i believed he was going to rape me. i tried to yell for help. when i did, brett put his hand over my mouth to stop me from yelling. >> i've never sexually assaulted anyone, not in high school, not in college, not ever. >> good evening. it was raw and wrenching, extremely tense and deeply personal, the highly anticipated testimony from supreme court nominee judge brett kavanaugh and dr. christine blasey ford, the woman who accuses him of sexual assault. a monumental marathon day on capitol hill, questions and accusations lasting nearly nine hours, at times tears and anger. >> this confirmation process has become a national disgrace.

you have replaced advice and consent with search and destroy. >> dr. ford publicly reliving painful memories. >> the uproarious laughter between the two and their having fun at my expense. >> tonight, reaction from the white house and what it all means for ford, kavanaugh, the court and the country as the senate judiciary committee prepares to vote in just hours. this special edition of "nightline" will be right back.

this special edition of "nightline" continues. here again, dan harris. >> i was pushed from behind into a bedroom across from the bathroom. i couldn't see who pushed me. brett and mark came into the bedroom and locked the door behind them. >> dr. christine blasey ford speaking in front of a packed hearing room and a riveted nation about the incident she says has haunted her for decades. >> i was pushed on to the bed and brett got on top of me. he began running his hands over my body and grinding into me. >> i've never sexually assaulted anyone, not in high school, not in college, not ever. >> she was followed by the man she has accused of sexual assault, a visibly furious judge brett kavanaugh whose nomination

to the supreme court tonight hangs in the balance. >> i will not be intimidated into withdrawing from this process. >> the nine-hour hearing leaving us with two utterly irreconcilable versions of the truth and a distillation of america's angry and ugly politics. >> you've got nothing to apologize for. this is the most unethical sham since i've been in politics. >> whatever side you're on, well, this is american politics. >> at its worst. everybody has lost, particularly the institutions of the united states senate and maybe the supreme court. >> after weeks of anticipation and negotiations, dr. ford walked into the senate judiciary hearing room at 10:00 this morning. >> i am here today not because i want to be. i am terrified. 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. >> it was the first time america

has heard ford's voice as she described in graphic detail what she calls an attempted rape at a small house party back in the summer of 1982. >> brett groped me and tried to take off my clothes. he had a hard time because he was very inebriated, and because i was wearing a one-piece bathing suit underneath my clothing. i believed he was going to rape me. i tried to yell for help. when i did, brett put his hand over my mouth to stop me from yelling. this is what terrified me the most, and this had the most lasting impact on my life. it was hard for me to breathe and i thought that brett was accidentally going to kill me. i don't have all the answers and i don't remember as much as i would like to. >> what is the strongest memory you have? >> the laughter, the uproarious laughter between the two and their having fun at my expense.

>> i found dr. ford extremely credible, not only because of her demeanor but because of the detailed fact pattern that she put out. >> i'm asking you to address this new defense of mistaken identity directly. dr. ford, with what degree of certainty do you believe brett kavanaugh assaulted you? >> 100%. >> how are you so sure that it was he? >> the same way that i'm sure that i'm talking to you right now. just basic memory functions and also just the level of norepinephrine and epinephrin in the brain that encodes memories into the hippocampus so the trauma-related experience is locked there, whereas other details kind of drift. >> democrats also calling for kavanaugh's alleged accomplice, his high school friend, mark judge, to be subpoenaed.

not one of the 1 1 male republican senators on the committee asked a direct question of dr. ford. instead, they sat behind rachel mitchell, a prosecutor from arizona, specializing in sex crimes. >> good morning, dr. ford. >> hi. >> she immediately struck a gentle tone with ford. >> the first thing that struck me from your statement this morning was that you were terrified, and i just wanted to let you know i'm very sorry. that's not right. >> reporter: while the republicans sat in silence, the democrats heaped praise on ford. >> you are opening up to open air hurt and pain that goes on across this country. and for that, the word i would use, it's nothing short of heroic. >> bravery is contagious. indeed, that's the driving force behind the me too movement. >> she came in there looking like the girl next door, sat down, you know, with her hair in her face, and then she found her voice. and she just told her story.

>> reporter: by the time brett kavanaugh walked down the hall to testify, holding his wife's hand, many were predicting his nomination to the high court was all but dead. >> by the end of her testimony, it seemed like kavanaugh was in really serious trouble. >> totally. the messages we were getting from the hill and from people at the white house was that the republicans leaving their questioning to this prosecutor had made a mistake, that she had done a great job, and that kavanaugh could be in really deep trouble. >> this confirmation process has become a national disgrace. you have replaced advice and consent with search and destroy. >> reporter: kavanaugh came out swinging. he defended himself, displaying not only seething anger but also anguished emotion. >> i've never sexually assaulted dr. ford or anyone. again, i am not questioning that dr. ford may have been sexually

assaulted by some person in some place at some time. >> reporter: the judge did what few if any supreme court nominees had ever done, engaging in bare knuckle partisan politics. >> this grotesque and coordinated character assassination will dissuade competent and good people of all political persuasions from serving our country. >> reporter: just this week, two more women, deborah ramirez and julie swetnick have accused kavanaugh of sexual misconduct during high school and college and given sworn statements. kavanaugh has also denied their allegations. >> all three of these women have asked the fbi to investigate their claims. why aren't you also asking the fbi to investigate these claims? >> senator, i'll do whatever the committee wants. >> what you're saying, if i understand it, is that the allegations by dr. ford, ms. ramirez, and ms. swetnick

are wrong. >> that is emphatically what i'm saying. emphatically. the swetnick thing is a joke. that is a farce. >> really striking to me that he wasn't only angry and aggressive but belligerent and disrespectful, especially in his exchanges with some of the female senators. the temperament that i saw would disqualify him from sitting on that court. >> reporter: kavanaugh got especially riprickly from questioning under minneso senator amy klobuchar you'. >> you're saying there's never been a case where you drank so much that you didn't remember what happened the night before. >> you're asking about blackout. i don't know. have you? >> could you answer the question, judge? i just -- so -- that's not happened? is that your answer? >> yeah, and i'm curious if you have.

>> i have no drinking problem, judge. >> nor do i. >> okay. thank you. >> we're taking a break now. >> reporter: after a quick recess, kavanaugh returned and immediately apologized. >> just going to say i started my last colloquy by saying to senator klobuchar how much i respect her and respected what she did at the last hearing and she asked me a question at the end and i responded by asking her a question and i'm sorry i did that. this is a tough process. i'm sorry about that. >> i appreciate that. >> reporter: republicans had opted to let prosecutor rachel mitchell do the questioning. >> have you ever engaged in sexual behavior with dr. ford, even if it was con sentun sent l >> no. >> reporter: but that all changed after this back and forth between kavanaugh and illinois democrat dick durbin. >> why would you resist that kind of investigation? >> sir, i welcome -- i wanted the hearing last week. >> i'm asking about the fbi investigation. >> the committee figures out how to ask the questions. i've been on the phone multiple times with committee counsel. >> judge kavanaugh, will you support an fbi investigation right now?

>> i will do whatever the committee wants -- >> personally, do you think that's the best thing for us to do? you won't answer? >> look, senator -- >> reporter: that exchange sparked an explosion of emotion from republican lindsey graham. >> if you wanted a fbi investigation, you could have come to us. what you want to do is destroy this guy's life, hold this seat open and hope you win in 2020. this is the most unethical sham since i've been in politics. you have interacted with professional women all your life, not one accusation. you're supposed to be bill cosby when you're a junior and senior in high school, and all of a sudden you got over it. >> judge, i can't think of a more embarrassing scandal for the united states senate since the mccarthy hearings.

>> judge kavanaugh, thank you very much. hearing adjourned. >> reporter: as the hearing drew to a close, it became very clear that the white house was pleased. president trump tweeting judge kavanaugh showed america exactly why i nominated him. his testimony was powerful, honest, and riveting. democrats' search and destroy strategy is disgraceful and this process has been a total sham and effort to delay, obstruct, and resist. the senate must vote. >> not only is this white house going to press forward for this confirmation to move forward, they are going to press for this vote to happen almost immediately. >> reporter: a committee vote is scheduled for tomorrow morning and a vote from the full senate may happen as soon as next week. >> we'll recognize that, that there is doubt. we'll never move beyond that. and just have a little humility on that front. so, thank you. >> reporter: republican senator jeff flake is one of the key undecideds, a group that also includes fellow republican susan collins and lisa murkowski, along with democrat joe manchin.

>> the real bottom line is who do you believe? do you believe judge kavanaugh, or do you believe christine ford? and that's the decision the senate has to make. and only a few people are even open to making that decision. all the rest of them are set in stone. >> reporter: next here, judge and jury. the nation reacting to today's deep political divide. al divide. cancer. it's very personal. at cancer treatment centers of america, we use diagnosticools that help us better understand what drives each person's cancer. like christine bray. after battling ovarian cancer for several years, her test results revealed a drug therapy that targeted her tumor. today, christine's metastatic cancer is in remission. we're not just fighting cancer. we're outsmarting it. visit cancercenter.com. appointments available now. 98% of us don't get enough omega-3s.

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>> announcer: this special edition of "nightline," the confirmation hearing of supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh, continues. >> for many americans, today's

kavanaugh hearing might turn out to be one of those i remember exactly where i was days, a historic moment we all live through together. however, unlike 9/11 or the space shuttle disaster, this was not a unifying moment, and it is likely to have serious ramifications, both politically and culturally. here's abc's lindsey davis. >> reporter: throughout the country, from hospitals to classrooms, in the air, underground, and around the world -- [ speaking foreign language ] >> the stakes are high. let's listen in. >> reporter: supporters of both judge brett kavanaugh and dr. christine blasey ford taking to the streets. highlighting the bitter partisan divide in our nation. >> we are here today in support of brett kavanaugh. >> reporter: filling the hallways of the senate and spilling out on to the sidewalk, more than 50 people arrested on

capitol hill, the explosive hearings gripped the nation. >> if i could see her right now, i would tell her i believe you. >> i don't think that it was brett kavanaugh had any part of it. >> reporter: and this evening, a press conference on capitol hill where survivors and advocates shared reactions and personal stories. >> as i thought dr. blasey ford was powerful. she was sincere. she was heartfelt. >> today's hearing, dr. blasey ford's testimony gives me great hope that the next person who comes forward and discloses their survivorship will be believed. >> reporter: one of the speakers, 25-year-old emily, herself a survivor, now an advocate. >> we stand with you. >> reporter: we met emily earlier this week at a rally in support of the women who came forward with accusations against judge kavanaugh. emily was just a sophomore in high school when she says she was sexually assaulted by someone she viewed as a mentor

in her community. >> some people that i told would say, well, did you say no? or, like, how did you say no? did you cry? did you scream? and i feel like that's not -- the issue is that i didn't want what took place. that's the issue. the issue is that i was 15 and he was in a position of power. >> reporter: she says it took several months before she told her friends and would take several years to accept what happened. >> took me a couple of years of really, like, having community and having support and having a place to speak where i was able to really reckon with and see the harm that was done. >> reporter: tonight, just hours after dr. ford's testimony, emily speaking out, recall anita hill. >> professor anita hill, we still hear you. we still see you. and we always believed you. >> professor, do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god. >> i do. >> reporter: it was a day that echoed another moment in history when americans were riveted by the testimony of a woman before

the senate. >> my name is anita f. hill. >> reporter: in 1991, anita hill testified under the hot glare of television lights and 14 men at a supreme court confirmation hearing, alleging that judge clarence thomas had sexually harassed her when they worked together in the 1980s. >> are you a scorned woman? >> no. >> reporter: thomas denied the claims and went on to be confirmed by a close 52-48 vote. >> do you swear that the -- >> reporter: now, 27 years later, history repeating itself, another woman once again before some of those same senators on the judiciary committee. >> chairman, you and i were both here 27 years ago. at that time, the senate failed anita hill. i said i believed her, but i'm concerned that we're doing a lot less for these three women today. >> reporter: but now, a very different response than before. >> you can make a case that

anita hill might have been the first little seed of me too, because she did have the courage to come out and say what had happened to her. >> reporter: today, the effects of the #metoo movement -- >> i am a survivor myself. >> reporter: on display in the most unlikely of places. >> three guys grabbing at me. >> reporter: stunning moments broadcast live on c-span. >> i'm a 76-year-old woman who was sexually molested in the second grade. this brings back so much pain. >> those women now feel like, okay, i've said this now and i want to be recognized. i want to be heard. and if they feel like they're not heard in this confirmation process, i think they'll want to be heard in the election. >> bravery is contagious. >> reporter: and it seems it was. today, rainn reporting 147% increase in calls.

>> i think that we are in a watershed moment in our society, historically, rape is the most underreported crime in our country. that is changing. we know now that women are feeling more comfortable about coming forward because they believe now that they will be believed. >> reporter: a belief that may bring some unity in a sharply divided country. >> our thanks to lindsey davis and we'll be right back. >> announcer: this special edition of "nightline" is sponsored by --

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one final note here as the senate judiciary committee prepares to vote just hours from now on judge brett kavanaugh's nomination to the supreme court, "good morning america" will have the first on camera interview with kavanaugh's yale schoolmate, liz swisher. does kavanaugh's testimony today match up with the young man she says she knew? tune in first thing in the morning. in the meantime, thank you for watching "nightline," and have a great night.