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| Christine Blasey Ford testifies on alleged Kavanaugh assault: 'I am terrified' | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who accused supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, has detailed before US lawmakers the agony of coming forward with allegations that had prompted her to “relive this trauma in front of the world”. | |
| “I am here today not because I want to be. I am terrified,” Ford, her voice cracking with emotion, testified before members of the Senate judiciary committee on Capitol Hill on Thursday. | |
| “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.” | |
| Ford, a research psychologist from northern California, recounted in gripping detail how she was allegedly forced into a room in the early 1980s by Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge, when they were teenagers. According to Ford’s remarks, Kavanaugh then groped her, tried to remove her clothes and covered her mouth to block her screams. | |
| “This was what terrified me the most, and has had the most lasting impact on my life,” Ford said. | |
| The highly anticipated testimony marked Ford’s first public appearance since she came forward earlier this month to accuse Kavanaugh of sexual assault. Kavanaugh, who has denied the allegations, is slated to testify before the Senate panel after Ford. | |
| The explosive hearing will likely define whether the judge will be confirmed to America’s highest bench. | |
| The ramifications were underscored by the tense atmosphere in the room as Chuck Grassley, the Republican chairman of the committee, opened the hearing. Acknowledging the threats received by both Ford, Kavanaugh and their families, Grassley said the backlash was “unacceptable and a poor reflection on the state of civility in our democracy”. | |
| “I want to apologize to both of you for the treatment you’ve received,” he said. | “I want to apologize to both of you for the treatment you’ve received,” he said. |
| The partisan undertones of the hearing were nonetheless swiftly put on display, as Grassley went on to chastise the process by which Ford’s allegations were brought to light. He accused his Democratic counterpart on the committee, California senator Dianne Feinstein, of withholding Ford’s account as “secret evidence”. | |
| Pointing out that the FBI had conducted several background checks on Kavanaugh to date, Grassley said: “Nowhere in any of these six FBI reports, which committee investigators have reviewed on a bipartisan basis, was there ever a whiff of any issue – at all – related in any way to inappropriate sexual behavior.” | |
| Feinstein disputed Grassley’s version of events, stating she had sought to handle Ford’s allegations in a manner that would honor her initial request for confidentiality. | |
| “What I find most inexcusable is this rush to judgement, the unwillingness to take these kinds of allegations at face value and look at them for what they are,” she said, “a real question of character for someone who is asking for a lifetime appointment to the supreme court.” | |
| Ford’s allegation roiled the confirmation process for Kavanaugh, who has since been publicly accused of sexual misconduct by two other women. | Ford’s allegation roiled the confirmation process for Kavanaugh, who has since been publicly accused of sexual misconduct by two other women. |
| Deborah Ramirez, a former classmate of Kavanaugh’s at Yale University, alleged he exposed himself to her while inebriated at a dormitory party in the 1980s. Julie Swetnick, represented by the celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti, came forward on Wednesday with a signed declaration claiming she witnessed a teenage Kavanaugh and his friends spike the drinks of girls at parties to facilitate their “gang rape” by a “train” of men. | Deborah Ramirez, a former classmate of Kavanaugh’s at Yale University, alleged he exposed himself to her while inebriated at a dormitory party in the 1980s. Julie Swetnick, represented by the celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti, came forward on Wednesday with a signed declaration claiming she witnessed a teenage Kavanaugh and his friends spike the drinks of girls at parties to facilitate their “gang rape” by a “train” of men. |
| It was also disclosed on Wednesday that Senate investigators were investigating other allegations against Kavanaugh made anonymously. Kavanaugh has denied all of the allegations. | |
| Although both Ramirez and Swetnick expressed a willingness to testify, Thursday’s hearing will focus solely on the allegations brought forth by Ford. | |
| According to his written testimony, Kavanaugh will declare himself “innocent of this charge”. | |
| “I categorically and unequivocally deny the allegation against me by Dr Ford,” Kavanaugh will state. | |
| “I am not questioning that Dr Ford may have been sexually assaulted by some person in some place at some time. But I have never done that to her or to anyone.” | |
| The saga has hardened partisan battle lines in Washington and further raised the stakes for one of the most consequential posts in America. | The saga has hardened partisan battle lines in Washington and further raised the stakes for one of the most consequential posts in America. |
| If confirmed to the supreme court, Kavanaugh will shift the nine-justice bench in a decisively conservative direction, potentially reshaping social and cultural issues such as abortion, LGBT rights and immigration for decades to come. He was nominated by Trump in July to replace the retiring justice Anthony Kennedy, a conservative who earned a reputation of acting as a crucial swing vote. | If confirmed to the supreme court, Kavanaugh will shift the nine-justice bench in a decisively conservative direction, potentially reshaping social and cultural issues such as abortion, LGBT rights and immigration for decades to come. He was nominated by Trump in July to replace the retiring justice Anthony Kennedy, a conservative who earned a reputation of acting as a crucial swing vote. |
| In advance of Thursday’s hearing, Trump emphatically defended Kavanaugh but signaled there was potential yet for him to change his mind about his own nominee. | In advance of Thursday’s hearing, Trump emphatically defended Kavanaugh but signaled there was potential yet for him to change his mind about his own nominee. |
| “I think it’s going to be a very, very important day in the history of our country,” Trump said on Wednesday at a press conference in New York. | “I think it’s going to be a very, very important day in the history of our country,” Trump said on Wednesday at a press conference in New York. |
| Each of the 21-member Senate panel will be allowed up to five minutes to ask questions of the two. The Republicans on the committee, all of whom are men, have delegated their questioning to an outside female prosecutor from Arizona, Rachel Mitchell. Four women serve on the committee on the Democratic side. | |
| Republicans have cast doubt on Ford’s account and dismissed the allegations against Kavanaugh as part of a “smear campaign” orchestrated by Democrats to obstruct his nomination. Democrats have meanwhile said Kavanaugh should withdraw his nomination and called for an FBI investigation into the allegations. | Republicans have cast doubt on Ford’s account and dismissed the allegations against Kavanaugh as part of a “smear campaign” orchestrated by Democrats to obstruct his nomination. Democrats have meanwhile said Kavanaugh should withdraw his nomination and called for an FBI investigation into the allegations. |
| Trump told reporters on Wednesday he believed the accusations against Kavanaugh were false, likening them to the sexual assault allegations made against him by as many as 19 women. | Trump told reporters on Wednesday he believed the accusations against Kavanaugh were false, likening them to the sexual assault allegations made against him by as many as 19 women. |
| “You have a man who is great, outstanding, but he has charges against him,” Trump said, adding: “It has happened to me many times.” | “You have a man who is great, outstanding, but he has charges against him,” Trump said, adding: “It has happened to me many times.” |
| In her testimony, Ford rebuked the notion that she was “acting out of political motivations”. | |
| “Those who say that do not know me. I am a fiercely independent person and I am no one’s pawn,” she said. | |
| “It is not my responsibility to determine whether Mr Kavanaugh deserves to sit on the supreme court. My responsibility is to tell the truth.” | |
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