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| Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford testify at historic Senate hearing – live updates | Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford testify at historic Senate hearing – live updates |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| As 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, 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. | |
| The Associated Press have a little more background on Mitchell here: | |
| Look for a new face in Washington to take a high profile at the proceedings at the behest of Senate Republicans. She is Rachel Mitchell, 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. | |
| My 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 have five minutes to question each witness. There are only two witnesses: Ford and Kavanaugh. Ford will testify first followed by Kavanaugh. | |
| The all-male panel of Republicans have hired Rachel Mitchell, an experienced sex crimes prosecutor and are expected to defer their allotted time to her to question both witnesses. Democrats are expected to ask questions of both Ford and Kavanaugh, though they could request that their time be shared with another senator or the prosecutor. | |
| Republicans have tried to make this into a trial. Kavanaugh, they say, should be afforded the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. But in this approach, it’s unclear who is “on trial”. Is it Ford or Kavanaugh — both? | |
| Hiring a prosecutor helps them make the case that this is trial. Mitchell, very much a wildcard in this hearing, has spent her career going after sex criminals and would be the one person capable of getting to the bottom of this. As Ford cannot remember key details such as exactly where and when the alleged incident took place it makes “proving” anything nearly impossible and in the legal sense really leaves only one outcome: Kavanaugh is “acquitted.” | |
| Democrats instead want this to be a “job interview”. Ford is definitely not on trial, they’ve stressed and Kavanaugh is very much in the hot seat to prove that he is fit for a life time appointment to the Supreme Court. In the sense, all they have to do is raise enough doubt about his fitness. | |
| How this plays out depends a lot on how Ford and Kavanaugh appear — whether they seem credible and believable. It will also depend on how they are questioned. If Mitchell is viewed as fair and even-handed, Republicans will avoid the specter of the Anita Hill hearing. There’s risk for Democrats too if they overstep or grandstand. | |
| In the days leading up to this hearing president Donald Trump has stood behind his nominee, describing him on Twitter as a “fine man, with an impeccable 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. | In the days leading up to this hearing president Donald Trump has stood behind his nominee, describing him on Twitter as a “fine man, with an impeccable 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. | 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. |
| “It’s happened to me many times,” the president said, claiming he’d been falsely accused by “four or five women.” (Trump was in fact accused of sexual misconduct by over a dozen women before the presidential election in 2016.) | “It’s happened to me many times,” the president said, claiming he’d been falsely accused by “four or five women.” (Trump was in fact accused of sexual misconduct by over a dozen women before the presidential election in 2016.) |
| But he also said Ford’s testimony, and the accounts of other accusers could prompt him to change course. “It’s possible that I’ll hear that and I’ll say I’m changing my mind,” Trump said. | But he also said Ford’s testimony, and the accounts of other accusers could prompt him to change course. “It’s possible that I’ll hear that and I’ll say I’m changing my mind,” Trump said. |
| Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the crucial Senate judiciary committee hearing in Washington DC. | Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the crucial Senate judiciary committee hearing in Washington DC. |
| Dr Christine Blasey Ford, 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, of sexually assaulting her at a high school party in the early 1980s. | Dr Christine Blasey Ford, 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, of sexually assaulting her at a high school party in the early 1980s. |
| The outcome of this hearing is likely to determine whether Kavanaugh’s promotion to the highest court in America is successful. If the judge, a staunch conservative, is placed on the nine-person body, it will probably swing the ideological makeup of the court to the right, potentially for years to come. | The outcome of this hearing is likely to determine whether Kavanaugh’s promotion to the highest court in America is successful. If the judge, a staunch conservative, is placed on the nine-person body, it will probably swing the ideological makeup of the court to the right, potentially for years to come. |
| Dr Ford is set to talk in public for the first time after days of negotiations between her lawyers and the Republican-controlled committee, over the setting, timing and format of her testimony. | Dr Ford is set to talk in public for the first time after days of negotiations between her lawyers and the Republican-controlled committee, over the setting, timing and format of her testimony. |
| Since Ford’s allegations were made public, two other women – Julie Swetnick and Deborah Ramirez – have come forward to publicly accuse Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct during the early 1980s as well. | Since Ford’s allegations were made public, two other women – Julie Swetnick and Deborah Ramirez – have come forward to publicly accuse Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct during the early 1980s as well. |
| Neither of these women is scheduled to appear today, but Kavanaugh will testify after Ford. He has denied all the allegations of sexual misconduct against him. | Neither of these women is scheduled to appear today, but Kavanaugh will testify after Ford. He has denied all the allegations of sexual misconduct against him. |
| We’ll bring you all the background we can before things get under way in just over an hour. | We’ll bring you all the background we can before things get under way in just over an hour. |