WASHINGTON — Christine Blasey Ford, the psychology professor who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault when they were both high schoolers, is about to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee in what is likely to be a historic moment in the #MeToo movement.
Kavanaugh will appear later in the day to respond to her accusations, something that he has vehemently denied.
Rachel Mitchell, a prosecutor from Arizona, will ask Ford questions as the Republicans chosen investigative counsel.
His nomination likely hangs in the balance, but the stakes also are high for members of both parties, as the hearing is taking place so close to this year’s midterm elections.
The past 24 hours have seen a flurry of news, including new accusations leveled at Kavanaugh from other accusers, President Donald Trump’s suggestion that he could change his mind on the nomination, and the appearance of one accuser, Julie Swetnick, on Showtime’s “The Circus.”
“Mark your calendar. I think we’re going to remember today many years from now,” FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel wrote Thursday on Twitter.
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Ford’s attorney’s released an advance copy of her opening statement, in which she will say, “I don’t have all the answers, and I don’t remember as much as I would like to. 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.”
The hearing itself may very well be more subdued that Kavanaugh’s previous four days of testimony: It’s being held in a much smaller hearing room in the Dirksen Senate Office Building where press and public access is limited.
Below are takeaways from the hearing:
Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas hearings — then vs. now. Sen. Dianne Feinstein devoted a substantial part of her opening statement to comparing the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas hearings in 1991.
She noted that that Hill was “belittled” by an all-male Senate Judiciary Committee and the outcome was predetermined.
Feinstein was first elected the following year, 1992, in what was a historic year for women being elected to Congress and likely a backlash against Hill’s treatment by the Senate.
“The entire country is watching how we handle these allegations,” Feinstein said.
‘I believed he was going to rape me.’ Ford described the 1982 assault at what she says was a “small gathering at a house in the Bethesda area.”
“Early in the evening, I went up a narrow set of stairs leading from the living room to a second floor to use the restroom,” she said, her voice at times cracking with emotion. “When I got to the top of the stairs, I was pushed from behind into a bedroom across from the bathroom.
“I couldn’t see who pushed me. Brett and Mark came into the bedroom and locked the door behind them. There was music playing in the bedroom. It was turned up louder by either Brett or Mark [Judge] once we were in the room.”
“I was pushed onto the bed and Brett got on top of me. He began running his hands over my body and grinding into me. I yelled, hoping that someone downstairs might hear me, and I tried to get away from him, but his weight was heavy. Brett groped me and tried to take off my clothes. He had a hard time because he was very inebriated, 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 yelling.”
“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. Both Brett and Mark were drunkenly laughing during the attack. They both seemed to be having a very good time. Mark was urging Brett on, and at times he telling him to stop. A couple of times I made eye contact with Mark and thought he might try to help me, but he did not.”
She said that Judge “came over and jumped on the bed twice while Brett was on top of me. And the last time he did this, we toppled over and Brett was no longer on top of me. I was able to get up and run out of the room.”
She left the house, she said, and “I remember being on the street and feeling an enormous sense of relief that I had escaped from the house and that Brett and Mark were not coming after me.”
“Brett’s assault on me drastically altered my life,” she said. “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. I convinced myself that because Brett did not rape me, I should be able to move on and just pretend that it had never happened.”
She said that she did not reveal the specific details until 2012, during a couples counseling session, and the reason it came up is because they were doing a remodel of their home and her husband could not understand why she wanted another front door.
“In explaining why I wanted to have a second front door, I described the assault in detail,” she said. “I recall saying that the boy who assaulted me could someday be on the U.S. Supreme Court and spoke a bit about his background. My husband recalls that I named my attacker as Brett Kavanaugh.”
‘Absolutely not.’ One of the possibilities that has been floated by defenders of Kavanaugh is that Ford is mistaking him for another high school age male.
Asked by Feinstein how she could be sure that it was Kavanaugh who was covering her mouth during the assault, she responded, “The same way that I am sure I’m talking to you right now.” Asked if it was possible that this is a case of mistaken identity, she said, “Absolutely not.”
Earlier, she denied that she is acting out of partisan motive.
“I have been accused of acting out of partisan political motives and those who say that do not know me. I’m an independent person and I’m no one’s pawn,” she said.
Later, she told Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) that she was “100%” sure that it was Kavanaugh.
Indelible memory. Asked what is the most vivid memory that she had of the alleged assault, Ford said it was the laughter between Kavanaugh and Judge.
“The laughter, the uproarious laughter between the two, and them having fun at my expense,” she said.
Follow along for updates.