09/28/18 09/28/18 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! ford: i believed he was going to rape me. i tried to yell for help. when i did, brett put his hand over my mouth and stopped me from yelling. this is what terrified me the most and has had the most lasting impact on my life. amy: dr. christine blasey ford, testifies publicly for the first time at in his stork senate

judiciary committee hearing. we will bring you hurtful opening statement. then supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh. capital: this has 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 old two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit, fueled with a up anger about president trump and the 201016 election. mikko today we play excerpts of the senate judiciary committee hearing. >> dr. ford, with what degree of certainty do you believe brett kavanaugh assaulted you? >> 100%. >> you may defeat me in the final vote, but you will never get me to quit. amy: all of ththat and more, coming up.

welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. in a historic senate judiciary committee hearing, whose implications will determine the makeup of the supreme court for a generation to come, dr. christine blasey ford spoke publicly for the first time about her allegations that supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in the 1980's when she was 15 years old. ford: brett groped me and tried to take off my clothes. he had a hard time because he and becausebriated 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 has had the most lasting impact on my life. it was hard for me to breathe. and i thought that brett was accidentalally going to kill me. amy: after her testimony, dr. blasey ford was questioned by democratic senators on the judiciary committee who held her testimony as courageous and heroic. this is illinois senator dick durbin. >> dr. ford, with what degree of certainty do you believe right kavanaugh assaulted you? >> 100%. they make one of the 11 republican senators on the senate judiciary committee who are all white men question dr. blasey ford direcectly. instead, seating all of their time to rachel mitchell, an crimes prosecutor, longtime registered republican, who senate majority leader mitch mcconnell called a female assistant. mitchell was also scheduled a question brett kavanaugh on behalf of the republican senators, but was quickly stopped from her line of questioning by them after she

asked brett kavanaugh after details of the parties he attended in the summer of 1982, around the time the alleged sexual assault took place. in his testimony to the committee, judge kavanaugh repeatedly deny dr. blasey ford's allegations, denouncing them with barely controlled rage and repeatedly choking up with tears in his eyes. he singled out democrats on the committee, accusing them of staging a circus aimed at derailing his nomination. >>'s confirmation process has become a national disgrace. thee constitution gives 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. thursday's hearing

gaveled to a close, president trump took to twitter to demand an immediate senate vote on kavanaugh's nomination, tweeting -- "judge kavanaugh showed america exactly why i nominated him. his testimony was powerful, honest, and riveting." republican senate leaders are poised to hold a vote this -- today after they reconvene the senate judiciary committee at 9:30 a.m. a vote by the full senate could come as early as this weekend or monday or tuesday. the planned vote comes as the american bar association has demanded a delay in kavanaugh's confirmation process and an fbi investigation into claims of sexual assault. and editors of america magazine, the national weekly published by the jesuits of the united states, called for kavanaugh's nomination to be withdrawn. georgetown prep school, where kavanaugh was a student when he allegedly assaulted blasey ford, is a jesuit high school. the third woman to publicly accuse judge kavanaugh of sexual misconduct has spoken on camera

for the first time about her allegations. julie swetnick alleges in a sworn affidavit that she observed kavanaugh at high parties in the joining efforts 1980's to inebriate girls so they could be gang-raped. she says kavanaugh was present at a party in which she herself was the victim of a gang rape. swetnick spoke with showtime's johnhn heilman. >> he is going for a seat where he will have that seat on thee suprememe cot fofor e restst of hihis lifee. if he isis going to o have thatt legititetely, l ofof these ththings should be investiteted becacausfrom whai experienced firsanand, ion''t believe he belongs the supreme court. i i justant t thfacts s come t. i wanted to beust. i want the arican pele to have tho fac and jud for emselves amy: jie swetnk has dended chance ttestify der oath beforehe senatjudiciar commtee. so has ather accer, deboh ramirez,ho says vanaug exposed mself anthrust h genitalsn her fa during party wh they we both

yale freshn. ramir's atrneys sathey've be stymiedy the coittee's marity replicans athey've trd to arrge to ha ramirez testif througho thursd's sete aring, jge kavangh reatatedlyefused t call fo an f investition intthe legation this is california democrat dianne feinstein questioning kavanaugh. >> what you are saying, if i understand it is that the allegations by dr. ford, ms. ramirez, and miss swetnick, are wrong. is in fat -- that ugly what i am saying. emphatically. the swetnick thing is a joke. that is a farce. >> would you like to say more about it? >> no. amy: on capitol hill, more than 1000 protesters rallied outside congress and marched to the supreme court thursday. police arrested 59 people as

they blocked a street in a peaceful sit-in protest. this is women's march co-chair linda sarsour. >> we are outraged at what is happening in that hearing room. trial in are always on the perpetrators are always protected. enough is enough. amy: after headlines, we will spend the hohour on thursday's historic senate hearings. majoraking news, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck off the indonesian island today. authorities have called off a tsunami warnining. there is no immediate woword of deaths, injuries, or damage. canadian prime minister justin trudeau said thursday he won't be pressured by president trump into agreeing to a renegotiated north american free trade agreement. trudeau's comment came ahead of

a sunday deadline set by president trump for canada's government to agree to a new version of nafta or face additional u.s. tariffs on automobile imports. >> americans are finding the negotiations are to have becauae canadianans are tough negegotia, as we should be. a good and fear deal is still very possible. last month, the trump admiministration and mexico's government reached april luminary agreement to revise portions of nafta. on the u.s.-mexico border, construction crews have begun work on a new steel wall separating el paso, texas, from neighboring ciudadad juare the new four-mile lolong section of 18-foot higigh wall will replace an existing border fence, at an estimated cost of $22 million. this is el paso county commissioner david stout speaking at a protest against the wall earlier this week. communityges this

because ours is a binational community. we all have family, friends, and coworkers who live on that site and work here or vice versa. in my opinion, we're sending a very ugly message to our brothers in mexico. amy: president trump has failed on his campaign promise to build a wall along the entire southern border and tmake mexicico pay for it. elsewhere in texas, immigrant rights groups say some 70 immigrant fathers and some of their children have launched a hunger strike as they languish inside the karnes county civil detention center, a for-profit immigration jail under contract with ice. the fathers on strike had been previously separated from their children at the u.s.-mexico border under the trump administration's zero tolerance crackdown. now reunited behind bars, fathers and their children are demanding immediate freedom. this is one of the hunger strikers, speaking by phone with the group people without borders.

>> today we started a hunger strike. our children are with us. they're not attending schools, nor are they eating. we are afraid ice will retaliate against us and separate us again, as they separated 16 parents on august 15. i don't understand the laws of thisis country. they are unjust. the majority of the parents who are reunited were freed. amy: the hunger strike at karnes detention center comes as new numbers released by the trump administration show at least 136 migrant children separated from their parents at the border are still in u.s. government custody, more than two months after a deadline set by a federal judge for reunification. three of the children arare undr the age ofof 5.. in mexico city, president-elect andres manuel lopez obrador welcomed the head of the international olympic committee thursday to a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 1968 olympic games, held in mexico's capital city. the ceremony came just days after mexico's government

acknowledged for the first time that the state was criminally responsible for the massacre of hundreds of student protesters in mexico city on the eve of the 1968 olympics. to date, no one has been convicted over what's known as the tlatelolco massacre. interior ministry official jaime rochin said monday -- "the use of sniper fire was a state crime, aimed at creating chaos, terror, and an official narrative to criminalize the protest. it was a state crime that continued beyond with a arbitray october 2 arresests and torture" in colomombia, human rights gros are warning of an epidemic of murders targeting environmentalists and leaders of social movements. new statistics compiled by a colombian human rights group found more than 38,000 people have been displaced and 110 social leaders killed in the first eight months of the year. the swell in violence is centered in areas where armed conflict has been historically most active and as colombia's peace process has faltered under its new right-wing president,

ivan duque. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the republican-led senate judiciciary committee is moving ahead with plans to vote this morning on the confirmation of brett kavanaugh as a supreme court justice. this comes after an extraordinary day of testimony from kavanaugh and dr. christine blasey ford, the california psychologist who testified she was 100% positive that it was kavanaugh who attempted to rape her at a high school party in 1982. during the hearing, kavanaugh said he was innocent and claimed he was the victim of a left-wing plot of "revenge of behalf of the clintons." republicans are hoping to push ahead with a full vote in the senate early next week even though the fbi has not investigated the allegations of dr. blasey or other women who have accused kavanaugh of sexual assault and misconduct. in a major development, the

american bar association has called on the senate judiciary committee to halt the kavanaugh confirmation process until an fbi investigation is completed. in a letter to the committee, the aba said "we make this because of our respect for the rule of law and due process under law." the aba had previously given kavanaugh its highest rating of unanimous well qualified for the supreme court. meanwhile, editors of america magazine, the national weekly published by the jesuits of the united states, called for kavanaugh's nomination to be withdrawn. georgetown preparatory school, where kavanaugh was a student when he allegedly assaulted blasey ford, is a jesuit high school. just as thursday's hearing gaveled to a close, president trump took to twitter to demand an immediate senate vote on kavanaugh's nomination, tweeting -- "judge kavanaugh showed america exactly why i nominated him. his testimony was powerful, honest, and riveting."

well, today we bring you excerpts from thursday's historic hearing. we begin with dr. christine ford. the nation hears her for the first time in her own words. >> i'm m here today not becausei 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 are in high school. i have described the events publicly before. i summarized them in my letter to feinstein and again in two the letter for chairman grassley. i understand the importance of your hearing from me directly about what happened to me and impact it has had on my life and a my family. grew up in the suburbs of washington, d.c. i attended the holton arms school in bethesda, maryland, from 1978 to 1984.

holton arms is an all-girls 190 girlst opened in frugally1. met with boys from all boys schools in the area including the landon school. as well as our country clubs and other places where kids and families socialized. this is how i met brett kavanaugh, the boy who sexually assaulted me. during my freshman and sophomore school years, when i was 14 and 15 years old, my group of friends intersected with brett and his friends for a short period of time. i have been friendly with a classmate of his for a short time during my freshman and sophomore year. and it was through that connection that i attended a number of parties that brett also attended. we did not know each other well, but i knew him and he knew of me. in the summer of 1982, like most

summers, i spent most every day at the columbia country club in chevy chase, maryland, swimming and practicing diving. one evening that summer after a day of diving at the club, i attended a small gathering at a house in the bethesda area. i rememberfour boys specifically being at the house. brett kavanaugh, mark judge, a boy named p.j., and one other boy whose and i cannot recall. i also remember my friend leland attetending. i do not remember all of the details of how that gathering came together, but like many that summer, it was almost surely a spur of the moment gathering. i truly wish i could be more helpful with more detailed answers to all of the questions that have and will be asked about how i got to the party and where it took place and so forth.

i don't have all of the answers. and i don't remember as much as i would like to. but the details that -- about that night that bring me here today are the ones that i will never forget. they have been seared into my memory and have haunted me episodically as a middle. when i got to the small gathering, people were drinking beer in a small living room, family room type area on the first floor of the house. i drank one beer. brett and mark were visibly drunk. early in the evening, i went up a very narrow set of stairs leading from the living room to a second floor to use the restroom. when i got to the top of the stairs, 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.

there was music playing in the bedroom. it was turned up louder by either brett or mark once we were in the room. i was pushed onto the bed and brett got on top of me. he began running his hands over my body and grinding into me. i yelled, hoping that someone downstairs might hear me, and i try to g get away from him but s weight was heavy. 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. his handd, brett put over my mouth to stop me from yelling. this is what terrified me 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. both brett and mark were drunkenly laughing during the attack. they seemed to be having a very good time. ambivalent, at times urging brett on and at times telling him to stop. i made eye times, contact with mark and thought he might try to help me, but he did not. during this assault, mark came over and jumped on the bed twice while brett was on top of me. andd the last time that he did this, we toppled over and brett was no longer on top of me. i was able to get up and run out of the room. directly across from the bedroom was a small bathroom. i ran inside the bathroom and locked the door. i waited until i heard brett and mark leave the bedroom, laughing and loudly walk down the narrow

stairway, pinballing off the walls on the way down. i waited. and when i did not hear them come back up the stairs, i left the bathroom, went down the same stairwell through the living room, and left the house. i remember being on the street and feeling his -- this enormous sense of relief that i had escaped that house and that brett and mark were not coming outside after me. mett's assault on drastically altered my life for a very long time. i was too afraid and ashamed to tell 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. becauseced myself that brett did not rape me, i should just move on and just pretend that it didn't happen.

over the years, i told very, very few friends that i had this traumatic experience. i told my husband before we were married that i had experienced a sexual assault. i had d never told t the detailo anyone -- the specific details -- until may 2012 during a couples counseling session. up inason this came counseling is that my husband and i had completed a very extensive, very long remodel of our home and i insisted on a second front door -- an idea that he and others disagreed with and could not understand. in explaining why i wanted to second front door, i began to describe the assault in detail. i recall saying that the boy who assaulted me could someday be on the u.s. to bring court and spoke a bit about his background at an elitist all boys school in

bethesda, maryland. my husband recalls that i named my attacker as brett kavanaugh. that may 2012 therapy session, i did my best to ignore the memories of the assault because recounting them caused me to relive the experience and caused panic and and anxiety. occasionally, i would discuss the assault in an individual therapy session, but talking about it caused more reliving of the trauma so i tried not to think about it or discuss it. but over the years, i went through periods where i thought about the attack. i had confided in some close friends that i had had an experience with sexual assault. occasionally, i stated that my assailant was a prominent lawyer or judge, but i did not use his name. i do not recall each person i spoke to about brett's assault. and some friends have reminded

me of these conversations since the publication of the washington post story on september 16, 2018. but until july 2018, i had never named mr. kavanaugh as my attacker outside of therapy. early july 2018. i saw press reports stating that brett kavanaugh was on the shortlist of a list of very well-qualified supreme court nominees. dutyught it was my civic to relay the information i had about mr. kavanaugh's conduct so that those considering his nomination would know about this assault. on july 6, i had a sense of urgency to relay the information to the senate and the president as soon as possible irma before a nominee was selected. i did not know how, specifically, to do this. i called my congressional representative and let her receptionist know that someone

on the president shortlist had attacked me. to thesent a message encrypted "washington post" confidential tip line. i did not use my name, but i provided the names of brett kavanaugh and mark judge. i stated that mr. kavanaugh had assaulted me in the 1980's in maryland. was an extremely hard thing for do, but i felt that i couldn't not do it. over the next two days, i told a couple of close frienends on the beach in aptos, california, that mr. kavanaugh had sexually assaulted me. i was very conflicted as to whether to speak out. on july 9, i received a return phone call from the office of congresswoman anna eshoo after mr. kavanaugh had become the nominee. i met with her staff on july 18 and with her on july 20,

describing the assault and discussing my fears about coming forward. later, we discussed the possibility of sending a letter to ranking member feinstein, who is one of my state senators, describing what occurred. my understanding is that representative eshoo's office delivered a copy of my letter to senator feinstein's office on july 30. the letter included my name, but also a request that it be kept confidential. my hope was that providing the information confidentially would be sufficient to allow the senate to consider mr. kavanaugh's serious misconduct without having to make myself, my family, or anyone's family vulnerable to the personal attacks and invasions of privacy that we have faced since my name became public. in a letter dated august 31,

senator feinstein wrote that she would not share the letter without my explicit consent, and i appreciated this commitment. sexual assault victims should be able to decide for themselves when and whether their private experiencece is made public. closer,earing date got i struggled with a terrible facts -- do i share the with the senate and put myself and my family and the public spotlight or do i preserve our privacy and allow the senate to make its decision without knowing the full truth of his past behaviors? i agonized daily with this decision throughout august and september 2018. the sense of duty that originally motivated me to reach out confidentially to "the washington post" and to anna eshoo's office when there were still a list of extremely qualified candidates -- and to senator feinstein -- was always

there, but my fears of the consequences of speaking out started to exponentially increase. during august 2018, the press reported that mr. kavanaugh's confirmation was virtually certain. persons painted him as a champion of women's rights and empowerment. and i believed that if i came forward, my single voice would be drowned out by a chorus of powerful supporters. i the time of the confirmation hearings, i had resigned myself to remaining quiet and letting the committee and the senate make their decision without knowing what mr. kavanaugh had done to me. once the press started reporting on the existence of the letter i had sent to senator feinstein, i faced mounting pressure. reporters appeared at my home and at my workplace, demanding

information about the letter in the presence of my graduate students. they called my bosses and coworkers, and left me many messages, making it clear that my name would inevitably be released to the media. i decided to speak out publicly to a journalist who had originally responded to the tip i had sent to the "the washington post" and who had gained my trust. it was important for me to describe the details of the assault in my own words. since september 16, the date of the washington post story, i have experienced an outpouring of support from people in every state of this country. thousands and thousands of people who have had their lives dramatically altered by sexual violence have reached out to share their experience anand hae thanked me for coming forward. we have received tremendous support from our friends and our community. at the same time, my greatest

fears have been realized and the reality has been far worse than what i expected. my family and i have been the target of constant harassment and death threats, and i have been called the most vile and hateful names imaginable. ande messages, while far fewer than the expressions of support, have been terrifying and have rocked me to my core. people of posted my personal information and that of my on the internet. this has resulted in additional emails, calls, and threats. my family and i were forced to move out of her home. since september 16, my family and i have been visiting in various secure locales, at times separated and at times together, with the help of security guards. this past tuesday evening, my work email was hacked and messages were sent out trying to recant my description of the

sexual assault. apart from the assault itself, these past couple of weeks have been the hardest of my life. i've had to relive this trauma in front of the world. thei've seen my life department people on television, on twitter, on social media come and other media and in this body, who have never met me or spoken with me. i have been accused of acting out of partisan political motives. those who say that do not know me. independent person and i am no one's pond. my motivation in coming forward was to be helpful and to provide facts about how mr. kavanaugh's soions have damaged my life that you could take into a serious consideration as you make your decision about how to proceed. it is not my responsibility to determine whether mr. kavanaugh deserves to sit on the supreme

court. my responsibility is to tell you the truth. i understand that a professional prosecutor has been hired to ask me questions, and i'm committed to doing my very best to answer themem. i have never been questioned by prosecutor, and d i will do my best. because thetime, committee members will b be judging my credibility, i do hopepe to be able to engage directly with each of you. a because that is the opening statement from dr. christine blasey ford, who testified in --rsday's histotoric sit senate judiciary committee hearing. to later say in questioning she brett0% positive it w was kavanaugh, president trump supreme court nominee, who attempted to rape her in 1982 when she was 15. when we come back, we will hear part of brett kavanaugh's opening response. ♪ [music break]

out one tobenefit support survivors of sexual violence. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. today we are bringing you excerpts from thursday's historic senate judiciary committee hearing. we started with the testimony of dr. chriristine blasey ford. now we go to the testimony of president trump supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh. in the morning, blasey ford testified she was 100% positive it was kavanaugh who attended to rape her at a small gathering of high school students in 1982. in the afternoon, judge kavanaugh testified. while he said he did not watch blasey ford's testimony, he repeatedly denied her allegations, denouncing the with barely controlled rage, repeatedly choking up with tears in his eyes. using without democrats on the committee and it them of staging a service aimed at to rolling his nomination. this is a next up of his opening

statement. >>'s 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 .onsent with search and destroy since my nomination in july am a there has 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. inc. about that word. and said those that supported me were "complicit and evil." another democratic senator on this committee said "judge kavanaugh, is your worst

nightmare." someone else that "judge kavanaugh will threaten the lives of millions of americans for decades to come." i understand the passions of the moment, but i would say to those senators, your words have meaning. millions of americans listen carefully to you. is itcomments like those, any surprise that people have ton willing to do anything 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. d the wind for decades

to come. after the whole country will reap the whirlwind. 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 did not work. atn i did at least ok enough the hearing said it looked like a might ask you 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 democratic member of this committee and by staff. it would be needed only if you could not 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-minutute smears designed to scare me and drive me out of the process before any hearing occurred. crazy stuff. children,egitimate fights on both in rhode island. all nonsense, reported breathlessly and often uncrcritically by the media. this has 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. effort haso-week 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 ,toked about my judicial record

revenge onon behalf of the clintons, and millions of dollars in money from outside left-wing opposition groups. .his 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 competent and good people of all political persuasions from serving our country. in the unitedknow states political system of the early 2000's, what goes around, comes around. . am an optimistic guy i was try to be on the sunrise , to be the mountain 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 was told -- i told this committee that a federal judge must be independent, not swayed by public or political pressure. , and ii was such aa judge am. i will not be intimidated into it drawn from this process. you have tried hard. you have given it your all. no one can question your effort, but your coordinated and well-funded effort to destroy my good name and to destroy my family will not drive me out. the vile threats of violence against my family will not drive me out. you made if he 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. is horrific.t

one of my clclosest friends to this day is a woman who was sexually abused and who, in the 1990's when we were in our 30's, confided in me about the abuse and sought my advice. i was one of the only people she consulted. allegations of sexual assault must also be taken -- always be taken seriously. always. those who make allegations always deserve to be heard. person who time, the is the subject of the allegations also deserves to be heard. due process is a foundation of the american rule of law. to process means listening both sides. amy: judge brett kavanaugh testifying before the senate judiciary committee thursday. when we come back, we will hear of those whof both testified, dr. blasey ford and

judge brett kavanaugh. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we end the hour with the questioning of both people who testified yesterday at the senate judiciary committee, dr. christine blasey ford testified in the morning into the early afternoon, and then judge brett kavanaugh responded, though he said he did not hear her testimony in the morning. this i is senate judiciary committee member, democratic senator dick durbin of illinois questioning judge kavanaugh. >> judge kavanaugh, earlier today dr. christine ford says that -- set an adventure and under a she said clearly and unequivocally that she was the victim of sexual assault at your hands. she e answered our questioions directly and she did not flinch at the prospect of submitting herself to an fbi investigation of these charges.

we know and i'm sure she is been advised by her attorneys that a can faceing to the fbi criminal prosecution. you have clearly and unequivocally deny that you assaulted dr. ford. with that stamey you must bebelieve that there is no credible evidence or any credible witness that could prove otherwise. with anted off impassioned statement at the beginning, and i can imagine, try to imagine, what you have been through in your family has been through and i'm sure i would not get close to it. >> no, you wouldn't. said,the course of it you i welcome any kind of investigation. i quote you. "i welcome any kind of investigation." i've got a suggestion for you right now. turn to your left in the front row to don mcgann, counsel to president donald trump. hearingto suspend this and nomination process until the fbi completes its investigation

of the charges made by dr. ford and others and goes to bring the witnesses forward and provides that information to this hearing. i am sure that the chairman at that point will understand that that i is a reasonable request o finally put to rest these charges, if they are false, or to approve them if they are not. you spent two years in the white approvedice that additional nominees. you turned to the fbi over and over and over again for their work. let's bring them in here and now. turn to dom again and tell him it is time to get this done. an fbi investigation is the only way to answer some of these questions. >> stop the clock. this committee is running this hearing, n not the white house, not dom again, not even you as a nominee. we are here today because dr. ford asked for an opportunity to

hear. i know you did, too, as well. in fact, maybe even before she did. wewe are here because people wanted to be heard from charges that they all thought were unfair, or activities like sexual assault was unfair. so i want to assure senator durbin, regardless of what you say to senator dom again, we are not suspending this hearing w wl stop amy: that was senate judiciary committee chair chuck grasslsley respondnding to senar dick durbin. not one of the 11 republican senators on the senate judiciary committee, who are all white men -- there's never been a republican woman in the history of the senate judiciary committee. not one of these 11 in question dr. blasey ford directly. instead ceded their time , to a sex crimes bureau chief mitchell. mimitchell was also scheduled do question brett kavanaugh on

behalf of republican senators but they quickly stopped her line of questioning after she asked judge kavanaugh about details of parties and gatherings he attended in the summer of 1982. >> do you still have your calendars? >> i do. >> i would like you to look at .he july 1 injury with judge, to skis tom, bernie, and schooley. >> that is a big name. looks to what does this refer and to whom? says tobin'st house worked out. that is one of the football workouts that we would have. it was for guys on the football team.

mr. and the summer. it would be there, usually six to eight or so until near dark. then it looks like we went over to jimmy's. do you want to know their last name? i'm happy to do it. >> if you could just identify, pj smyth?dge -- amy: during his answer, brett kavanaugh confirmed he attended this gathering on july 1, 1982, with mark judge and patrick smyth, two of the same people identified by dr. christine blasey ford. it rachel mitchell, the sex comes prosecutor, brought in by the republicans, never got a chance to ask follow-up round of questions. soon after, senator lindsey graham jumped in, becoming the first republican to directly question brett kavanaugh and then the others followed suit. he began by going after his democratic counterparts. >> if you wanted in 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. you have said that. you have got nothing to apologize for. when you see sotomayor and kagan, tell them that lindsay said -- i voted for them. i would never do to them what you have done to this guy. shamis the most unethical since i have been in politics. and if you really wanted to know the truth, you sure as hell wouldn't have done what you have done to this guy. are your gang rapist? >> no. >> i cannot imagine whatat you d your family haveve gone through. boy, you all want power. god, i hope you never get it. i hope you megan people can see through this sham. that you knew about it and you held it. you no intention of protecting

dr. ford. none. she is as much of a vivictim as you are. amy: brett kavanaugh streaking have i its came up repeatedly during thursday's hearing, including by the judge himself. >> 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, he was 18 in d.c. for all of high school. i drink beer with my friends. almost everyone did. sometimes i had too many beers. sometimes others did. i liked here. i still like beer. i did not drink beer to the point of lacking out and i never sexually assaulted anynyone. amy: in a closer reader question kavanaugh about history being. butricking is one thing, the concern is about truthfulness. in your written testimony, you said sometimes you had too many drinks. was there ever a time when you

drank so much that you couldn't remember what happened are part of what happened the night before? >> no. i remember what happened. i think you have probably had beers, senator -- >> you're saying there is never been a case where you drank so much you did not remove or what happened than a before or part of what happened? >> you're asking about blackouts. have you? >> could you answer the question? so that has not happened? is that your answer? >> yeah, i'm curious if you have. > i have no tricking problem. >> nor do i. amy: they winter break and after returning from recess, judge kavanaugh apologized to senator klobuchar. i want to turn out to democratic senator kamala harris questioning brett kavanaugh. >> have you taken a professionally ministered polygraph test as it relates to

this issue? >> no will stop i will do whatever the committee wants. those are not admissible in federal court, but i will do whatevever the committee wants. they're not admissible because they're not reliable, as you know. wholl three of the women have made sworn allegations against you have called for independent fbi litigation into the claims given asked by four different members, at least eight times, today and also earlier this week on national television, whether you would call for the f -- the white house to authorize fbi investigation. each time you decline to do so. you know -- i know you do -- that the fbi is an agency of men and women who are sworn and trained law enforcement who in the course of conducting background investigations on nominees for the supreme court of the united states and others

are charged with conducting those background investigations because they are's one law-enforcement and they have the expertise and the ability and the history of doing that. so i'm going to ask you one last time, are you willing to ask the white house to authorize the fbi to investigate the claims that have been made against you? >> i will do whatever the committee wants -- >> i've heard you say that. i have not heard you answer a very specific question that has been asked, which is, are you willing to ask the white house to conduct an investigation by the fbi to get to whatever you believe is the bottom of the allegations that have an levied against you? >> the fbi would gather witness statements. you have witness statements -- >> i don't want to debate with you how they do their business. i'm just asking, are you willing to ask the white house to conduct such an investigation?

because as you are aware, the fbi did conduct a back on beforegigation in to you we were aware of these most recent allegations. so are you willing to ask the white house to do it -- say yes or no and we can move on. >> i've has expect ground investigations over 26 years -- >> as a relates to the recent allegations, are you willing to have them do it? >> the witness testimonies before you -- >> i'm going to take that as a no and we can move on. you said in your opening statement you characterize these allegations as a conspiracy directed against you. i will point out that justice neil gorsuch was nominated by this president. he was considered by this body just last year. i did a rough kind of analysis of similarities -- you both attended georgetown prep, you both attended very prestigious law schools, you both clerked for justice clinton -- justice kennedy. you are both circuit judges. you're both nominated to the

supreme court. you are both questioned about your record. the only difference is that you have been accused of sexual assault. youro you reconcile statement about a conspiracy against you with the treatment of someone who was before this body not so long ago? >> i explained that in my opening statement, senator. look at the evidence here, the calendars, look at the witness statements, look at ms. k kais's statatement. amy:y: that was kamala harris questioning judge kavanaugh. before his opening statement and the questions, the democratic senators talks to and questioned dr. christine blasey ford. this is connecticut democratic senator richard blumenthal. testimonyfound your powerful, incredible, and i believe you. you are a teacher, correct? > correct.

>> you have given america an amazing teaching moment. and you may have other moments in the classroom, but you have inspired and you have enlightened america. you have inspired and given courage to women to come forward, as they have done to every one of our offices in many other public places. you u have inspired and you have toightened man in america listen respectfully to women susurvivors s -- and men who hae survived sexual attack, and that is a profound public service regardless of what happens with this nomination. and so the teachers of america, people of america, should be

really proud of what you have done. let me tell you why i believe you. not only because of their prior consistent statements and the polygraph test and your request for an of a investigation and your urging that this committee hear from other witnesses who could corroborate or dispute your story, but also you have been very honest about what you cannot remember. composing a composing a story can make it all come together in a seamless way, but someone who is honestt -- i speak from my experience a as a prosecutor as well -- is also candid about what she or he cannot remember. senators on the other side

of the aisle have been silent. this procedure is unprecedented in a confirmation hearing. amy: we ended today with democratic senator dick durbin questioning dr. christine blasey ford. >> last that the republican staff of this committee released a timeline that shows that interviewed two people who claim they were the ones who actually assaulted you. i am asking you to address this new defense of mistaken identity directly. dr. ford, with what degree of certainty do you believe brett kavanaugugh assasaulted you? >> 100%. >> 100%. amy: that was dr. christine blasey ford being questioned by senator durbin. and that end are highlights of the senate judiciary committee hearings, historic moment. the senate judiciary committee is scheduled to vote today on

the confirmation of judge kavanaugh. that does it for our show. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. cñcñcñcócócócócócócócócócócócócó

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