Grassley interrupts to say Mitchell needs to stop because Grassley's five minutes are up.
That's five minutes so we're going to Feinstein.
So, five minutes goes by pretty quickly.
Feinstein: Thank you for your testimony. I know how very, very hard it is. Why have you held it to yourself all these years?
The standard first round of questioning of a Supreme Court nominee is 30 minutes, with subsequent rounds typically 10 minutes.
Ford: Anxiety, phobia, PTSD-like symptoms are what I've been dealing with.
Feinstein: Any other way this has affected your life?
Ford: I struggled academically in college. I had a hard time forming new friendships, especially with boys.
Ford: My original intent was to communicate when there was still a list of candidates, all of whom seemed qualified.
Feinstein: How did you decide to come forward?
Ford: Reporters were surrounding my home.
Mounting pressure made her feel it was time to say what she needed to say.
Feinstein: You were clear about the attack. How sure it was Kavanaugh who covered your mouth?
And some reporters were trying to talk to my dog through the window, she says, trying to calm the dog down. (Though I wouldn't discount the idea that some reporter was actually trying to interview the dog.)
Ford: Same way I am sure I am speaking to you now, basic memory function. [Ford then mentioned brain chemicals and function that are beyond me.]
This could not be a case of mistaken identity? Absolutely not.
Ford: Not a case of mistaken identity.
Mitchell: Third correction?
Ford: Not a correction, but I did see Mark Judge at his job at a later date.
If we could find out when he worked there, that could narrow down the timeframe for the attack.
Mitchell: You wrote a handwritten statement for the calligrapher when you took your polygraph test. I see corrections you crossed out, so I will go on to the Washington Post article.
Mitchell: Did you submit to an interview by a Washington Post reporter for this article? [Correct]
Mitchell: Your statement this morning was accurate? [Yes]
Mitchell: Want to talk to you about the day that happened -- have you told us everything you remember? [Yes]
Mitchell: You indicated that you were at the country club swimming that day? [That's my best estimate] Because you went there pretty much every day? [Yes]
In Ford's letter, it wasn't evident that when she saw Mark Judge at the Potomac Village Safeway that he was an employee there, as she now suggests in her testimony.
Mitchell: Had you had anything to drink? [Not at all]
Mitchell: Do you recall knowing before you went who was going to be at gathering? [I recall expecting Mark Judge and Leland would be there... I don't recall whether I expected Kavanaugh to be there.]
Mitchell: What was the atmosphere at the gathering?
Ford: Kavanaugh and Ford were extremely inebriated. The other people were not.
Ford: I can sketch a floorplan, sparsely furnished living room. Not really a party, just a gathering, that I assumed would lead to a party later on that the boys would attend, later than I was allowed to stay out. Not loud in the living room.
Mitchell: Any other music or television? No stereo downstairs? [No]
Leahy: The Senate failed Anita Hill. I'm concerned we're doing a lot less for these three women today.
Leahy: Dr. Ford, there are millions of survivors inspired by your courage. Bravery is contagious. That's the story behind the MeToo movement.
Leahy, Grassley, and Hatch are the three current members of the committee who were also members during the 1991 Clarence Thomas hearings.
Leahy: Some senators have suggested you were mixed up. An ally of the White House even promoted a theory of a Kavanaugh look-alike.
Leahy: How did you know Kavanaugh and Judge? Is it possible you would mix them up?
Ford: No it is not. The person who was mixed-up is the person who introduced me to them.
Leahy: What is the strongest memory you have of the incident?
Ford: Indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter, the uproarious laughter of the two, having fun at my expense.
"Two friends having a really good time with one another."
Leahy: We have numerous experts stating that some lapses of memory are consistent with survivors of trauma and assault.
Now Mitchell for Graham, R-SC
Submit Event
