captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff.to on the newshought, the nation tunes in and now the senate must decide: christine blasey ford testifies she is 100% sure brett kavanaugh sexually assaulted her d the supreme court nominee vehemently denies her claims. >> 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 hi school. >> i have never done this to her or to anyone not who i am. not who i was. >> woodruff: we devote all of tonight's pbs newshour to this remarkable day of testimony. >> major funding for the pbs

newshour has been provided by: >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting scienan, technology, improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. >> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovatioio in educ democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and individuals.

>> this program was made possible by the corpn for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: this has been an extraordinary day before the u.s. senate judiciary committee. high drama and strong emotions played out in a day-long hearing on the sexual assault allegations against supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh. amna nawaz begins our coverage. >> we believe christinrd. we believe anita hill. >> nawaz: on capitol hill today, demonstrators were first to have their say: supporters of ristine blasey feford, the university proor who alleges brett kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in high school, and those backing kavanaugh, who adamantly denies the allegations.

>> we are the silent majority and we are silent no more! >> nawaz: then, inside this senate hearing room, ford's much-awaited testimony began. >> i am here today not because i i am terrified. i am here because i believe it is my civic duty to tell youat appened to me while brett kavanaugh and i were in high school. >> nawaz: ford recounted a summer day in 1982 when she says kavanaugh, along with his friend mark judge, assaulteher at a party in suburban maryland. >> brett groped me and tried to take off my clothes. he had a hard time because he was so drunk, and because i was wearing a one-piece bathing suit under my clothes.li i ed he was going to rape me. i tried to yell fohelp. toen i did, brett put his hand over my mouth tome from screaming. this was what terrif the

most, and has 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. >> nawaz: the committee's republican staff says it has interviewed two unidentified men who claim they had the encounter with ford, not kavanaugh and judge. but under questioning by democrats, ford said she is "100%" certain of her account. california senator and judiciary commtee ranking member, dian feinstein:wh >> s you are telling us is this could not be a case of mistaken identity. >> absolutely not. >> nawaz: democrat patri leahy asked ford about her strongest memory of the incident, 36 years later. i elible in the hippocampus is the laughter-- the uproarious laughter between the two and their having fun at my expense. >> nawaz: democrats also, repeatedly voiced moral support

for ford. en you've given america amazing teaching m >> you are not on trial. >> nawaz: republics on the committee, all of them men, yielded their time t, rachel mitchesex crimes prosecutor from phoenix, who meticulously walked ford through details of the incident. >> do you recall prior to getting there-- so, i'm onlyin taabout up to the gathering-- had you had anything to drink? >> not at all. >> were you on any sort of medication? >> none. >> mitchell probably ford's decision to go forrd with allegation including taking a polygraph. >> why did you decide to take a polygraph? >> i didn't see any reason not to do it. >> for the first part of the day, republicans remained rgely silent in the hearing room, but during breaks, weighen

>> i feel ambushed as the majority. we're going to hear from i . kavanaugh, judge kavanaugh, anve been a judge, prosecutor and defense attorney and here's what i'll tell you, when it comes to where it happened, i still don't know, i don't know when it happened, she said she's 100% certain it did happen. i bet you judge kavanaugh will t doi'm 100% sure i did it. >> democrats asked again today that the f.b >> nawaz: democrats asked again todathat the f.b.i. investigate ford's claims, something president trump has declined to order. and, committee republicans have said is not necessary. >> thank you for your bravery for coming here. >> after four hours of testimony the committee dismissed dr. ford thd turned to judge kavanaugh. >> will you affire testimony you're about to give before the committee will be the truth, whute truth and nothing bhe truth to help you god is this. >> i do. defiant as he madhis defense, blasting democrats for what he called a "calculated and

orchestrated political hit." >> i was not at the party described by dr. ford this confirmation process has become a national disgrace. when i did at least okay enough at the he ings that ioked like i might actually get confirmed, aew tactic s needed. some of you were lying in wait and hade itady and, as we all know, in the unitestas' political system of the early 2000s, what goes around comes around. >> kavanaugh emphatically continued to deny allegations made b adr. ford. >>innocent of this charge. i categorically and unequivocally deny the allegation against my by dr. ford. >> and he struggled to maintain his composure throughout,ot nal as he spoke about his family. >> the other night ashley and my daughter liza said theiray s, and little liza, all of ten years old, said to ashley, f

we should prr the woman. it's a lot of wisdom from a ten-year-old. we mean no ill will. >> under questioning by mitchellsi kavanaugh wailarly put through the paces on the details of his high school years, specically at one point his alcohol consumption. >> when you talked to fox news the other night you said there were times in heh school whn people miffed too many beers on occasion. does that includeu? >> sure. as the ranking democrat senator feinstein questioned him about two other women who accused him of sexual misconduct and assault this week, kavanaugh frequent interrupted with frustration. >> i'm sorry to interrupt but you're doing it. >> he became increasingly agitated asra demc senator leahy asked about mark judge, who wre about a fictitious bart' kavanaugh.

democrats have not interviewed judge. >> i'm trying to get a straighto answer, ar the bart' kavanaugh he's referring to? w >> yld have to ask him. i agree with you there. that's why i wish the chairman happened him here under oath. >> when came to the question of whether or not kavanaugh would support an f.b.i. investigation into ese matters -- >> senator, i'll do whatever the committee wants. >> -- he deferred to the committee. >> your coordinated and well funded effort to des gtroy myood name and destroy my family will not drive me out. >> for the "pbs newshour," i'm amna nawaz. >> woodruff: we're joined now by our congressional correspondent lisa desjardins and white house correspondent yamiche or. lisa, you were in the room as this hearingde unf tell us what you were seeing, what stood out to you and, inul part, what you were hearing from senators. >> it is very hard to know where to start with this unprecedented hearing for this particular committee and any sreme court

nominee where there was an accuser and a literal prosecutor in the room. i have to say, judy, the enir day was charged with so emotion that my heart rate and dn't think anyone's heart rate in that room was very high as wel as for viewers as well. i want to tell people there were tears both for dr. blasey ford when she testified and also judge kavthaugh. bur testimony and tone was so very asfferent. ford was confident but quiet. you can tell she's inexperienced on capitol hill, for example. senators seemed to take her in more gentle striets as did the prosecutor, versus judge kavanaugh who came in like a thunr cloudy, a man who at times were angry andadnd emotions were thunderous, andcr deic senators felt that gave them the room to push back with equal strength. one other note, dr. tlasey fordm tells me she did not watch judge kavanaugh's

testimony. >> woodruff: so, yamiche, probably at no place were the watching this more closely than the white house. what were they saying about all this? he white house said the president watched this hearing very, very closely. so far, as of this hour president trump is sticking by brett kavanaugh. he has not said anything updating us about whether or not he wants to withdraw this nomination. however, i will say that bretna kah spoke a lot like donald trump in his testimony, and i say that bruise brett kavanaugh said this is about pe-up revenge from the clintons, invoking the name of hillary clinton, which trump used over and over again even after he won te campaign, and said this was penp anger about president trump's win in the 2016 election. he said these are people who are angry trying to come as me. we have heard from donald trump, jr. who tweed this was rid calling dr. ford's fear ofng flsaying she was scared to

fly for vacations but could fly in for this testimony. republicans i've talked to,, thouy they think the president will stick with brett kavanaugh and republicans, if they can get ju a couple of votes of people that are kind of shaky now tably senator jeff flake, that they can push this through. >> woodruff: speaking of that, lisa, what about theon reacof senators not on the judiciary committeea what are young? >> that's absolutely the key. it seemed like judge kavanaugh, at times, was broadcasting a message for and to the white house, a tone that the white house liked. it is very much a big question now how senators lisa murkowski d susan collins of maine take that tone. i have been in touch wittheir offices, nothing from them yet. those two senators alone perhaps jeff flake, could cause a delay in this voting right now. reminder this very committee hasn't finished this hearing yet is set to voton judge kavanaugh's nomination at 9:30 tomorrow morning. it's hard to know ho to process all of this, but i think if

coming hours, we should hope to hear from senators collins and murkowski onhether they thnk that vote should happen. of course, they matter because, in the end, when itets to the senate, those two women can determine if brett kavanaugh ca. pass or no so while he was strong and booming ine, commithe question one republican source told me, they're not sure yet if it's going to comacross as strong, confident and sure or htgressive and a man who m have been capable more than people realize. it's unclear yet, replicans aren't sure themselves. >> woodruff: quickly, lisa, taro y, at this hour, it's not absolutely clear they're going to take a vote tomorrow, the committee? >> at this hour, the vote is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. tomorrow. but senator grassley, the chairmannen of the committ t said yesterdat he might revisit that after today's hearing. he has not said that today, but yesterday he indicated that this hearing would determine the next steps. >> woodruff: yamiche, just finally, in the background of

all this, of course, midterm elections looming, less than sik away. you're talking to republicans and others, what are theyyi ? >> been talking to republicans all day. a former republican of the republican national committee told me republicans are ready to die on this political hill. he said while this might look bad for them and hurt them in the mid transportat republicans said they really want this nomination to get pushed through. ka rove was senior advisor to george w. bush also said he republicans and the president wanted to get this through but also said this is going to be a cause to celebrate for democrats. there were democratic women all over the country really wave and supporting dr. ford. i'll read quickly from a woman i talked to today, she's a lleague of dr. ford. her name is debra shaffer and she told me it's not her duty as a victim to educate us,ut she's educating us about the impact of being a victim of sexual asslt and what it means to be disregarded when two people are having fun and you're

suffering. so really women, so many women watch this and said, that could be me, that uld be my daughter, and we need to rally around this woman. >> woodruff: reactionsof course, playing out across the country, not just on a purely political but human level to what we saw today. yamiche alcindor, lisa desjardins, we thank you bot >> woodruff: we willn to more pivotal moments from the hearing throughout the program: in her opening testimony, ford described the allegeck, and why she didn't tell her story publicly until years later. let's listen to what she told lawmakers. >> brett's aault on me drastically altered my life. for a very lontime, i was too afraid and ashamed to te anyone these details. i did not want to tell my parents that i, at age 15, was in a house without any parents present, drinking beer with boys. i convinced myself that because brett did not rape me, i should

tbe able to move on and j pretend that it didn't happen. over the years, i told very few friends that i had this traumatic experience. i told m married that i had experienced a sexual assault. i had never told the details to ayone, the specific details, until may 2012, du couples counseling session. my husband recalls that i named my attacker as brett kavanaugh.e that may 2012 therapy session, i did my best to ignore memories othe assault because recounting the details caused me to relive the ence, and caused panic and anxiety. uacasionally i would discuss the assault in indivtherapy session, but talking about it caused me to relive the trauma,t ried not to think about it or discuss it.

but until july 2018, i had never named mr. kavanaugh as my attacker outside of therapy. this all changed in early july 2018. i saw press reports stating that brett kavanaugh was on the" short list" of potential supreme court nominees. i thought it was my civic duty to relay the information i had about mr. kavanaugh's conduct so that those considering his potential nomination would know about the assault. >> woodruff: we take a closer look at this extraordinary day with three people who have been here all day as part of our coverage of the hearing: elizabeth holtzman, who served four terms in congress, representing new york. she was a democratic member of the house judiciary committee and later served as the district attorneye'n brooklyn. now a private attorney and her book "the case for impeaching trump" will released next month.wa and amer of the "cook political report."

michael gerson is a columnist for the "washilston post." heworked as a speechwriter for president george w. bush atr the same timt kavanaugh served in the white house. welcome back to all of you.et we have been tr all day long. now it's the "ne".wsho tttes real -- it's real. amy, just geting back to how christine blasey ford introduced herself, it seems to me she was, in many ways -- what was coming across was a genuine, sincere effort to edplain why she di this and that it wasn't politically motivated, which is what the republicans are saying. >> this is somebody nobody haden efore, had never heard her speak before, we had only seen what had been reported in news reports, and this is someone who came across asery genuine, as very real. as lispointed out, she's not very familiar with the ways of washington. she was unfamiliar with some of the questions.

but you walked away thinking as much this is -- this is somebody who was not inter tted in tryi make a broader case against the system. she was there because of what had happened to her and, as we noted here, she opened by saying, when i saw his name on the "short list," that's when i came forward. but it was pretty clear as well as she was getting questioned not again by the republican senators but by theerson thy had selected to do the questioning that the case theyin were tto make was whether or not she was genuine in her recollection and whether or tt she had uerior motives, and neither of those things came through. >> woodruff: and michael gerson, w did she do at trying to come across as genuine and real? >> i think the advantage was she didn't try to come across. she was actually genuine and real. you know, washe plausible? yes, i think she was absolutely plsible.

was she moving? yes, receives very moving. at the end of that testimony, you had the emotional feel -- o i did -- that this may be over because of the way that she had done. she simply did not look like she was trying to be a part of some larger political cause, whatever it was, even the #metoo movement, it was about her and her story and it seemed quite authentic. so i think it was an excellent performance precisely because it was not a performance.d >> woodruff: t came, elizabeth holtzman, in the middle of ts very political environment we were in. it was as if here's a real human moment in the middle of something that's become very relitical. >> right, and i with my two colleagues here. she was very authentic, she was disarming because she ha no motive. she was humble, she wasn't

arrogant, and she tried to make her specific duty in coming forward to try to help the committee make the right decision. she wasn't anti-conservative people on the supreme court, she wasn't pro them. she just wanted this person, the committee, the president to understand what he had done, in her view. i mean, the allegations. so i thought she was very, very strong andnc cong. >> woodruff: and, amy, you did come away from that part of the hearing with the sense that she had helder own. >> well, absolutely, and there were many people wondering whether it was good idea for republicans to have given this -- the way that this hearing was set up, the way that it was a woman, asking her thesl questions gave her -- it seemed to give her much more credibility, and it took it away, too, from the partisan.

there weren't repngublicans goi after her, making it look as if they had an agenda, and, so, it allowed her, then, to look like she was there just tlling a story rather than trying to pursue something else, some ulterior motive. >> woodruff: so speaking of the woman who was doing some of those questions for the republicans, let's go to another set of exchanges from the hearing. tthis is the woman who alok some of the spotlight today, rachel mitchell, a sex crimes prosecutor from maricopa county, arizona. therepublicansded their time to her for their questions to christine blasey ford while democrats used their time to question blasey ford directly. some republicans asked their questions during brett kavanaugh's testimony. lose listen to the prosecutor and some of their >> i want to talk to you about the day that this happened, leading up to the gathering. >> okay. >> in your statement this morning, have you told us

everything you remember about the day leading up to that? >> yes. >> let me ask you a few questions to make sure you've thought of everything, okay?yo indicated that you were at the country club swimming that day? >> that's my best estimate of how this could have happened. >> may i ask, dr. ford, how did you get to washington? >> in an airplane. >> okay. i ask that, because it's been reported by the press that you would not submit to an interview with theommittee because of your fear of flying. is that true? >> well i was willinwas hoping they would come to me, but then realized that was anre unrealistiest. >> i noticed on your c.v. you that list the following interests of surf travel, and in parenthesis, you put hawaii, costa rica, south pacific islands, french polynesia. have you been to all those places?

>> correct >> by airplane? s yes. >> and your intereso include oceanography, hawaiian and tahitian culture. did you travel by air as part of those interests? >> correct. >> okay. thank you very much. >> easier for me to trel, going that direction, when it's a vacation. >> we all know tt the prosecutor, even though this c clearly is notminal proceeding, is asking dr ford rel kinds of questions about what happened befo and after, but basically not during, the attack. the prosecutor should know that sexual asault survivors oftentimes do not remember happened before or after a traumatic event. >> when we left off, we were still talking about the polygraph, and i believe you said it hasn't been paid for yet. is that correct? >> let me put an end to this misery: her lawyers have pgrd for her poh.

>> as is routine. >> as is routine. >> woodruff: so, michael dpersen, there were some attempts by the prosecutor rachel mitchell to try to look for weaknesses in christine blasey ford's explanations whether who's paying for you lawyers, are you afraid of flying. how much of a dent, do you think? he not much. ifoal was to poke holes in the main story, i don't think it was very effeive. she was consistent in her story, she had explanations for thingss themed natural. you know, the tone of the questioning was not rude or -- and i think -- but it also did not seem particularly effective. you know, t points like the flying point seemed just as irrelevant to thics as shool year books, in my view,o i think, you know, she spent some time on some blind alls. but for the most part, i think ar story held together. >> woodruff: whout you,

elizabeth holtzman, did it holed up comy in your mind? >> yes, and, actually, i think she strengthened the case about its being noto plitically motivated because she very much clarified the act that sh only came forward on this and she came forward in a secret way -- she didn't want publicity about it -- when there were other ople being considered. in other words, there was a short list. she didn't come forward when he was the nominee -- only when hea a nominee, she came forward before that, hoping there would be other she said there were other qualified people on the short list and she thought people should know, the president and senate should know so t iat he wouldn't bencluded on the short list. that didn't mean she had an anti-republican or anti-conservative agenda. so i thought that became very clear. and i think the idea, i mean i think this is where brett kavanaugh went way overboard, i mean, talk about a well-funded

effort agaminst hi, she's goingi with a go fund me kind of ecampaign, she doesn't qu understand what that is, and she's not paying for her lawyers and she's notaising money locally to pay for the security. so this is not a well-funded campaign from anybody else. >> woodruff: so, amy, as you look at the republicans' decisions not to ask the questions themselves, but too turn it overhe female prosecutor, they called her a female woman assistant, did that turn out to be a smart move? >> well, i think it wa undermined when we got to the next section, which is whn brett kavanaugh then took the stand -- or said in the hearing -- it's not a trial, not taking thean st-- it felt in many ways like one -- and se started -- ms. mitchell started asking him questions in the same vein and way that she asked of dr. ford, but then senator lindy graham took th

microphone and made a very partisan case againste democrats on the committee, turned it completely away from dr. ford, completely away from the events that happened that night and on to the way in whch this story got in to the press, how it dropped at the last minute, and then, from then on,r single other questioner ass a republican, who then we went from what a very -- we just talked about this wasn't really very partisan, this was a very deliberative process in thb morning to anolute focus on partisanship in the second half, and it was all diected at democrats on the committee and the way in which they held on to thisetter and the way in which they, as they said, constantly dropped it, sprg it, ambushed them. >> woodruff: it's almost as if we were lifheted away from partisanship for a brief period and plunged right back into it with kavanaugh. let's take a closer look now at

some of judge kavanaugh's testimony. he came after christine blasey ford. we played shoer clips earlier in the program here is a longer selection. rtly after i was nominated, the democratic senate leader said he would oppose me with everything he's got democratic senator on this committee publicly referred to me as evil. evil.k thout that word. and said that those who suppted me were complicit in evil. i understand the passions of the moment. but 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 email 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 the whole country will reap the whirlwind. this whole two week effort has been a calculated political hit fueled by pent-up anger over president trump and the 20 election.en fear that has nfairly stoked on my judicial record.ve e on behalf of the clintons. millions of dollars from left- wing outside opposition groups. this is a circus. >> woodruff: this was an angry brett kavanaugh, michael gerson. there re emotional points, but i think what we just heard were some of the angryoments, very

angry, as we were saying earlier, at the democrats. and putting this in perspective, saying hit job raher tn some genuine -- >> yeah, he came across at his best moments as defending not just his nomination but his life, his character, his inteity, his family, and a charge of sexual assault is a very serious charge, and he reacted, i think, in way that was deeply offended and emotional in thoseections, and he seemed utterly convinced of his innocence, you know, at every stage. ementswere, then, some that were a little bit more over the top, particularly on the partisan sidand in some of his confrontation with the senators where he se the dice and saying what a lot of nominees would like to say in a rcumstance like thid never would. but, so, i think those parts were maybe less effective,

except maybe efective with the partisan group of republicans. >> woodruff: yeah. but it did humanize him in a completely different way than her testimony humanized her. >> i think he may have helped camself vis-a-vis president trump e his references to clinton and his references to revenge and his references to the partisanship, but i think, for a thoughtful viewer, they have to see that, basically, theosition that mr. kavanaugh took was demeaning to the victim because -- the alleged victim because what he was saying was, basically, it's all orchestrated, funded by left-wing groups. she became a pawn in this process. but if you listen to her, at the beginning, you would see that she is a human being se whole

life had been turned upside down by tis, so -- and who came across as very authentic. so i feel that pople looking a this will see very partisan, very demeaning of the victim and somebody whose temperament may not be the right thing for the u.s. supreme court. >> woodruff: so we've got one re, as we have been discussing, during your edestioning of judge kavanaugh, democrats also zen on the idea of an f.b.i. investigation, it insomething they have be pushing for ever since these alletions emerged. senator dick durbin of illinois posed that question directly to brvanaugh, which caused republican lindsey graham of south caroli to push back forcefully. >> if you, judge kavanaugh, turned to don mcgahn and to this committee, and say, for the sake of my reputation and my family name, i'm not going to be an obstacle to an f.b.i.st ination, i would hope that all of the members of the committee would say we are going

to abide by your wishes and we will have that investigation. >> i welcome whatever ite coe wants to do because i'm telling the truth. >> i want to know what you want to do, judge! >> i'm innocent. i'm innocent of this charge! >> judge kavanaugh, will support an f.b.i. investigatn right now? >> senator, i will do whatever e committee wants. >> personally, do you think that's the best thing for us to do? you won't answer? >> look senator. w i said welcome to a hearing. i'd welcome anything.m d cent. this thing was hen it could have been presented in thy ordinary w >> if you wanted an f.b.i. investigation, you cave come to us. what you want to do is destroy this guy's life, hold this seat open, and hope that you win in 2020. you said that. not me.

you've got nothing to apologize for. aien you see sotomayor and kagan, say lindseyhello. because i voted for them! i would never do to them what t you've done s guy. >> woodruff: amy whater, this isyou were referring to a moment ago, lindsey graham very upset on behalf of brett kavanaugh and pointing accuse tore fingers at the democrats. >> this is now gone, e ssaid, it's transitioned from a focus on what hapgpened this niht in 1982 to where we are in 2018,n which is incredibly polarized, emotionally raw country, and ultimately, i think ohat you saw during the kavanaugh piece ofy was an appeal from republicans to other republicans to say we have one person saying they're 100% su this happened, one person saying they're 100% sure it didt

happen, one thing we know, what republicans are saying, one ating we do know is democrats sat on this, this is political, if you're a good republican, if you support the party, if you support conservative principles, a person who's going to be a n conservative justice, tu have to vote for brett kavanaugh because, let's face it, this really all comes don to whether republicans c get 5 votes out of the united states senate. theyave 51 republicans. >> woodruff: michael, at this point, i know you haven't had a chance to talk to all 51 republican senators, but you somebody who's watched this city for a long time, you watch how congress works. what's your -- >> those few miemberse collins or murkowski or senator flake watt in the next sage here, are they going to ask for someing like, you know, a continued investigation of the other charges, or are they going to ask for ab.b.i. investigation or delay?

that, i think,, is you know, they have disproportionate influence over tis process right now, the marginal members that might be influenced. so, you know, i don't know. i don't know what the reaction is going to be. i mean, this was a clarence thomas reaction to the accusations. he went after -- he did noto affidavit the victim. he went after the committee, and, you know, what are you doing to them in a way talking about the politics, making point about due prroospect m this perspective and i think that could rally a lot of republicans and maybe alienate other pople. >> woodruff: clarence thomas called ate high-te lynching. and today we heard strong langua from brett kavanaugh. >> the only way you can call this a high-tech lynching and blame the democrats is demeanct the because her integrity, her authenticity the

meaningless. what they're saying implicitly -- i agree with you they didn't say it explicitly -- but implicitly the central thrust of their argument is she's a pawn in a larger political process, and we don't have to pay aentton to her. not saying it explicitly, but that's the thrust of their argument. >> woodruff: but, amy, does does it work to say we respect her, we respect her story, but this is all part of a conspiracy, a hit job? >> right, that's what the cayoulus says and i think i are senator mitch mcconnell, you are with all of your republican senators right now, and you're taking their pulse and you're getting a sense fr where -- how vulnerable they feel to making this vote based on what they saw today. l we know ast two to four of ilem said i'm not going to make any decision un see what happens today, so as lisa pointed out, there'still a hearing scheduled at 9:30 in the morning. it sr emed pretty clom the

republicans on that committee they want to take that vote, but mcconnell knows that the committee -- that what the committee believes is not the end-all, be-all. f they've got nd the rest of the votes. >> woodruff: the rest of the senate. well, it has been quite a day. i think this is one we're going to remember for a very long time. amy walter, michael gerson,h elizab holtzman, thank you very much. >> thank >> woodruff: today senators deciding the next supreme court justice heard from judge kavanaugh and christine blasey ford. now we hear from two people who d personally know the accud his accuser. amna nawaz has that. >> nawaz: let's listen toex anotheange from the hearing today. this time it's democrat sheldon whitehouse of rhode island questioning judge kavanaugh about some of the behavior that happened during his high school yes. >> you mentioned i think the renate, or renate, renata, i don't know how you pronounce

that, that's the proper name of an individual you know?" >> renate. >> renate, it's spelled with an e at the end, renate. >> correct. >> okay, then after that is the word aluminous, what does the word aluminous mean in that context? >> i explained that in my opening statement, she was a great friend of ours, a bunch of us went to dances with her, she p.ng out with us as a gr the media circus that has been generated by this thought that in reporte it did not. to sex. >> devils triangle? >> drinking gameed >> how's it pl >> three glasses in a triangle. you ever played quarters? >> no. >> oka it's a quarters game >> ann doherty's? >> as you can tell from my calendar, she had a party on the fourth of july at the beach in

delaware. >> and there are like, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 f's in front of fourth of july. what is that signify if anything. >> one of oufriends, squee, starting at a young age had kind of a windup to the f word. kind of a ffff. and then the word would come out. when we were 15, we thought that was funny. >> nawaz: joining me now is samantha guerry who was a classmate at the holton arms school friend's with ford at the time of the alledged assualt, and continues to be today. ms. guerry, thanks for being here. >> thank you. a lot has been made over twe last few ks and even today digging into the details of that high school experience, derstanding what it was all about. you were there with then you called her chrissy blasey. >> right. are these really true, the stories of the party and culture

of drinking and on? what do you think when you hear this? there are different elements to the stories that are coming out. obviousl therinking rings very true. the yearbook references and sor of the way the guys handled hituations like that rang true. you know, ts idea that there is sort of a larger culture of gang rape do res noting true at all. i think we would have known that if it was going on on a reulg basis. >> you're talking about some of thre recent allegations by another woman who accused judge kavanaugh -- >> -- playing into this gnar give of what the culture was like. >> right.p my personal ience is probably less relevant because what i have heard, sce this has all come out, i've just had so many women of alages and classes, but particularly around my years, come out and tell me that they had some more experiences while they werhiin

school. so, clearly, this was going on. >> when you say simmilar, siilar sexual assaults -- >> yepabsutely. so you have known her now for three decades-plus. what wast like for you jt to watch her there today, sharing her story, taking thoses questi front to have the entire country? >> yeah, it was really intse. we -- i was there with eight or ten of our other close friends, and we just felt her so deeply while she was giving her testimony, that we just felt pain, we felt physically pained having to hear her go through b thcause we were recognizing how difficult that was for her. >> so muchas made about credibility and character. how do you think she represented herself today on these fronts? >> well, we were just so proud of her. i said before her testimony that you were going to see that she was intelligent, auhentic,

fierce and frightened, and she was all of those things, but most of all i think everyone could see that she's a very genuine, thoughtfu >> i don't know if you got to watch the testimony or questioning of judge kavanaughwe that fol but as part of that, he was asked about whether or not he knew christine blasey ford back then, and he said he didn't. he said they traveled in the same social circles but he didn't really know her. does that ring true for yo >> no, that seems really like a play on words. he did know her, just like i knew him. doesn't mean that we were close or friends, but we certa knew each other and, you know, to me that seems like an i vasive answer. >> there were a whole host of characters in ow this senate committee has been familiar with, mark judge, p.j. smyth, and a woman, friend of dr.

dr. ford's leland ingham whom dr. ford testifi to the fact she reached out to her, although she says she does not remember this night andnoes remember being there or that it happened at all. what should we understand about this friend and the role she had that night >> if you listen to their testimony again, what you will hear in crissy'ansrs is pretty important because what she said is leand had submitted her testimony to the senate, but then she called christie to apologize fot i, and, you know,i leland -- crisvery close to leland, and, as crissy said, leland had some health issues that she's struggling with ando just kinleft it at that. but i think leland has had to struggle with this a bit herself. >> you have said from the

beginning that she noted we've spoken before and i quoted you saying you don't believe your friend is vested in the outcome of thiprocess at all, that she just wanted to be heard and have her story heard and have the facts looked into but, at the end of all this, as we see now, the committee is mg ahead with the vote, that judge vanaugh be confirmed as supreme court justice kavanaugh. onateining that will re with the woman that you know? >> i think she will be gratified that she had -- she saw this thing through and she said her peac i can't speak to whether she's going to feel she was properly listened to. i think there were some -- being in the room, i definitely felt a strong resistance among some members of the cmmittee to really taking in her story, but i think she should be

sappointed. i think it will be kind of a blow to this larger idea that character matters and that testimony of the survivor matters and that her credibility is assaid by people wh already had an agenda and were eager to see that rough, regardless of what she had to say. and she certainly suflofered a so she's paid a high price. she said that, too. she said, i don really want to step in front of a train that's going to go where it's going. so, as she said, that's a calculated risk for her. >> and a risk she took. samantha gurry, thank you so much for being here with us today. >> thank you. >> nawaz: we turn now to helgi walker. she worked with brett kavanaugh in the white house counsel's uring the george w. bush administration. ms. walker also clerked for justice clarence thomas and is now in private practice in washington, d.c.r thank you ining us. i see we're having some audio issues. you're hearing me on your phone. bu uthank you for being wi. i want to ask you about what you heard from judge kavanaugh and

his testimony today, as you watched him, defiant at times, emotional at others, what did you ske of his tetimony? >> i thought he did a wonderful job today of showing that he is innocent of these charges. i heard some of the earlier y folks ur show saying that he was aggressive. you know, i'm a lawyer, i've worked in investigations, and when you confront people who have notone something with an allegation that they have committed a crime, they react strongly. this was the behavior of somebody who is innocent and,ye people react strongly and i think emotionally.d cried, my husband cried because we know judge kavanaugh and we know what hes been through, and we also know that charges.cent of the if i could just talk about some of the facts that came out, that, i think, is really important for your vie awed people who are fair minded. judge kavanaugh said he doesn't discredit mrs. ford's story that

she was sexually assaulted somewhere, sometime by somebody, but she is the only person who has come foard with a story. four of the people that she chose to name havnot corroborated her story and, indeed, they have refuted it. her friend leland kaiser said it is not true, she has not en met or been in a room with judge kavanaugh. to we have one person's statement on theer side -- >> i'm sorry to interrupt. i want make sure we're respectful of the time you have with us and the points are made in the testimony we covered in full earlier today. so i want to get your experience and reaction to what you heard today. you did mention you cried watching some of the testimony. judge kavanaugh himself was holding backears at several points. i'm wondering, in the years you've known him, have you ever seen h that emotional and that sort of dent in any way, professional or otherwise?

>> i have not. he's a sensitive person. he has a very gentle soul and, as a friend of his, as a formerh colleagus always been sensitive to my life issues, and people need to understand that his -- everything he has worked for, an exemplary life, is on thline here because of unsubstantiated allegatiopp that were d on him at the last minute, and it's not partisan to say that. it is a fact that none of this was brought forward until days before his vote wasc sheduled and, yes, i think he has been -- i think he has been rocked to the core by this and he is behaving like an innocent person who is shocked that any of this is, frankly, even happening. w >> ms. walker,t to make clear we reached out to a number of people who knew bret kavanaugh in high school and many of them, particularly in the last several days, have been

increasingly reluctant to come on televisio they want to speak on backs,ound, give quoand one woman explained why she didn'tgi want tve an interview said i don't want to get dragged into a circumstances and feed the media frenzy around the train wreck that is this process. i think a lot ofpeople feel if things have gotten a little bit out of control. i'm curious as to wh you feel comfortable stepping forward, especially when the partisane politics bec heated, why are you speaking out in support of judge kavanaugh? >> i'm a lawyer, i'm a professional, i get paid to talk, and i have -- i think i'm a little older than maybe some p of tople that you're talking to, and i'mike judge kavanaugh, a pretty loyal friend. he has always been there for me when i needed him, a'm going to be there for him now to tell people thbelieve he's done nothing of the sort and this behavior, his testimony, today, i think, is wonderful.

so i havbeen through the fir i've lived in washington for a while, i'm a litigator, i can handle this, butno it't fun eor any of us. >> helgi walker, appreciate your time in joining us today. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, president trumg delayed meetth deputy attorney general rod rosenstein, until next week. thwhite house said it's to avoid conflicting with today's senateearing on supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh. rosenstein has denied he talked of recording t president or having him removed from office. mr. trump says he would prefer to keep rosenstein on the job, and not fire him. china today dismissed president trump's accusations that it's interfering in the upcoming u.s. midterm elections. at the united nations yesterdayd the prt suggested china was meddling because of his tough trade policies. in beijing today, the foreign ministry denied the charge, andp

warned mr. ts harming u.s.-chinese relations. china has always maintained a principle of not interfering in the internal affairs of otherco tries. in fact, the international community is very clear over who interferes the most in other countries' internal affairs. we advised the united states to stop this seeing criticism and slander of china. >> woodruff: as evidence for his claim, president trump has cited a political ad placed by china in an americanaper. but china said such postings do not violate any u.s. laws. at the united nations, palestinian presbaent mahmoud edclared the united states cannot be the soletor of middle east peace talks. abbas made his case peech to the u.n. general assembly. he urged more countries to ehrecognize palestinian std. separately, israeli prime nister benjamin netanyah accused iran of having a secret nuclear weaponstorage site.

the death toll from hurricane florce rose to 48 today, nearly two weeks after the storm struck north carolina. officials said an elderly man near wilmington died of an infection. in raleigh today, governor roy cooper urged caution, even as major flooding has ceased. >> i still want to urge north carolinians in the hard-hit areas to be careful. almost all of our rivers are forecast to return to their banks by early next week, but flooded waterways continue to cover roadways and swamp communities in the southeastern part of our state.uf >> woo some 1,500 people are still in shelters across rth carolina. the securities and exchange commission is suing elon musk, the c.e.o. of tesla, for securities fraud. ese suit, filed today, cha that musk made false statementsg about tahe electric car company private.

and, on wall street, the dow jones industrial average gaid 86 points to close at 26,743. the nasdaq fell 41 points, and the s&p 500 slipped one point. and finally, president trump reacted to judge kavanaugh's testimony tonight on twr.it the president called his testimony "powerful, honest and riveting" and he blasted the democrats' strategy as disgraceful and called for the and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and again here tomorrow evening when ma shields and ramesh punnuru breakdown the fallout today'sin kavanaugh he for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you ane you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> kevin. >> kevin!

>> kevin. >> advice for life. life well-planned. learn more at raymondjames.com. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org martha stewart: have you ever seen a fanciful pie

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