'
This is not a trial of Dr. Ford. It's a job interview of Brett Kavanaugh,' she said. 'Is Brett Kavanaugh who we want in the most prestigious court in the country. Is he the best we can do?' she asked.
Feinstein, who was one of the original recipients of Ford's anonymous allegation, defended herself after Grassley send his own introduction complaining of how the information came out.
She also got a jump on the chairman by offering a generous introduction of the witness.
'But in the meantime good morning Dr. Ford,' Feinstein said. 'I know this wasn't easy for you,' she said.
She then began to offer an introduction of Ford, since Grassley had not yet done so.
Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., left, and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, confer as Christine Blasey Ford speaks before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa is seen before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing of Kavanaugh on Thursday
'I didn't forget to do that,' Grassley quickly jumped in.
Feinstein put the matter in the context of sexual assault accusations. 'When survivors do report their assaults it's often years later due to the trauma they suffered and fearing their stories will not be believed,' she said.
Feinstein made an immediate comparison to Anita Hill's accusations against Clarence Thomas.
'She was treated badly accused of lying attacked and her credibility put to the test throughout the process,' Feinstein said.
She said it took a 'public outcry' for Ford to get to come before the Judiciary panel.
Feinstein also brought up two Kavanaugh accusers who were not present: Debbie Ramirez and Julie Swetnick.
Of Ramirez, Feinstein said: 'She was at a college party where Kavanaugh exposed himself to her.'
'Each of these stories are troubling on their on and each of these allegations should be investigated by the FBI,' said Feinstein.
'How women are treated in the United States with this kind of concern is really wanting a lot of reform,' Feinstein said.
Grassley began with an apology to both Christine Ford and Judge Brett Kavanaugh for death threats and other intrusions they have endured since their names became front-page fodder.
They 'have been through a horrible couple weeks,' he said, calling the pressure 'unacceptable and a poor reflection on the state of civility in our democracy.'
Grassley said media leaks that forced Ford into the public eye were 'a shameful way to treat our witness, who insisted on confidentiality.' He also claimed Democrats have 'refused to participate' in vetting Kavanaugh afterward.
US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand arrives for a hearing on the nomination of US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in Washington, DC
US Senator Richard Blumenthal talks to the press ahead of the nomination of US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh
'If they're really concerned with going to the truth, why wouldn't you want to talk to the accused?' he asked.
Feinstein insisted Ford was unfairly risking ridicule by speaking about 'being assaulted and fearing for her life,' and she 'did not want to make her story public.'
President Trump was 'more annoyed than angered' as he prepared to watch parts of a blockbuster Supreme Court hearing centered on vivid sexual misconduct charges against his nominee, a White House aide said Thursday morning.
The president will be looking intently at Judge Brett Kavanaugh's performance, the aide explained, to 'see whether he's confident or timid' – and decide whether his performance matches the strength of his written denials.
Trump and Vice President Mike Pence both placed calls to Kavanaugh on Thursday morning, telling him to be unequivocal and forceful when he insists he's innocent, according to a second aide.
The message: Be firm with the Democrats, and don't worry about the accuser you never knew.
And as the nation steeled itself for a repeat of the 1991 Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings where the nation first heard the name 'Anita Hill,' the commander-in-chief had a split focus.
Waking up in New York, he spent the early morning hearing his usual briefings before heading to the United Nations for a meeting with UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and her senior aides.
The verbal fisticuffs got underway at 10:00 a.m., nearly a half-hour before he's scheduled to board a helicopter on a pier in the East River and head home on Air Force One.
Trump planned to watch the drama unfold between Judge Brett Kavanaugh and his accuser, Christine Ford, while he flies back to Washington on Air Force One, the official said.
'I want to watch,' the president told reporters Wednesday during an hour-long press conference. 'I want to see. I hope I can watch.'
Protests: Anti-Kavanaugh groups took to the steps of the Supreme Court, where they want to avoid the federal judge becoming a lifetime associate justice
Protesters gathered in the Hart Senate Office Building, Washington DC, in support of Christine Blasey Ford
US Capitol Police gathered ahead of the hearing on the nomination of US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in Washington, DC
Ford has alleged that a drunken, teenage Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her during a high school party in 1982, pinning her to a bed and covering her mouth so she couldn't shout for help.
Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans have been busily assembling his defense. In a summary of their work distributed Wednesday night, the GOP's committee staff reported speaking to at least two men who believe they, not Kavanaugh, might have been responsible.
In his first sign of second-thinking, Trump said Wednesday that he might be persuaded to withdraw Kavanaugh's nomination if the evidence and his hearing performance suggested Ford is telling the truth.
'If I thought he was guilty of something like this, yeah sure,' he said.
Coverage of the hearing began early in the morning on every cable news channel and all three major networks.
Morning broadcast programming was pre-empted in most cases during the hours when Ford is set to testify, but it was unclear whether ABC, CBS and NBC would do the same for Kavanaugh later in the day – replacing their usual diet of fictional soap operas for the real thing.
Trump claimed Wednesday that he would be 'meeting with a lot of countries tomorrow, but I will certainly, in some form, be able to watch.'
In what could be a sign of the increasing importance of Thursday's high-stakes spectacle, his official schedule had no foreign meetings at all.
And the president's entire afternoon, including Kavanaugh's hot-seat hours, were left completely empty.
Asked Wednesday if Ford and Kavanaugh's two other named accusers were liars, Trump punted.
Other side: Pro-Kavanaugh groups were also present in Washington D.C. as the Republicans try to rally round their embattled nominee
'I can't tell you. I have to watch tomorrow. ... I can't tell you whether or not they're liars until I hear them,' he said.
Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans have been busily assembling his defense. In a summary of their work distributed Wednesday night, the GOP's committee staff reported speaking to at least two men who believe they, not Kavanaugh, might have been responsible.
In his first sign of second-thinking, Trump said Wednesday that he might be persuaded to withdraw Kavanaugh's nomination if the evidence and his hearing performance suggested Ford is telling the truth.
'If I thought he was guilty of something like this, yeah sure,' he said.
Coverage of the hearing began early in the morning on every cable news channel and all three major networks.
Morning broadcast programming was pre-empted in most cases during the hours when Ford is set to testify, but it was unclear whether ABC, CBS and NBC would do the same for Kavanaugh later in the day – replacing their usual diet of fictional soap operas for the real thing.
Trump claimed Wednesday that he would be 'meeting with a lot of countries tomorrow, but I will certainly, in some form, be able to watch.'
In what could be a sign of the increasing importance of Thursday's high-stakes spectacle, his official schedule had no foreign meetings at all.
And the president's entire afternoon, including Kavanaugh's hot-seat hours, were left completely empty.
Asked Wednesday if Ford and Kavanaugh's two other named accusers were liars, Trump punted.
'I can't tell you. I have to watch tomorrow. ... I can't tell you whether or not they're liars until I hear them,' he said.
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2018/09/27/kavanaugh-hearing-christine-ford-close-to-tears-as-she-describes-assault/
Main photo article Christine Blasey Ford said during a tense Senate hearing on Thursday that it was ‘absolutely not’ possible she mistook another teenage attacker for Judge Brett Kavanaugh, saying she was ‘100 percent’ certain he was the man she says sexually assaulted her in 1982 when she was 15....
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2018/09/27/16/50BC230B00000578-6214687-image-a-64_1538063097218.jpg
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