with the job he wants but what he has now. the consequences are enormous. >> bret: it's fascinating. you think about what sheldon whitehouse said in this hearing. he said i'm not going to relent even if he gets on the court. in other words, moving forward with impeachment proceedings perhaps afterwards. marie, that is something for democrats to say we don't care if this happens. we're going to continue to fight. if you he can't be on the supreme court, he can't be on the second highest court in the land. >> martha: this afternoon doesn't depend on how brett kavanaugh does, it depends on how the democrats do. right now they're in a position that they've seen a witness that appears credible. if the democrats come in and they are measured and they look like they're looking for the truth, that will go a long way with the american people. >> bret: what do you really think will happen? if the they show boat, bring up things that have to do with

donald trump -- you heard senator hirono separating children at the border. the more they make this seem this is anti-trump, the more it will hurt their efforts to say kavanaugh has a serious credibility problem. they need to keep the issues separate, focus on kavanaugh or risk making it look incredibly partisan. >> martha: the horse is out of the barn on that. senator hirono has said that she doesn't care what happened that night. she said what she cares about is based on his judicial decisions in the past, she thinks he's guilty. senator koonce has said the burden is on him to prove he didn't do this. we go in with that as a backdrop. >> in the first confirmation hearing, lindsey graham pointed out that donald trump nominated brett kavanaugh july 9 at 9:00 p.m. by 10:18, an hour and 18 minutes later, six major democrats

including top democrat in the senate, schumer, the top democrat in the house, pelosi, had already said they oppose his nomination. there's people that was like verdict today, trial tomorrow. we were through the looking glass in terms of the reaction of democrats. you heard earlier, after the first part of the hearing, richard blumenthal. i believe her. you might want to wait to hear what brett kavanaugh has to say? parentally not. >> bret: right now does he have the votes to get through? >> no. i would think he does not. well, unless something we don't know. i think there are -- a handful of genuinely undecided senators watching to see which way this goes and to determine whether they can vote for him. if this is a standoff and he's as credible as she does, that helps him a lot. this political atmosphere is not to be underestimated. you saw it reflected perfectly in the way that republicans

chose to handle the questioning. they didn't do it themselves as we know. they had a woman who treated her in a polite and gentle way. as others pointed out, they probably pulled all kinds of punches on that. that's a tribute to the atmosphere. we'll see. >> britt, when you look at this as we said the other night, this is really -- it's about so many other issues. the fact that chris brought up, the decisions were made on this candidate, on this nominee long before we got here. this in many ways, as tragic as her experience was and we don't know what happened, we heard her story, it's a side bar. it's the issue that is being used to drive the wedge through this nomination. >> if you drill down, the underlying issue that undergirds all of these struggles over the supreme court nominations of

peer that appear to be judicial conservatives when the balance of the court is in play, it comes down to abortion. abortion is a 45-year-old decision. we have been fighting about it ever since. it failed to resolve the question in the eyes of many people. it's the most enduring moral issue and split the nation horrible live. one of the worst things the supreme court has ever done. even if you like the result, the -- >> martha: we wouldn't be here today if it was known that he was determined to protect that. >> if he wrote a law review article or said he was strongly in favor of supporting roe v. wade, this wouldn't be happening. >> bret: senator cruz, senator cornyn. senators filing back in to the committee room. we're going to see brett kavanaugh soon. there you can see senator jeff flake who gave a speech on the senate floor and said no matter what happens, there's going to be doubt over this. senator flake is not running for

re-election in arizona. martha mcsally is running on the republican side for that. and you have a situation where there's a couple of senators that are not going to be in the senate after this session. bob corker, from tennessee, who may be looking at this differently. they have both side that they're on the fence as far as this vote. >> martha: which really brings the number into big question. there's a lot of people on the republican side. the democrats already know what they're going to do. if every republican voted in lock step, it would get through no matter what happens. but there's probably 10, 12 as you said before people on the fence. this is a very, very open question in terms -- >> corker said 20. he said i believe there's 20 people that have an open mind and watch this hearing and make up their minds. you have to ask yourself, take susan collins, a fiercely independent moderate republican, very strong on the me too movement, very upset when donald trump issued his tweet

suggesting why didn't she tell somebody 35 years ago? without talking to her, i know that she was deeply moved by what she heard this morning. it's going to be hard to get her back in the fold and say no, i'm going to vote -- remember, this isn't like putting kavanaugh in jail. this isn't a matter of reasonable doubt. >> bret: let's listen in to the hallway. there's brett kavanaugh walking in. imagine this moment. >> let me quickly say, this isn't a matter of proving beyond

a reasonable doubt. this is whether to give him a job promotion to one of the most powerful lifetime jobs in the world. that's a tough standard. >> i can say, too, talking to the collin staffers and other republicans that are very much in conversation with her because they need to know where she's going. she's been off put but a number of threats. what has been coming into her office is so vulgar, a lot we can't report on the air. there's money raised against her. a lot of the folks on the gop side prior to this testimony this morning have said she's actually been driven back into the arms of the gop because so much of what came into her office she found so offensive in this process. >> bret: behind judge kavanaugh, you'll see don mcgahn, white house counsel and the aides to judge kavanaugh. we've seen sit behind him before in testimony as he gets ready to sit there at the table along

with his wife, ashley, who to you, martha, very genuine about the pain that this has caused not only her family, but specifically her two kids. >> martha: you can see the stress they've been under with this. he's about to give his opening statement. we should listen in. >> judge kavanaugh, we welcome you. are you ready? i have something i want to clear up from the last meeting that doesn't affect you. so before i swear you, i would like to explain my response to senator kennedy right after the break. at that time i entered the record the statements of three witnesses dr. ford said were also at the party. these were provided to us under penalty of lying. if you lie to congress.

as soon as my team learned the names of these three potential witnesses, we immediately reached out to them, requesting an interview. in response, all three submitted statements to us denying any knowledge of the gathering dr. ford described. if we had calls with them, we would have invited the minority to join. every time that we have received any information regarding judge kavanaugh, we've sought to immediately follow-through and investigate. the minority staff sat on dr. ford's letter for weeks and staff told us that they believed it is "highly inappropriate to have these follow up calls before the fbi finishes its investigation" even though the fbi had completed its background

information. when we followed up with judge kavanaugh after we receive dr. ford's allegations, the ranking member staff didn't join us even though the calls are usually done on a bipartisan basis. they joined other calls with the judge, but they didn't participate or ask any questions. could you please rise, sir? >> yes. >> do you affirm the testimony you're about to give before the committee will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god? >> i do. >> and like we offered to senator -- or to dr. ford, you can take whatever time you want now for your opening statement. we'll go to questions. so proceed. >> mr. chairman, ranking member feinstein, members of the committee, thank you for allowing me to make my

statement. i wrote it myself yesterday afternoon and evening. no one has seen a draft or it except for one of my former law clerks. this is my statement. less than two weeks ago, dr. ford publicly accused me of committing wrongdoing at an event more than 36 years ago when we were both in high school. i denied the allegation immediately, categorically and unequivocally. all four people allegedly at the event, including dr. ford's long-time friend, mrs. kaiser, have said they recall no such event. her long-time friend, mrs. kaiser, said under penalty of felony, that she does not know me. does not believe she ever saw me at a party ever. here's the quote from mrs. kaiser's attorney letter. "simply put, mrs. kaiser does

not know mr. kavanaugh and she has no recollection of ever being at a party or gathering where he was present with or white dr. ford." think about that fact. the day after the allegation appeared, i told this committee that i wanted a hearing as soon as possible to clear my name. i demanded a hearing for the very next day. unfortunately, it took the committee ten days to get to this hearing. in those ten long days, as was predictable and as i predicted, my family and my name have been totally and permanently destroyed by vicious and false additional accusations. the ten-day delay has been harmful to me and my family, to

the supreme court and to the country. when this allegation first arose, i welcomed any kind of investigation. senate, fbi or otherwise. the committee now is conducted a thorough investigation. i've cooperated fully. i know that any kind of investigation, senate, fbi, montgomery county police, whatever will clear me. listen to the people i know. listen to the people that have known me my whole life. listen to the people that i've grown up with and worked with and played with and coached with and dated and taught and gone to games with and had beers with. listen to the witnesses who allegedly were at this event 36 years ago. listen to miss kaiser. she does not know me. i was not at the party described

by dr. ford. this confirmation process has become a national disgrace. the constitution gives the senate an important role in the confirmation process. but you have replaced advice and consent with search and destroy. since my nomination in july, there's been a frenzy on the left to come up with something, anything to block my confirmation. shortly after i was nominated, the democratic senate leader said he would oppose me with everything he's got. a democratic senator on this committee publicly referred to me as evil. evil. think about that word. said that those that supported me were "complicit and evil." another democratic senator on

this committee said "judge kavanaugh is your worst nightmare." a former head of the democratic national committee said "judge kavanaugh will threaten the lives of millions of americans for decades to come." i understand the passions of the moment. i would say to those senators, your words have meaning. millions of americans listened carefully to you. given comments like those, is it any surprise that people have been willing to do anything to make any physical threat against my family? to send any violent e-mail to my wife, to make any kind of allegation against me and against my friends to blow me up and take me down. you sowed the wind for decades

to come. i fear that the whole country will reap the whirlwinds. the behavior of several of the democratic members of this committee at my hearing a few weeks ago was an embarrassment. but at least it was just a good old fashioned attempt at borking. those efforts didn't work. when i did at least okay enough at the hearings that it looks like i might get confirmed, a new tactic was needed. some of you were lying in wait and had it ready. this first allegation was held in secret for weeks by a democratic member of this committee and by staff. it would be needed only if you couldn't take me out on the merits. when it was needed, this allegation was unleashed and publicly deployed over dr. ford's wishes. and then, and then, as no doubt

was expected, if not planned came a long series of false last-minute smears designed to scare me and drive me out of the process before any hearing occurred. crazy stuff. gangs, illegitimate children, fights on boats in rhode island. all nonsense. recorded breathlessly and often uncritically by the media. this is destroyed my family and my good name. a good name built up through decades of very hard work and public service at the highest levels of the american government. this whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit. fueled with apparent pent-up anger about president trump and the 2016 election, fear that has

been unfairly stoked about my judicial record, revenge on behalf of the clintons and millions of dollars in money from outside left-wing opposition groups. this is a circus. the consequences will extend long past my nomination. the consequences will be with us for decades. this grotesque and coordinated character assassination will dissuade confident and good people of all political persuasions from serving our country. as we know in the united states political system of the early 2000s, what goes around comes around. i am an optimistic guy. i always try to be on the sunrise side of the mountain to be optimistic about the day that is coming but today, i have to

say that i fear for the future. last time i was here, i told this committee that a federal judge must be independent, not swayed by public or political pressure. i said i was such a judge. and i am. i will not be intimidated into withdrawing from this process. you have tried hard. you given it your all. no one can question your effort. your coordinated and well-funded effort to destroy my good name and destroyed my family will not drag me out. the vile threats of violence against my family will not drive me out. you may defeat me in the final vote, but you'll never get me to quit. never! i'm here today to tell the truth. i've never sexually assaulted anyone. not in high school, not in

college, not ever. sexual assault is horrific. one of my closest friends to this day is a woman who was sexually abused and who in the 1990s when we were in our 30s confided in me about the abuse. consult my advice. i was one of the only people she consulted. allegations of sexual assault must always be taken seriously, always. those that make allegations always deserve to be heard. at the same time, the person who is the subject of the allegations also deserves to be heard. due process is the foundation of the american rule of law. due process means listening to both sides. as i told you in my hearing three weeks ago, i'm the only

child of martha and ed kavanaugh. they're here today. when i was 10, my mom went to law school. as a lawyer, she worked hard and overcame barriers including workplace sexual harassment that so many women faced at the time and still face today. she became a trail blazer. one of maryland's earliest women prosecutors and trial judges. she and my dad taught me the importance of a quality and respect for all people and she inspired me to be a lawyer and a judge. last time i was here, i told you that when my mom was a prosecutor and i was in high school, she used to practice her closing arguments at the dining room table on my dad and me. as i told you, her trademark line was, use your common sense. what rings true. what rings false.

her trademark line is a good reminder as we sit here today some 36 years after the alleged event occurred when there's no corroboration and indeed it's refuted by the people allegedly there. after i have been in the public arena for 26 years without even a hint, a whiff of an allegation like this. when my nomination to the supreme court was just about to be voted on, at a time when i'm called evil by democratic member of this committee, while democratic opponents of my nomination say people will die if i'm confirmed, this onslaught of last-minute allegations does not ring true. i'm not questioning that dr. ford may have been sexually assaulted by some person in someplace at some time.

but i have never done this to her or to anyone. that's not who i am, it is not who i was. i am innocent of this charge. i intend no ill will to dr. ford and her family. the other night, ashley and my daughter, liza said their prayers. little liza all of 10 years old said to ashley, we should pray for the woman. a lot of wisdom from a 10-year-old. we mean no ill will. first, let's start with my

career. for the last 26 years since 1992, i have served in many high-profile and sensitive government positions for which the fbi has investigated my background six separate times. six separate fbi background investigations over 26 years. all of them after the event alleged here. i have been in the public arena in under extreme public scrutiny for decades. in 1992, i worked for the office of solicitor general in the department of justice. in 1993, i clerked on the supreme court for justice anthony kennedy. i spent four years at the independent counsel's office in the 1990s. that office was the subject of enormous scrutiny from the media and the public. during 1998, the year of the

impeachment of president clinton, our office generally and i personally were in the middle of an intense national media and political spotlight. i and other leading members of ken starr's office were opposition research from head to toe from birth through the present day. recall the people that were exposed that year of 1998 of having engaged in some sexual wrongdoings or problems in their past. one person on the left paid a million dollars for reports of sexual wrong doing. it worked. exposed some prominent people. nothing about me. from 2001 to 2006, i worked for president george w. bush in the white house. as staff secretary, i was by president bush's side for three years and was entrusted with the

nation's most sensitive secrets. i traveled on air force one all over the country and the world with president bush. i went everywhere with him from texas to pakistan, from alaska to australia, from buckingham palace to the vatican. three years in the west wing, 5 1/2 years in the white house. i was then nominated to be a judge on the d.c. circuit. i was thoroughly vetted by the white house, the fbi, the american bar association and this committee. i sat before this committee for two thorough confirmation hearings in 2004 and 2006. for the past 12 years, leading up to my nomination for this job i've served in a very public arena as a federal judge on what is often referred to as the second most important court in the country. i've handled some of the most significant cases affecting the

lives and questions, more than all previous supreme court nominees combined. throughout that entire time, throughout my 53 years and seven months on this earth until last week, no one ever accused me of any kind of sexual misconduct. no one ever. a lifetime. a lifetime of public service and a lifetime of high profile public service at the highest levels of american government. never a hint of anything of this kind. and that's because nothing of this kind ever happened.

second, let's turn to specifics. i categorically and unequivocally deny the allegation against me by dr. ford. i never had any sexual or physical encounter of any kind with dr. ford. i never attended a gathering like the one that dr. ford describes in her allegation. i've never sexually assaulted dr. ford or anyone. again, i'm not questioning that dr. ford may have been sexually assaulted by some person, in someplace, at some time, but i have never done that to her or to anyone. dr. ford's allegation stems from a party that she alleges occurred during the summer of 1982. 36 years ago. i was 17 years old.

between my junior and senior years of high school at georgetown prep, a rigorous all boys catholic jesuit high school in rockville, maryland. when my friends and i spent time together at parties on weekends, it was usually with friends from nearby catholic all-girl high schools, stone ridge, holy child, visitation, holy cross. dr. ford did not attend one of those schools. she attended an independent private school named holton-arms and she was a year behind me. it's possible we met at some point at some events, although i do not recall that. to repeat, all of the people identified by dr. ford as being present at the party have said they do not remember anything

such party ever happening. importantly, her friend, mrs. kaiser, has not only denied knowledge of the party, mrs. kaiser said under penalty of felony, she does not know me. does not recall ever being at a party with me ever. and my two male friends that were allegedly there that know me well said they don't recall a party and never did or would do anything like this. dr. ford's allegation is not merely uncorroborated, it's refuted by the very people that she says were there, including by a long-time friend of hers, refuted. third, dr. ford has said that this event occurred at a house near columbia country club which is at the corner of connecticut avenue and east west highway in

chevy chase, maryland. in her letter to senator feinstein, she said there were four other people at the house. none of those people, nor i, lived near columbia country club. as of the summer of 1982, dr. ford was 15 and could not drive yet. she did not live near columbia country club. she says confidently that she had one beer at the party. she does not say how she got to the house in question or how she got home or whose house it was. fourth, i have submitted to this committee details calendars recording my activities in the summer of 1982. why did i keep calendars? my dad started keeping detailed calendars of his life in 1978.

he did so as both a calendar and a diary. he's a very organized guy to put it mildly. christmas time, we sat around and he would tell old stories. old milestones, old weddings, old events from his calendars. in ninth grade -- in ninth grade

in 1980, i started keeping calendars of my own. for me also, it's a calendar and a diary. i've kept such calendar diaries the last 38 years. mine are not as good as my dad's in some years and when i was a kid, the calendars are about what you'd expect from a kid. goofy parts, some embarrassing parts. but i did have the summer of 1982 documented pretty well. the event described by dr. ford presumably happened on a weekend because i believe everyone worked and had jobs in the summers. in any event, a drunken early evening event of the kind she describes presumably happened on a weekend. if it was a weekend, my calendar show that i was out of town almost every weekend night

before football training camp started in late august. the only weekend nights that i was in d.c. were friday, june 4 when i was with my dad at a pro golf tournament. and had my high school achievement test at 8:30 the next morning. i also was in d.c. on saturday night august 7, but i was at a small gathers at becky's house in rockville with matt, denise, lori and jenny. their names are all listed on my calendar. i won't use their last names here. and then on the weekend of august 20 to 22, i was staying at the garretts with pat and chris as we did final preparations for football training camp that began on

sunday the 22nd. as the calendars confirm, the weekend before a brutal training camp schedule was no time for parties. so let me emphasize this point. if the party described by dr. ford happened in the summer of 1982 on a weekend night, my calendars show all but definitively i was not there. during the week days in the summer of 1982, as you can see, i was out of town for two weeks of the summer for a trip to the beach with friends and at the legendary five-star basketball camp in honesdale, pennsylvania. when i was in town, i spent much of my time working, working out, lifting weights, playing

basketball or hanging out and having some beers with friends as we talked about life and football and school and girls. some have noticed i didn't have church on sundays on my calendars. i also didn't list brushing my teeth and for me, going to church on sundays was like brushing my teeth. automatic. still is. in the summer of 1981, i worked construction. in the summer of 1982, my job was cutting lawns. i had my own business of sorts. you see some specifics about the lawn cutting listed on the august calendar page when i had the time the last lawn cuttings of the summer of various lawns before football training camp. i played in a lot of summer league basketball games for the georgetown prep team at night at blair high school in silver

spring. many nights i worked out with other guys at tobin's house. he was the great quarterback on our football team. his dad ran workouts. or lifted weights at georgetown prep in preparation for the football season. i attended and watched many sporting events as is my habit to this day. the calendars show a few week day gathers to meet up and have some beers and work out. none of those gathering included the group of people that dr. ford has identified. and as my calendars show, i was very precise listing who was there. very precise. and keep in mind, my calendars also are diaries of sorts.

forward looking and backward looking just like my dad's. you can see, for example, that i crossed out missed workouts. the cancel's doctor's appointments and i listed the precise people that had shown up for certain events. the calendars are obviously not despositive on their honey but they're another piece in the evidence for you to consider. fifth, dr. ford's allegation is radically inconsistent with my record and my character from my youth to the present day. as students at an all-boys catholic jesuit school, many of us became friends and remain friends to this day with

students at local catholic all-girl schools. one feature of my life that has remained true to the present day is that i've always had a lot of close female friends. i'm not talking about girlfriends. i'm talking about friends that are women. that started in high school. maybe it was because i'm an only child and had no sisters. but we had no social media or texts and e-mail and we talked on the phone. i remember talking almost every night it seemed my friends amy or julie or kristin or karen or suzanne or mora or megan or nicki. the list goes on. friends for a lifetime built on a foundation of talking through school and life starting at age

14. several of those great women are in the seats behind me today. my friends and i sometimes got together and had parties on weekends. the drinking age was 18 in maryland for most of my time in high school and 18 for d.c. all of my time in high school. i drank beer with my friends. almost everyone did. sometimes i had too many beers. sometimes others did. i liked beer. i still like beer. but i did not drink to the point of blacking out and i never sexually assaulted anyone. there's a bright line between drinking beer, which i gladly do and which i fully embrace, and sexually assaulting someone, which is a violent crime. if every american that drinks beer or every american who drank

beer in high school is suddenly presumed guilty of sexual assault, we'll be an ugly new place in this country. i never committed sexual assault. as high school students, we sometimes did goofy or stupid things. i doubt we were alone in looking back at high school and cringing at some things. for one thing, our year book was a disaster. some people wanted the year book to be a combination of animal house, candy shack and fast times at ridgemont high, which were all recent movies at that time. many of us went along in the year book to the point of absurdity. this past week, my friends and i have cringe d when we read abou

it and talked to each other. one thing in particular we're sad about, one of our good -- one of our good female friends that we admire and went to dances we had her name on the year book page with alumnus. that was meant to show

affection. in this circus, the term is related to sex. it's not related to sex. the woman herself noted the media on the record, she and i never had any sexual interaction at all. so sorry to her for that year book reference. this may sound a bit trivial, given all that we're here for, but one thing i want to try to make sure of in the future is my friendship with her. she was and is a great person. as to sex, this is not a topic i ever imagined would come up at a judicial confirmation hearing. i want to give you a full picture of who i was. i never had sexual intercourse

or anything close to it during high school or for many years after that. some crowds i was probably a little outwardly shy about my experience. tried to hide that. the same time i was also inwardly proud of it. for me and the girls that i was friends with, that lack of major or rampant sexual activity in high school was a matter of faith and respect and caution. the committee has a letter from 65 women that knew me in high school. they said that i always treated them with dignity and respect. that letter came together in one night 35 years after graduation

while a sexual assault allegation was pending against me in a very fraught and public situation where they knew they knew they would be villified if they defended me. think about that. they put themselves on the line for me. those are some awesome women. i love all of them. you also have a letter from women who knew me in college. most were varsity athletes. they described that i treated them as friends and equals and supported them in their sports at a time when women sports was emerging in the wake of title 9. i thank all of them for all of their texts and their e-mails

and their support. one of those women friends from college, a self-described liberal and feminist sent me a text last night that said "beat breasts, you're a good man, a good man, a good man." a text yesterday from another of those women friends from college said "brett, be strong. pulling for you to my core." a third text yesterday from yet another of those women i'm friends with from college said "i'm holding you in the light of g god." as i said in my opening statement the last time i was with you, cherish your friends,

look out for your friends, lift up your friends, love your friends. i felt that love more over the last two weeks than i ever have in my life. i thank all of my friends. i love all of my friends. throughout my life, i've devoted huge efforts to encouraging and promoting the careers of women. i will put my record up against anyone's, male or female. i am proud of the letter from 84 women, 84 women that worked with me at the bush white house from 2001 to 2006 and described me as a man of the highest integrity. read the op-ed from sarah day from yarmouth, maine. she worked in oval office operations outside of president bush's office. here's what she recently wrote

in centralmaine.com. today she stands by her comments. "brett was an advocate for young women like me. he encouraged me to take on more responsibility and to feel confident in my role. in fact, during the 2004 republican national convention, brett gave me the opportunity to help with the preparation and review of the president's remarks, something i never -- something i never would have had the chance to do if he had not included me. he didn't just include me in the work. he made sure i was at madison square garden to watch the president's speech instead of back at the hotel watching it on t tv." as a judge, since 2006, i've had the privilege of hiring four recent law school graduates to

serve as my law clerks each year. the law clerks for federal judges are the best and brightest graduates of american law schools. they work for one-year terms for judges after law school and then they move on in their careers. for judges, training these young lawyers is an important responsibility the clerks will become the next generation of american lawyers and leaders, judges and senators. just after i took the bench in 2006, there was a major "new york times" story about the low numbers of women law clerks at the supreme court and federal appeals courts. i took notice and i took action. a majority of my 48 law clerks over the last 12 years have been women. in a letter to this committee,

my women law clerks said i was one of the strongest advocates in the federal judiciary for women lawyers and they wrote that the legal profession is fairer and more equal because of me. in my time on the bench, no federal judge, not a single one in the country has sent more women law clerks to clerk on the supreme court than i have. before this allegation arose two weeks ago, i was required to start making certain administrative preparations for my possible transfer to the supreme court. just in case i was confirmed. as part of that, i had to in essence contingently hire a first group of four law clerks that could be available to clerk at the supreme court for me on a moment's notice. i did so and contingently hired

four law clerks. all four are women. if confirmed, i'll be the first justice in the history of the supreme court to have a group of all women law clerks. that is who i am. that is who i was. over the past 12 years, i've taught constitutional law to hundreds of students primarily at harvard law school. i was hired by then dean and now justice alaina kagan. one of my former women students, a democrat, testified to this committee that i was an even-handed professor that treats people fairly and with respect. in a letter to this committee, my former students male and female alike wrote that i displayed a character that impressed us all. i love teaching law.

thanks to what some of you on this side of the committee unleashed, i may never be able to teach again. for the past seven years, i've coached my two daughters basketball teams. you saw many of those girls when they came to my hearing for a couple of hours. you have a letter from the parents of the girls i coached that describe my dedication, commitment and character. i coached because i know that a girl's confidence on the basketball court translates in the confidence in other aspects of life. i love coaches more than anything i have ever done in my whole life. thanks to what some of you on this side of the committee have unleashed, i may never be able to coach again.

i've been a judge for 12 years. i have a long record of service to america, to the constitution. i revere the constitution. i am deeply grateful to president trump for nominating me. he was so gracious to my family and me on the july night he announced my nomination at the white house. i thank him for his steadfast support. when i accented the president's nomination, ashley and i knew this process would be challenging. we never expected that it would devolve into this. explaining this to our daughters has been about the worst experience of our lives. ashley has been a rock. i thank god every day for ashley

and my family. we live in a country devoted to due process and the rule of law. that means taking allegations seriously. if the mere allegation, the mere assertion of an allegation, a refuted allegation from 36 years ago is enough to destroy a person's life and career, we will have abandoned the basic principles of fairness and due process that define our legal system and our country. i ask you to judge me by the standard that you would want applied to your father, your husband your brother or your son.

my family and i intend no ill will to dr. ford or her family. i swear today under oath before the senate and the nation before my family and god i am innocent of this charge. >> thank you, judge kavanaugh. before we start questions, i won't repeat what i said this morning, but we'll do it the same way as we did for dr. ford in five minute rounds. so we'll start with mrs. mitchell. >> good afternoon, judge kavanaugh. we have not met. my name is rachel mitchell. i'd like to go over a couple of

guidelines for our question and answer session today. if i ask a question -- >> i'm ready. >> if i ask a question that you do not understand, please ask me to clarify it or ask it in a different way. i may ask a question where i incorporate some information that you have already provided. if i get it wrong, please correct me. i'm not going to ask you to guess. if you do estimate, please let me know you're estimating. i want to make sure that all of the committee members have gotten a copy of the definition of sexual behavior. >> yes. at least i have one. >> okay. >> we all do. >> and you have that as well? judge kavanaugh? >> yeah. >> okay. first of all, have you been given or reviewed a copy of the questions that i will be you? >> no.

>> has anyone told you the questions that i will be asking you. >> no. >> i want you to take a moment to review the definition before you of sexual behavior. have you had a chance to review it? >> i have. i may refer back to it, if i can. >> please. i'd like to point out two specific parts. among the examples of sexual behavior, it includes rubbing or

grinding your genitals against somebody clothed or unclothed. i would also point out that the definition applies whether or not the acts were sexually motivated or, for example, horseplay. do you understand the definition i have given you? >> i do. >> and again, if at any time you need to review that, please let me know. >> dr. ford has stated that somewhere between five or six people were present at the gathering on this date. you, mark judge, leland ingam, patrick, p.j. smyth, dr. ford and an unnamed boy. do you know mark judge? >> i do. >> how do you know him? >> he was a friend at georgetown prep starting in ninth grade.

he's someone in our -- you know, group of friends. we were very friendly group in class. you saw the letter that's been sent by my friends from georgetown prep. funny guy. great writer. popular. developed a serious addiction problem that lasted decades. near death a couple times from his addiction. suffered tremendously from -- >> what is your relationship with him like now? >> i haven't talked to him in a couple years. we've probably been on mass e-mails or group e-mails that can go around among my high school friends. >> and how did you know patrick smyth?

>> also ninth grade. georgetown prep. went by p.j. then. he and i lived close to one another. played football together. he was defensive tackle. i was a cornerback, wide receiver. we carpooled to school along with d. davis every year, the three of us for two years. i didn't have a car. so one of the two of them would drive every day. i'd be in the -- they'd pick me up. >> what is your relationship like with him now? >> he lives in the area. i see him once in a while. i haven't seen him since this thing. >> do you know leland ingham or leland kaiser? >> i know of her. it's possible, you know, i saw -- met her in high school at some point. some event. yeah, i k