Ford: One day I attended a gathering with Brett Kavanaugh, Mark Judge, PJ, and another boy, and my friend Leland. It was surely a spur-of-the-moment gathering.
Ford: I don't remember as much as I would like, but the details that bring me to testify today I will never forget.
Ford: When I arrived, people were drinking beer. I drank one beer. Brett and Mark were visibly drunk. I went up the stairs to use the restroom. I was pushed from behind into the bedroom.
Ford: Music was turned up. Pushed on to the bed. I yelled.
Ford: I believed he was going to rape me. Brett put his hand over my mouth. It was hard for me to breathe. I thought he was accidentally going to kill me. Both Brett and Mark were laughing.
Ford: Mark jumped on the bed, which toppled Brett and me over, so I was able to escape.
Ford: Brett's assault on me drastically altered my life. I was too ashamed to tell anyone these details. I didn't want to tell my parents that at 15 I was in a house without parents drinking beer with boys.
Convinced herself she should move on and pretend it hadn't happened.
Ford: I told my husband before my marriage that I had experienced a sexual assault. Did not tell anyone details until 2012 in couples counseling.
Ford: In remodeling house, I insisted on two front doors. This led to discussion about the assault in therapy session.
Ford: Recounting these moments caused me to relive the experience and caused panic and anxiety. I tried not to think about it or discuss it.
Occasionally spoke to friends about assault, saying assailant was a prominent lawyer or judge but did not name him.
Ford: Until July 2018, I had never named Kavanaugh as my attacker outside of therapy. [Had told a few people about a prominent DC lawyer.]
Thought it was her civic duty to name Kavanaugh when she saw he was on a short list of potential nominees.
Ford is speaking slowly with a lot of emotion in her voice.
Ford is detailing actions she took in July -- extremely hard to do but felt that I couldn't not do it.
Contacted Representative Anna Eshoo and a Washington Post tip line
Ford: Spoke with Rep. Eschoo, wrote confidential letter for Feinstein. Hoped that a confidential letter would be enough for the committee to investigate without making anyone vulnerable, as has happened when went public.
Rep. Eshoo provided a letter to Sen. Feinstein on July 30, identifying Kavanaugh but asking for confidentiality. In letter on August 31, Feinstein confirmed she wouldn't share the letter without Ford's consent.
Ford: Feinstein told me she would not share letter without my consent.
Ford: As hearing approached, I faced a terrible choice. I agonized in August and September. My fears of the consequences of speaking out started to exponentially increase.
Ford: In August, reports seemed to say that Kavanaugh's confirmation was virtually certain. I feared my voice would be drowned out. I resigned myself to keeping quiet.
Ford: When press started reporting on the letter I sent to Feinstein, I faced increasing pressure.
Ford: Became clear that my name would inevitably be released to the media. I spoke to a journalist who had gained my trust. It was important to me to describe the details of the assault in my own words.
Ford: I have received an outpouring of support. Thousands of people who have experienced sexual violence have come out. At the same time, my family has become the target of harassment and death threats.
Ford: My family has been forced to move out of our homes.
Ford: Aside from the assault itself, these past few weeks have been the hardest of my life. I have had to relive this trauma in front of the world.
Ford: I have been accused of acting out of partisan motives. Those who say that do not know me. I am an independent person and not a pawn.
Ford: It is not my responsibility to determine whether Kavanaugh should sit on the Supreme Court. It is my job to tell the truth.
Ford: I have never been questioned by a prosecutor. I will do my best to answer questions.
Ford has asked for some caffeine. She is visibly distressed.
Grassley now explaining the 5-minutes. If a question is asked before the timer, Ford or Kavanaugh will have time past 5 minutes to answer.
Grassley saying that Mitchell has his five minutes to ask questions.
Mitchell: First thing that struck me from your statement was that you were terrified. I'm very sorry. That's not right. I know this is stressful, so I will say some guidelines.
Mitchell: If I ask a question you don't understand, ask me to repeat it or reword it.
Mitchell: I want to go over five pieces of information -- a screenshot of a whatsapp text with Washington Post.
Mitchell: Are those three comments accurate?
Ford: There's one correction. I've misused the word "bystander" as an adjective. The person named PJ was not technically a bystander. He was downstairs during the assault.
Mitchell: Second document is letter to Feinstein. Did you write yourself? ["I did."] Did you write it on July 30? [I believe so.]
Mitchell: Is the letter accurate?
Ford: I'll take a letter to read it. I read fast.
Ford is still reading the letter. She seems to be crossing out or writing some things with a pencil.
Ford: I have three areas to address. In second paragraph, "the assault in a suburban MD area home." I said four other people, but I can't guarantee there weren't others. "at least" four others.
Ford: I was pushed from behind, so I can't promise Mark Judge didn't also help push. [She had written Kavanaugh pushed.]
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