Mitchell: You and four others were present. You corrected today to say "at least" four others. In interview with WaPo, you said four boys. In polygraph, you say two girls. [That was me and one other girl, Leland.]
Mitchell: Have you been contacted by anyone saying, hey I was at that party too? [No]
Ford: I said something inaccurate. I have spoken with Leland.
Mitchell: Not necessary to go over what happened upstairs. Have you told us everything? [I believe so]
Mitchell: Music solely coming from that room and turned up once the three of you in that room? [Correct]
Mitchell: Was it ever turned down? [I don't remember, likely because I remember them walking downstairs when I was in the bathroom]
Mitchell: In letter you say you heard them talking to others in the house, you heard them? [I couldn't hear the conversation?]
Mitchell: How do you know there was a conversation? [I'm assuming because it was a gathering.]
Mitchell: You said you don't remember how you got home? [Correct. I did not drive home.]
Mitchell is having her look at a map of houses to verify where she was living.
Harris wants a copy of the map before the questioning so she can follow.
Durbin: No one should face harassment from cheapshot politicians simply for telling the truth.
Durbin: The fact that you are testifying today, terrified though you may be, that you've called for an investigation, stands in contrast to the obstruction we've seen on the other side. Mark Judge should be subpoenaed from his Bethany Beach hideaway.
Durbin: A polished liar can create a seamless story, but a trauma survivor cannot remember every detail.
Durbin: Two people have claimed that they were the ones who assaulted you, not Kavanaugh. With what degree of certainty do you believe Kavanaugh assaulted you?
Durbin: Would you describe the encounter with Judge at the Safeway and what led you to believe he was uncomfortable?
Ford: Door I went in was where Judge was working and arranging the shopping carts. I said hello to him. His face was white and very uncomfortable saying hello back. We had previously been friendly the time we'd seen each other over the prior two years. I would not characterize him as unfriendly, just nervous in seeing me and a little ill.
How long after the incident? Six to eight weeks.
Grassley calls for a 15-minute break.
For anyone who has recently joined us, here's how the process is working. Each senator has five minutes to question Dr. Ford. The Republican senators are giving their time to Rachel Mitchell, an attorney who handles cases of sexual assault.
Up next will be Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who I expect will give Mitchell is questioning time.
Session is about to resume.
Grassley asks if we can go till 12:40, when there will be a vote.
Mitchell now for Cornyn, with a big map on a poster being held in front of her.
Harris says she wants to see all three documents to follow along. Grassley tells Mitchell to proceed.
Mitchell: Fair to say someone drove you somewhere, to the party or from the party? [Correct] Has anyone approached you remembering this? [No]
Mitchell, referring to polygraph test referencing when this happened: How were you able to narrow down the time frame?
Ford: If she knew when Mark Judge worked at the Potomac Village Safeway, she could narrow it down better.
Mitchell asking how Ford had access to her couples counseling records -- she says she looked at them in a therapist's office. Ford can't recall whether the Post reporter saw the records.
Would it be fair to say that Kavanaugh's name is not listed? [Yes]
Therapist erroneously wrote that four boys were involved, and Ford corrected that for the Post reporter.
Now Sen. Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island
Whitehouse: As prosecutor, hard day to tell victim that we do not have evidence to pursue a trial. Sincere and thorough investigation is critical to these claims in a prosecutor's world.
Whitehouse: You have met every condition a prosecutor would want to go forward, and yet there has been no investigation.
Whitehouse: An FBI investigation could go either way, but you still wanted that to happen, correct? [Yes]
Whitehouse: I submit that never in the history of background investigations has there not been new investigations done after new information brought forward.
Whitehouse: Reason this has happened is because of 13 men -- the president, the head of the FBI, and the 11 Republicans on this committee.
As to the committtee's investigation, fact that Mark Judge has not been subpoenaed tells you all you need to now about how thorough it was.
Whitehouse: I will do whatever is in my power to make sure you get a full investigation.
Grassley, in attempt to rebut Whitehouse, now detailing what he and his staff did do to follow up on Ford's claims.
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