christine blasey ford and the forceful testimony of judge kavanaugh was to hit the pause button and tow judge kavanaugh and dr. ford the respect at having their allegations and defense sraes gat investigated by the fbi. >> there's a tweet that says nowhere in the first six fbi reports was there ever a whiff of any issue at all that related to any problem. and eight members have sent a letter saying that's not true, there's no whiff of alcohol abuse? why didn't you sign it? >> i was not aware of the letter until after it was sent. it was drafted and circulated to those on the committee, and then i became aware of it last night while doing a television interview, and i am trying to understand which issue he was referring to. i was not a member of the senate in 2004, 2006, when kavanaugh was subject to background investigations. i think it's important that members of the judiciary be heard on this issue, and i have not joined many letters because i am trying to work an aisle across the issue. >> and jamie roche, who is a yale roommate of brett kavanaugh came on tv last night and said he k

christine blasey ford's attorneys are not satisfied and released this statement. they said an fbi supplemental back ground investigation did not include an interview of dr. christine blasey ford nor the witnesses who corroborate her testimony. they cannot be called an investigation. we are profoundly disappointed that after the sacrifice she made coming forward, those directing the fbi investigation were not interested in seeking the truth. they continue to hammer this point. in fact, ford's attorneys just released the letter to the fbi suggesting eight people the fbi should talk to. they are still pressing this point among the list of names that included ford's husband and the former agent who administ administered ford's polygraph and someone also dissatisfied is debra ramirez. they committed a list of 20 plus people who could corroborate the testimony even if they didn't get the testimony. none of those people were ever contacted. we could only conclude with the fbi and those controlling the investigation did not want to learn the truth behind ms. ramirez's alle

christine blasey ford when he appeared to imitate her onstage. abc's senior white house correspondent cecilia vega tonight. >> reporter: tonight, the white house is defending president trump after he openly mocked christine blasey ford, rallying a cheering crowd. >> 36 years ago, this happened. i had one beer. right? i had one beer. well, you think it was -- no, it was one beer. oh, good. how did you get home? i don't know remember. how did you get there? i don't remember. where is the place? i don't remember. how many years ago was it? i don't know. i don't know. i don't know. i don't know. what neighborhood was it in? i don't know. where's the house? i don't know. upstairs, downstairs, where was it? i don't know. but i had one beer, that's the only thing i remember. >> reporter: ford's lawyers calling it a vicious, vile and soulless attack, asking, is it any wonder that she was terrified to come forward, and that other sexual assault survivors are as well? after ford's emotional testimony on capitol hill last week, the president struck a complet

jim, you were in the room as the white house tried to spin the president's mocking of christine blasey ford>> reporter: that's right, wolf. they were trying to tell us that up is down and black is white. the white house is not only defending president trump's obvious mocking of christine blasey ford, aides to the president are telling the falsehood that the president wasn't mocking her to begin with. it is just the latest example, wolf, of the white house playing fast and loose with the facts. it was a stunning moment. with a crowd of supporters laughing along, president trump incredibly mocked christine blasey ford, the accuser who says supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh assaulted her. >> how did you get home? i don't remember. how did you get there? i don't remember. where is the place? i don't remember. how many years ago was it? i don't know, i don't know. i don't know! i don't know! what neighborhood was it in? i don't know. where's the house? i don't know. upstairs, downstairs, where was it? i don't know, but i had one beer. that's the only thing i remember. and a man's life is in

>> they are essentially standing by what president trump said last night saying that christine blasey ford's memory is fair game here. kellyanne conway took issue with the media saying president trump was mocking christine blasey ford saying that wasn't the word she would use even though he was clearly making fun of her and her lack of memory of certain details from the alleged incident. kellyanne conway says the white house has been nothing but respectful of christine blasey ford, adding this. >> he is pointing out inconsistencies. can you fill in her memory gaps, that is why the evidence gathering process and any hunt for truth are already -- >> so you see there she is giving a passionate defense on what president trump said. what we are seeing is president trump who is uncharacteristically restrained from the days after she made the allegations is realizing that some supporters agree with him on the fact that they believe there are holes in her memory. the president is making it clear saying his supporters at the rallies are coming to the defense of brett kavanaugh. you see he says voters

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secretary up here at the podium trying to sell the whopper that president trump was not mocking christine blasey ford last night, he was obviously mocking christine blasey ford, only the most partisan, you know, trump assumer would argue otherwise. and i think sarah sanders was trying to just essentially get through this briefing answering that question over and over again. she told me at the end of the briefing that the president was just trying to deliver facts. that is obviously not the case. and i asked the follow-up question, do you think that she is the victim here. so the partisan talking points were certainly on display at this briefing, wolf. i'm not exactly sure the facts were on display at this briefing. but i do think it is notable, wolf, when it was asked at the very beginning of it briefing whether or not the white house is concerned, whether the president is concerned about losing some these senators, senator flake, senator collins, senator murkowski, the way senator collins answered that, i think it is a sign that perhaps they understand behind the scenes here at the white house, wolf

house insiders had been falling all over themselves praising the president's restraint on christine blasey ford. that was not restraint there. a few days ago the president called ford's testimony credible. what has changed? the fbi could deliver a report on kavanaugh as early as today. we did learn overnight the fbi is interviewing more people, beyond the original four. no idea what impact that might have on the timing. mitch mcconnell is promising a vote by the end of the week. we want to bring in our cnn political commentator, and a chair for equal opportunity, and a former federal prosecutor and a cnn legal analyst. laura, first to you. we have said this before, when you are dealing with victims of alleged sexual assault it's not unusual for them to wait decades to report that sexual assault, and it's not unusual for them to have varying memories of the assault itself, yet the president overnight chose to mock christine blasey ford. >> it's not unusual for somebody to zone in and hone in on the facts that made them have an adrenaline rush and other things be cloudy. christine blasey ford her

christine blasey-ford was not testifying for herself up there during that hearing but instead it was blasey-ford. >> creative. >> it's creative and that's the kind of stuff we're seeing in the dark corners of the internet these days. >> wow! who can compete with that? >> i don't think i can. what are the great ironies is that republican candidates were actively supporting efforts to undermine or overturn the affordable care act, critical component which is the protections for previous conditions, josh holley of missouri, includes dana rohrbacher, opening a door for insurers to charge people more. health care is the top issue on the minds of many voters according to the polls. what republicans are trying to do is tie democrats to singer payer and shift the conversation. >> health care. >> i'll stay on health care. one of the provisions in the large opioid bill would require the use of u.s. postal service to screen for fentanyl. before this, you could presumably get it delivered to your doorstep. but more broadly, this opioid bill is a few thing that senators, congressmen and incumbent

so what is the lasting impact of christine blasey ford? if the fbi report doesn't support ford's allegations as some republicans are suggesting and kavanaugh does end up on the supreme court, what message does that send to this country? what message does it send to victims of sexual assault? what does it tell them about the consequences of speaking out about a horrifying experience? did the leaders of this country really listen to christine blasey ford? we're going to discuss right now. chris cillizza's here. he is cnn's politics editor at large. haley sweetlin edwards is here as well. she is the author of that "time" magazine cover story. good evening. i want to get into the cover story with you but i have to ask our politics editor about this op-ed. >> yeah. >> it is a last-minute dramatic move. >> yeah. you know at a baseball game when it's the ninth inning you're ahead by one run, you bring in your closer. this is an attempt to be a closing argument with a very narrow audience. this is not aimed at everybody in the country. this is aime

trump after he ridiculed doctor christine blasey ford. >>> president donald j. trump about doctor christine blasey ford is being slammed by key republican senators whose vote could sink the nomination. we have more now on more on this evening. >> reporter: democrats, harshly criticized president donald j. trump's comments on doctor christine blasey ford , during his rally in mississippi. >> how did you get home, how did you get there? i don't remember . >> president donald j. trump is discussing. doctor christine blasey ford gave honest of herself testimony. she has a right to be treated with respect . >> the white house was saying the president was pointing out factual inconsistencies in her testimony and accusing democrats of trying to undermine the cavanaugh appointment from day one . >> on the night president donald j. trump nominated the judge, schumer declared the democrats would oppose the nomination with everything they had . before a single document was produced this is a coordinated smear campaign. no evidence, no independent cooperation just smears. >>

asking her direct lly about the president mocking christine blasey ford. u comfortable with the president mocking christine blasey ford. she made an effort to respond to that question. here's what she said. >> are you comfortable with the president attacking christine blasey ford? >> the president's comments were just plain wrong. >> is it going to affect your vote, senator? >> so what's notable there is she could have ignored the question and walked into the hearing room right behind me, a hearing she's chairing and not answer questions about exactly her thinks about the brett kavanaugh nomination. she has been reticent about going into her thinking over the last several days and avoided that question if she wanted to. but she made a point to try to respond to what she believes. the president just crossing a line that she did not want to see crossed. the ultimate question is will that affect her vogt. she did not answer that. went into the hearing room. but we believe what's going to affect her vote is the results of that fbi report, if and when that comes

christine blasey ford's sexual misconduct allegation against kavanaugh. >> something happened to dr. ford. i don't believe that the facts showed it was brett kavanaugh. >> reporter: in a dramatic turn friday, on the senate floor, republican senator susan collins said she listened to victims' voices. >> the #metoo movement is real. >> reporter: but will vote for kavanaugh, because there was not enough evidence to deny his presumption of innocence. >> it is when passions are most enflamed that fairness is most in jeopardy. >> reporter: and susan collins gave a 45-minute address to her colleagues and the nation. going point-by-point through the issues that had been raised about kavanaugh for his legal opinions as well as the issues about the allegations of dr. christine blasey ford, and the character issues around brett kavanaugh. after she made it clear there would be enough, even though it's just a two-vote margin, the white house, of course, erupted in cheers and the west wing offices relieved that they will get their nominee on to the high court after a difficult fight. today the pre

does that mean he did what christine blasey ford alleges? no. >> but doesn't it mean he was not credible or trustworthy when he was speaking to the senate judiciary committee. >> i think this is really important, the point, this is not a court of law. i always remind people. this is not an issue. this is called a job interview, called a political process, call it what you want, this is not is he innocent or guilty? it's is he worthy of being on the supreme court? just because the independent prosecutor said we would not have enough information to charge him, that's not what we are talking about here. >> to agree with myself -- >> well done. >> the point here is not whether there was proof beyond a reasonable doubt, the question is if you heard, and you were thinking of hiring a babysitter, who -- >> yeah. >> and you heard, well, there are three sexual assault allegations, but they are in dispute, that's the question, would you hire the babysitter, not is the babysitter guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. that i think is the more appropriate pe

judge was identified by christine blasey ford as the only witness with from 30 years ago. kavanaugh's calendars indicated he went to glaudette's house around the same time ford alleges she. and they're not planning on interviewing their client. they've heard nothing from the bureau in which we identified witnesses and evidence that would likely assist the investigation. once the fbi finishes its investigation, the result said will be shared with the senate where there's already disagreement on if and how to make them public. >> mitch mcconnell promises they will move forward on the vote for brett kavanaugh. >> we'll be voting this week. so the fbi report will be finished and we'll be voting this week on the kavanaugh nomination. >> however, it remains uncertain if republicans have enough vote. key can republican senators are declining to say how they will vote until they see ewhat the fbi's report. and joe mansion has also not revealed the vote until the investigation is completed. >>> and this sparked a difficult time for young men in this country. trrs the president made

christine blasey ford's hearing and testimony just last week. and so, a lot of this, perhaps, could have been clarified, not just the timing of when dianne feinstein handed over the information but what they had access to in the prior six background checks and so i think t"the 11th hour" claims is realy counterproductive to the credibility, perhaps, of senate judiciary committee, whether this is a partisan venture and certainly what the fbi was able to uncover initially in any of those prior six that could have allowed them had they looked, i guess, prudently enough or carefully enough to uncover all that we're seeing right now. everyone's in question. >> phil, on the most basic level, is the public going to get anything more than what we have at this moment about this latest suggestion from senate democrats? >> they shouldn't. i suspect they will. i mean, i don't want to take this analogy too far. the senate is like an old toilet. they're going to leak. i don't care what the agreement is. now, i think the question is, and we're confusing two qu

christine blasey ford's testimonial evidence is just that.ve to her therapist is just notes. yes, it is, because that's what is accepted as evidence. if we want to talk about court standards, that is evidence for the purposes of court. testimonial evidence that you've gifr given to other people and that you've discussed with other people -- >> she testified she actually read there were 12 testimonies, not just four, and she still found there to be enough evidence. >> on wednesday, the senate had their hands on a report that was supposed to take a whole week, that didn't talk to the victim? come on now, this was ain't reasonable investigation. it was done for show so the republicans didn't lose 100% of their women base. >> senator feinstein held onto that information for political purposes. >> for christine blasey ford to stand in front of the world and say she was sexually assaulted, to say that's not evidence again is an insult and it shows again why the republican party is so out of touch with mainstream america and particularly the women i

christine blasey ford's story. we should be open to our minds being changed. even donald trump said that in the press conference but what -- what last night revealed in mississippi is that donald trump was never open to changing his mind. that he engaged in this process in bad faith and in some ways called the fbi information and constrainting it also suggests a crisis of legitimacy around the process more broadly. so at the heart of this to my mind, chris is bad faith that suggests the process was broken. >> the republican leaders said the report would only be made available to senators but tennessee republican bob corker argued for making some of the findings public. >> i know what's going to happen to this. the two sides are going to leak out the part that benefit their side of the argument and if there was some way for us to present this to the public, i think it would be helpful. it would help the american people know there was a background check that took place and what came out of it. >> mimi, the president has argued he's the chief law enforcement offi

mark judge, the person that christine blasey-ford says was in the room when the sexual assault happenedith, high school friend of kavanaugh's, leland keyser was in court. she was the other young woman who ford claims was at the party. and then deborah ramirez, who we just outlined. >> this is not a criminal investigation where fbi agents can go wherever the facts take them. there have been guardrails essentially that have been put in place. we've been reporting this at cnn, white house team, justice team, parameters that the white house is setting on this investigation, that you can only look here -- >> but hold on. tom was just saying that doesn't make sense. if you get a lead out here, outside the guardrail, of course fbi agents can chase that. you're saying in this case they cannot do that? >> in a typical criminal investigation, you would. you go where the facts lead you. that was the information we've been getting from those familiar with the investigation, there is a very specific set of parameters placed on this investigation. that's not to say that the fbi can't go back to the w

most people believed christine blasey ford.he was credible he said. >> exactly. he said she was credible. i think people believed her, and it just didn't matter, because women don't have the power. the patriarchy remains. >> let me show you another view of that, michelle. i want you to take a look at some of our united states senators this week, and we'll talk on the other side. >> why aren't you brave enough to talk to us and exchange with us? don't you wave your hand at me. >> when you grow up, i'll be glad -- >> my chief of staff of 33 years tells me that we've tried to recruit women, we couldn't get the job done. >> they don't want to be on the committee? >> it's a lot of work. don't forget, compared to a lot of committee meetings, we have executive every thursday. >> i was raped 13 years ago, i don't remember the exact date. >> i'm so sorry. >> you're so sorry, do you believe me? >> she asked, do you believe me? he said, go to the cops. i thought that was as hot as it was going to get. there aren't women republicans on the

christine blasey ford. it is a week ago today that judge brett kavanaugh delivered his forceful rejoineder and rebuttal. but today, i want to take a moment and share with members of this chamber and folks who may be watching, something else that was happening during that entire appearance that i did not expect that was powerful and unique and special in my experience as a public servant and i've heard as i've listened to other senators of both parties who were present and who i've talked to afterwards, was their experience as well. this conversation is bigger. it's bigger, it's more pressing and i'd say it's more important than the question of one supreme court seat and one current nominee, this is a question about whether we as a country, at the highest levels of power, believe victims and survivors of sexual assault and are willing to listen to them to believe them and to take action. so what was it that happened last thursday? as i tried to pay attention to the remarkable testimony of dr. ford, my phone

>> it was a couple of days ago that the president called christine blasey ford a very credible witness. very credible, very compelling. but now he is basically making her out to be a liar. which is it? >> secretary sanders: the testimony by dr. ford was compelling. but you can't make this decision based on emotion, it has to be baked on based on fact. they have determined what the facts are of this case. it's one of the reasons they paid for the fbi and delayed a hearing vote so they could get more facts on this case. we expect the fbi to turn those facts over to the senate and they can make a determination based on that. that's all we are asking for. >> you said he was stating the facts at that campaign rally but this was so much more than stating the facts. this was a full-scale campaign rally assault on a woman who says she is the victim of sexual assault. what do you get out of that? is that to help kavanaugh's nomination? to rally the base? is a going to help the midterm? what's the point in doing that? >> secretary sanders: i dispute that it wasn't anything other than the preside

christine blasey-ford's testimony at a rally. he president did was just plain wrong some saying. >>> and the fbi has not spoken to brett kavanaugh or christine ford. is the white house getting in the way?

now what christine blasey ford is thinking. t have you learned about how professor ford thinks now? >> she's not happy, as you can imagine. but she is already, it appears to be, trying to get back some semblance of normalcy to her life. and i talked to her lawyers about that. and several other things pertaining to kavanaugh. >> have you heard any regrets from her about coming out the way she did? >> i don't think she has any regrets. i think she feels she did the right thing and this was what she wanted to do. provide this information to the committee so they could make the best decision possible. and i think she still feels that was the right thing to do. i don't think she has any regrets. >> president trump, i'm sure you saw, mocked your client at a rally tuesday night. the crowd who are obviously big trump supporters applauded. did you speak to professor ford? did she see that and what was her reaction? >> she did. she was upset by it. it was very hurtful. as it would be to any woman, any survivor, who had the courage to come

over the weekend a memo came out that rachel mitchell, the special prosecutor to question christine blasey ford, a memo five pages long detailing why she would not recommend charges against brett kavanaugh based on what christine blasey ford said. she outlined several reasons why, lists things like inconsistencies in her story, and gaps in blasey ford's memory that she says, you know, make this not even a he said/she said case in rachel mitch will el's view. this is even weaker than that. the democrats, of course, are coming back already and expecting to say this was not about christine blasey ford being on trial. instead, it was about brett kavanaugh interviewing for a job. >> that has been the confusion in the whole process. emily rau, thank you very much. there are new developments every day. you can be the first to know about them with our abc 7 news app. be sure to enable push alerts and you get them sent right to your phone or mobile device. >>> a former berkeley professor is awarded the nobel prize in medicine for discovering a new cancer treatment. this is video from the announcement in

date in brett kavanaugh's calendar, which he claims helped to prove that he did not assault christine blasey ford calendar includes two of the people who dr. ford says were at the party in question on that day, july 1st, 1982. reporters have homed in on that day as possibly supporting dr. ford's timeline for the assault, and it seemed prosecutor rachel mitchell was at least somewhat interested, at least on thursday. >> judge, do you still have your calendar -- calendars there? >> i do. >> i would like you to look at the july 1st entry. >> yes. >> the entry says, and i quote, go to timmy's for skis with judge, tom, pj, bernie and squi? >> squi. it's a nickname. >> did you in your calendar routinely document social gatherings like house parties or gatherings of friends in your calendar? >> yes. it certainly appears that way that's what i was doing in the summer of 1982. and you can see that reflected on several of the -- several of the entries. >> if a gathering like dr. ford has described had occurred, would you have documented that? >> yes, because i documented everything, those kinds of events,

christine blasey ford remains to be seen. y are this week, i spoke with her attorneys, lisa katz and deborah banks. i just want to start by asking, how is dr. ford doing after all of this? >> i think she's doing pretty well, all considered. she feels good about the fact she came forward and was able to share her experience with the committee and give them more information in order to make their decision. >> does she have any regrets about coming forward? her life has changed forever. >> i really don't think she has regrets. i think this has been an extremely difficult process for her. but she felt strongly that she needed to bring this information to the committee, and she did that. and then she took the courageous step of testifying in front of the american people. i don't think she has any regrets because she feels it was the right thing to do, and it was important. >> this has been terrifying. her family has been through a lot. they are not living at home. it's going to be quite some time before they're able to live at home

christine blasey ford hasn't even been approached by the fbi yet so what does that tell us? >> reporter: she wants to see judge kavanaugh submit to a lie detector test like dr. blasey ford took over the summer. >> not believable that judge kavanaugh did this. >> reporter: california national republican committeewoman says the fbi conducted six background checks on kavanaugh and believes there's not enough information from basy ford's testimony to find anything new. >> i think it's a disgrace, i hope we can move forward and not have politicized confirmation battles going to. >> reporter: senator graham wants feinstein's office investigated for how the letter was leaked. >> i'll call for an investigation of what happened in this committee, who betrayed dr. ford's trust, who in feinstein's office recommended katz as a lawyer. >> jackie spyr says calls for another investigation are a distraction from the topic. they have reached out to the fbi and now waiting for a response. live in the newsroom, cornell bernard, abc 7 news. >> we'll see, cornell, thank you. >>> the supreme court

so, listen, steve, mocking christine blasey ford at a rally.ve cooled off a little while the fbi does its work. doesn't that hurt kavanaugh and the republicans politically for him to do that? >> i think it does. i don't think it's helpful. i think the momentum was going toward the nomination and there's no reason to trump that positive momentum for the administration. and moreover and more importantly, i'd say look, i prefer the president's first statement when he said she was a compelling witness. and i happen to agree that she was, i think, a compelling witness. i think brett kavanaugh was also an incredibly compelling witness. but i think it is important to not go on the attack against accusers even if you don't believe them. instead, we should just focus on the facts of the case and i think the reason that's important is we don't ever want to discourage women who are attacked from coming forward for fear that they might face ridicule. >> thank you for your candor. i have to say that some people will come on and you don't do it all the time

because christine blasey ford in my might is a good example. that is fundamental to i think the expression of mass rage around gendered and racial and class inequalities that we are engaging in right now. i believe that it matters that it was hillary clinton who was defeated in 2016. because one of the ways that rage about, for example, gender inequality and racist inequality, one of the ways anger about those issues is suppressed is by telling people you have anything to be angry about anymore. that happened around race. barack obama is president, we are post race. of course it was also fundamental to the ways hillary clinton was record on both right and left, like she had all the power. and by the way, she had one within a system that's part of why she was a compromise candidate but there was no other approach to get side that system was to be shortages in who did have the support other party. in order to become the first woman major party presidential candidate you had to find, it was was going to be a woman who could rise within the system

christine blasey ford. in part just because of the time of day. christine blasey ford's testimony was at 7:00 a.m. on the west coast. but it's also because brett kavanaugh's enraged and sort of sneering and partisan in the afternoon, that was so strange for a supreme court nominee, for a supreme court nomination that performance got all the press that night once the hearing was over. but even though more people saw him than saw her, what happened that morning with her testimony, which kavanaugh himself admits he didn't even watch himself, you know, had he watched it, what he would have seen as a witness being as straightforward as she could possibly be about what she knew and what she knew had happened. >> one evening that summer after a day of diving at the club, i attended a small gathering at a house in the bethesda area. there were four boys i remember specifically being at the house. brett kavanaugh, mark judge, a boy named p.j., and one other boy whose name i cannot recall. i truly wish i could be more helpful with detailed that have and will

christine blasey ford say they stand with her. a group gathered here in palo alto last night among a lot of other protestors across the country that were gathered for so-called cancel kavanaugh demonstrations. they were held everywhere from palo alto to new york city to washington, d.c. last night. thousands stood outside the federal courthouse near the u.s. capitol and inside the senate office building. republican leaders felt confident going into the morning procedures. >> what we know for sure is the fbi report did not corroborate any of the allegations against judge kavanaugh. >> i feel very good about where this nomination is right now. >> reporter: those who gathered in palo alto said they don't believe judge kavanaugh has the temperament or the integrity to be seated on the supreme court and think he would show hostility toward minorities if nominated to the supreme court. people in dr. ford's hometown say they support their friend and neighbor and regardless of what happens this morning and this weekend, they will continue

evening. >> democrats are upping the pressure for the fbi to interview judge kavanaugh and christine blasey ford, senator dianne feinstein saying no investigation would be credible without those interviews and ford's attorneys sending a message to senator charles grassley that he will only get information he is looking for regarding christine blasey ford's counseling sessions and polygraph tests. if she hands them directly to to the fbi. three key republican senators appeared none too happy with president trump. at a campaign rally in northern mississippi, president trump wound up his face unloading on judge kavanaugh's accuser christine blasey ford. >> president trump: i had one beer. it was one beer. how did you get home? i don't remember. where is the place? i don't remember. how many years ago wasn't? i don't know. >> the rally crowd through its full throated support behind the president but in washington three republican senators crucial to his confirmation condemned the president's remarks. >> i don't approve of the comments from last night i thought they were wrong and extraordinarily unf

christine blasey ford. her raw

he out right blocked christine blasey ford.it's important to know whether you believe ford or not we do know victims often don't tell their stories for years and we know their memories of specific events following the assault sometimes vary, so keep that in mind as you listen to this. >> 36 years ago, this happened. i had one beer, right? i had one beer. well, you think -- no, it was one beer. how do you g

>> no. >> we are also hearing from members of christine blasey ford's family. her sister-in-law spoke to cnn about the backlash that ford has received for speaking out against brett kavanaugh. listen. >> i think when her sexual trauma involved being laughed at and being helpless and both of those things have happened, she's been laughed at by the president of the united states with people applauding and laughing. so i can only imagine from what i know about trauma that she is probably feeling a whole host of intolerable terrible feelings right now. >> in the meantime demonstrations against kavanaugh's confirmation are planned around the united states. one of the biggest scheduled for washington, d.c. in the coming hours. the planned parenthood action fund, sierra club and naacp are among those supporting the rallies. several have already taken place this week against brett kavanaugh. >>> now to russia, fighting back against being accused of carrying out worldwide cyberattacks. moscow says that it is all hysteria and spy phobia it says. the united states, united

it's not about what christine blasey ford says brett kavanaugh did to her when they were teenagers. it's not about whether or not brett kavanaugh is qualified for a seat on the supreme court. it's about for him, a political hit job, by democrats who want to stop a conservative at all costs. >> the democrats have been trying to destroy judge brett kavanaugh since -- [ booing ] >> the very first second he was announced. people see what's happening and they don't like it. the people of minnesota and the people of america are going to reject the democrat politics of anger and destruction and they are going to vote to keep making america great again, greater than ever before. >> so, what's the theme? a theme that this president is returning to again and again, a real crowd pleaser at all of his rallies. >> no one under any circumstances is allowed to speak up if you're on this side of the equation. but guess what? we're speaking up like nobody has ever spoken up before. >>> they want to get the power that they so desperately crave, that was taken away from them. all of the democrats know

christine blasey-ford's testimony at a rally. what the president did was just plain wrong some saying. >>> and the fbi has not spoken to brett kavanaugh or christine ford. is the white house getting in the way? >>> a new investigation that shoots down the statement that donald trump is a self-made millionaire and democrats wanting to see his tax returns if they win in november. >>> a, quote, credible witness with, quote, compelling testimony that supreme court nominee judge brett kavanaugh assaulted her? then he mocked that testimony. >> how did you get home? i don't remember. where was the place? i don't remember. >> how many years ago? >> i don't remember. >> what neighbor was it in? i don't know. where is the house? i don't know. upstairs, downstairs, where was it? i don't know. but i had one beer. that's the only thing i remember. >> let's put aside for a second the fact that such memory lapses are not even remotely uncommon for survivors of sexual assault and for one men let's ignore whether or not you believe that it was kav

it's been 18 days since christine blasey ford's allegations were made public. there's been an ongoing strain in washington. this morning the chairman of the senate judiciary committee had this plea. quote, stop personal attacks and destruction of dr. ford and her family or judge kavanaugh and his family. day after day new revelations attempting to either corroborate either side have continued to spill out as ford's attorneys push back against the fbi decision not to interview her as part of their background investigation. senator grassly is calling from notes from her therapy sessions as well as audio and videotapes from her polygraph tapes. i want to start at the white house with nbc news' kelly o'donald. there was that press conference, press briefing the president held during the united nations general assembly in new york. but this was the first time sarah huckabee sanders was back and forth with reporters on this, and it was tense. >> reporter: it was. it was three weeks before the press briefing, though it can't be called daily before. in the month of sept

but first christine blasey ford's credibility gab. that is the folk of tonight's angle. -- >> rachael mitchell the prosecutor to question brett kavanaugh and his accuser christine blasey ford last week has produced a report. her findings are fascinating and speak to dr. ford's credibility. her over-all appraisal, mitchell find the a caught allegations against kavanaugh to be weak and in the legal context here is her bottom line. a he said she said case is incredibly difficult to prove but this case is even weaker than that. dr. ford identified other witnesses and those either refuted her allegations or failed to corroborate them. for the reasons discussed below i do not think a reasonable prosecutor would bring this case. mitchell then offers a nine point critique based on the evidence at hand. dr. ford has not offered a consistent account of when the alleged assault happened. enter july 6th text to the washington post ford said it occurred in the mid-1980s and then changed her story in a letter to diane feinstein where she claims it h

it was a couple of days that the president called christine blasey ford a very credible witness. very credible, very compelling -- but now he's basically making her out to be a liar. which is it? >> certainly the testimony by dr. ford was compelling. but you can't make this decision based on emotion. it has to be based on fact. they have to determine what the facts are of this case. that's one of the reasons that they asked and begged for the fbi and delayed a hearing vote so they could get more facts on this case. we expect the fbi to turn those facts over to the senate and they can make a determination based on that. that's all we're asking for. >> you said that he was stating the facts at the campaign rally but this was so much more than stating the facts. this was a full-scale campaign rally assault on a woman who says she's a victim of sexual assault. what do you get out of that? is that to help kavanaugh's nomination? rally the base? going to help with the midterms? like what's the point in doing that? >> again, i dispute that it wasn't anything other than the president stat

christine blasey ford. for many are versed in this, that doesn't come as a complete surprise? >> reporter: that's correct. dr. ford says she's not been con tacked by the fbi in some cases, the fbi will wait to talk to a primary witness. but dr. ford maintains she's 100% certain that kavanaugh is the person who assaulted her. david? >> pierre thomas tonight. >>> we move on this evening to that scene of desperation in indonesia, after that deadly earthquake and tsunami, sending a wall of water crashing into the shore at speeds almost impossible to dlooef. hundreds may have been swept out to sea. abc's james longman from indonesia tonight. >> reporter: tonight, indonesia's race to find survivors. as it counts the cost of an earthquake and tsunami that's now known to have killed more than 800 people. but authorities say those numbers are set to rise. a massive wall of water surging at nearly 500 miles an hour, ripping through sulaweisi island friday. waves reaching at high as 20 feet. rescuers now picking through the carnage it left behind. sky news' siobhan robbins is in palu. >>

news now," the president slams the accuser. >> at a rally just hours ago, he openly mocked christine blasey forde claims against brett kavanaugh are being investigated right now by the fbi. but with just days to go, agents have not yet interviewed dr. ford. >>> suspicious mail. envelopes addressed to the president and the pentagon containing the deadly poison ricin. according to top officials, authorities are rushing to find out who is behind it. >>> toys "r" us might not be gone for good. the company has stopped its bankruptcy auction, setting the stage for the brand's revival. >>> and it's the sweet treat you can play with. stretchy ice cream that's been around for hundreds of years. we're going to give it a try on this wednesday, october 3rd. >>> from abc news, this is ve always been of that belf go y n spod to play with your food. >> we're breaking rules tonight" stick with us. kendis is going to play with his food and eat the ice cream with his hand. >> we'll see. i've got no rules. we'll count them. >>> let's begin this half hour with president trump taking direct aim at the woman who accu

and tonight, the attorney for christine blasey ford issuing a statement saying, an fbi supplemental background investigation that did not include an interview of dr. christine blasey ford nor the witnesses who corroborate her testimony cannot be called an investigation. we are profoundly disappointed that after the tremendous sacrifice she made in coming forward, those directing the fbi investigation were not interested in seeking the truth. let's discuss. republican strategist rick wilson, author of "everything trump touches dies," political commenters symone sanders and margaret hoover are all here. thank you so much. what do you think of this latest him moving it forward and her statement? >> i think it's clear mitch mcconnell always wan this had vote to happen. he has said time and time again through hell or high water the senate is going to vote on brett kavanaugh. they can vote it up or down but there is going to be a vote. i'm so surprised that even after folks pushed forever an fbi investigation, that the fbi investigation didn't even bother to interview dr. ford. so i understand why n

chris: you were in the room for thursday's hearing and you say you believe christine blasey-ford. here was senator lindsey graham. >> there is no house, there is no location. i have been a prosecutor and defense attorney of the judge, there is no way to investigate something that happened 35 years ago when you can't tell the month, the location. chris: in addition to that everyone christine blasey-ford put in the house that night, none of them back up her story. >> the graham's conduct during the hearing was shocking and was reflective of the real concern, you have this woman who has come forwarded given such edible testimony and around the country whether you were in the room or not people believe this woman. what do you do with that? what you should do when you have such credible testimony is treat is seriously, investigate thoroughly, not have a process where you have doubted her with the process and the graham has. chris: he is saying, other people are saying you don't know where the house is, don't know how you got there, how you left the house, you mentioned four names, bret