dr. blasey ford: once. >> what did you talk about? dr. blasey ford: she asked me ,uestions about the incident and i answered those questions. >> was that the gist of the conversation? dr. blasey ford: yes, it was a fairly brief phone call. did you ever give senator feinstein or anyone else permission to release that letter? dr. blasey ford: not that i know of, no. date, julythe letter 30 and august 7, did you speak with any other person about your allegations? dr. blasey ford: could you say the dates again? of july 30er date and august 7, while you were still in delaware, did you speak with any other person about your allegations? dr. blasey ford: i'm just trying to remember what dates. with any lawyers you may have spoken with, correct? oh, correct.rd: correct, then. i was interviewing lawyers. speaking personally about it. lawyers you were seeking to possibly higher to represent you, did you speak to anybody else about it? dr. blasey ford: no, i was staying with my parents at the time. >> did you talk to them about it? dr. blasey ford: d

dr. blasey ford is being bullied because she told her story. listen to how she is being patronized and dismissed by some members of the judiciary committee.t look at how our president belittled and demeaned dr. blasey ford and ms. ramirez, reminding us once again that he has been credibly accused of committing sexual assault himself and denigrates not just women who accuse him, but survivors everywhere. that's not all. the chief counsel of the senate judiciary committee tweeted after dr. blasey ford sexual assault allegation, quote, unfazed and determined, we will confirm judge kavanaugh. and according to ms. ramirez is lawyer, the judiciary committee interested in taking her claim seriously or getting information from her about her claim. instead of getting the facts, stated even watching the facts, they tried to dismiss this as a smear campaign and plow right ahead. for anyone who is ever wondered why so many survivors of sexual assault don't come forward, obviously there is trauma. but also the fear of this very kind of retaliation and scorn.

dr. blasey ford." dr. ine blasey ford has agreed to testify at 10:00 thursday morning, 10:00 eastern standard time, before the senate judiciary committee. i want to ask you one last question. rewire particularly focuses on rupert at their rights. i wanted ask you about what you see as the connection, if you see there's a connection, between, welcome to what kavanaugh is being accused of and also his views on issues like roe v. wade and was surprised many in hearings, talking about contraceptives as drugs that i induce abortions. >> well, as we all know, it is been a project for 40 years of the far right to get rid of roe v. wade and eliminate abortion in this country. if you recall, trump's promise on the campaign trail to put judges on the court that would do that. kavanaugh has a very solid record of being against abortion rights. he was the sole judge that tried to stop a young girl from getting an abortion who was in an immigrant girl in custody. he was overridden, but he personally tried to stop that a

dr. blasey ford, what message did it send? >> well, in some ways it was a tragic day for america because to have those republican senators disregard dr. blasey ford's testimony, to have them seek as if she didn't just tell them what happened so honestly and so forthrightly. and then to try to turn this hearing into a spectacle and accuse democrats of being partisan and that this is some conspiracy. i mean, it was shocking to me. and i think for a lot of women in this country, particularly for survivors, it was a really low moment. i think a lot of women are suffering and feel that this country does not have their back that, in fact, these republican senators are disregarding them, disregarding their truth, disregarding their value and their voices by how they behaved and by how they treated judge kavanaugh and as if he is the victim here. he is not the victim here. he is someone who is hoping to be able to serve on the supreme court in a lifetime appointment. he is being given an extraordinary opportunity, and he showed so litt

dr. blasey ford in the 1980's have come forward saying they believe dr. blasey ford, that this was part of the environment at georgetown prep and other elite private schools around the washington area, including other elite catholic schools. is 300w, i think it people signed a letter from other surrounding schools, including georgetown prep. and 925 women signed a letter, fellow alumna of the school where dr. blasey ford we do high school, saying they believe her and that they would want to see an investigation. i would also point your readers to a very important article in "the washington post" this morning about -- which is based on your views with over two dozen women who went to elite private schools in the washington area where they intersected with people at georgetown prep and other boys catholic schools, and that the environment was one of heavy drinking, drug use, and regular sexual assault and sexual abuse of these girls. nermeen: i would like to talk to -- turn to writing from the man who says he was in the room. in his memoir, judge has debated

dr. blasey ford has received messages of support. etter from the 1984 alumni of holton-arms, those women wrote, quote, we stand with our friend dr. christine blasey ford and admire her honesty and resolve on behalf of our nation. with me now, samantha guerry. describe your relationship to dr. blasey ford. >> christy and i met in seventh grade. we've known each other for 40 years. we were friends in -- you know, for the six years we were at holton-arms, and we've said in touch loosely since then. our class is a pretty tight class and we've stayed in communication for what is it, 35 years now. >> it strikes me it's a pretty tight knit school, it's a small school and people are pretty connected. is that fair? >> absolutely. you can see that in the response that the school has had on a number of levels in the last few days. >> what was your reaction when she came forward this weekend and put her name to this accusation that has been floating out there anonymously? >> i'm not she did put her name to it. i think that it got leaked, and then

dr. blasey ford attended. >> women like dr. ford who come forward very bravely to tell her story, which by the way is very credible and i believe her, need to be supported. they need not only to be heard, but to be believed. >> the letter demands an independent investigation before a vote on kavanaugh's nomination. >>> a dozen member of the dr. blasey ford's family have written an open letter of support for her. part of it reads, her honesty is above reproach and her behavior is highly ethical and respectful of everyone's point of view. we believe chrissie has acted bravely and we know how difficult this is for her. they ask people to make every effort to respect the family's privacy. >> the deadline is 7:00 a.m. tomorrow for christine blasey ford to announce if she'll testify on monday or not. we'll send out an alert if that decision is made public. you can get those alerts by downloading the abc 7 news app for your mobile device. >>> the dmv gave customers another reason to complain today -- a computer outage. >> what i don't

dr. blasey ford. but just the two of them. crats think that's not enough. >> we should also note in this letter that dr. blasey ford's lawyer says the following. "in the 36 hours since her name became public dr. ford has received a stunning amount of support from her community and from fellow citizens across the country. at the same time, however, her worst fears have materialized. she's been the target of vicious harassment and even death threats. as a result of the threats her family was forced to relocate out of their home, her e-mail has been hacked and she has been impersonated online." it seems that dr. blasey ford is well aware that however much notoriety and attention she has now, a live televised hearing before the nation is going to be an absolute irreversible step in her life trajectory. >> well, that's certainly right. and, you know, obviously, it's hard to know what she expected when she first wrote that letter back in july to senator feinstein on the committee. but you have to understand, in today's political worl

dr. blasey ford said they do not remember. there's a big difference between do not remember and it didn't happen. and the other woman dr. blasey ford named who was there has since publicly stated that she believes dr. ford's account. she believes dr. ford, and i do, too. judge kavanaugh tried to give himself an alibi by making it sound like he never drank on weekends. his own high school calendar which he provided the committee as evidence disputes that stateme statement. during the hearing he admitted that one of the entries on his calendar from a thursday signified that he went to a friend's house to drink. judge kavanaugh repeatedly said that he has never in his life had so much to drink that he couldn't remember everything that happened, but numerous people who spent time with him during his high school, college and law school years confirm that he frequently drank to excess and became belligerent and aggressive. judge kavanaugh claimed that he's always treated women with dignity and respect, his words, and yet he and his f

i think it was fairly dismissive of dr blasey ford injusta fairly dismissive of dr blasey ford injustifferent way that they treated anita hill. one of the things that really stands out from the anita hill case isjust things that really stands out from the anita hill case is just how vilified she was afterwards. both by wider society and also within her own community as well. what would you like to see in place now for dr blasey ford, to make sure that she is not traumatised like that? well, i think, she spoke herself about the tremendous support she has received from people across the country and i hope she continues to get that support. she is a survivor of sexual assault and that is important for any survivor. i think it are the larger issue here is to also be treated with respect and credibility by the committee in self. —— in itself. i think process did not treat her well. go on... very briefly, what do you think has changed for the better and what do you think really hasn't changed at all since that anita hill case? at what has changed is that there are is an incredible amount of

dr. blasey ford tomorrow for the first time. brought in by the republicans in committee, all of them men. >> normally a sex crimes prosecutor would have so much more time to build trust and rapport with a witness before there would be a hearing like this. >> we hired her because she has an extraordinary reputation for being able to ferret out the truth and sexual -- allegations of sexual assault. >> reporter: kavanaugh will likely have to answer tough questions of his own. >> he will face some embarrassing questions about his youth, his sexuality, various pieces of his anatomy. it could be just absolutely horrifying for him to consider doing this in such a public way. >> reporter: but the new allegations further splitting the already partisan committee. on one side, democrats claiming the new allegations must be considered. >> this allegation is a game changer because it's under oath, and it names corroborating witnesses. >> reporter: on the other side, republicans. >> i do believe the judge. i think it is a smear. >> i'm very s

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

dr. blasey ford has always called for. you know, if kavanagh says all i have is some under age drinking and that happens everywhere, he should have nothing to fear from an fbi investigation. dr. blasey ford has come forward at incredible personal cost to herself. i've seen it reported she's had to move out of her home, that she's received death threats. deborah ramirez has come forward at great personal cost to herself as well. i should note there's 1200 yale women who have signed a letter in support of deborah ramirez as well. there's no reason not to have an fbi investigation at this point and if kavanagh is saying this was just about some cringe worthy under age drinking i don't see why anyone including him should have a problem with a fair and thorough independent investigation. >> all right, alexis goldstein and barbara mcquade, thank you >>> for more on the senate battle over this nomination i'm joined by senator richard blumenthal who is a member of the judiciary committee. senator, can you give us some details if yo

dr. blasey ford's attorney. well, for more, we're joined in our new york studio by dahlia lithwick, senior editor at slate.com. she is their senior legal correspondent and supreme court reporter hosts the podcast , amicus. her latest story is headlined "our system is too broken to assess the sexual assault claim against kavanaugh." do you still feel that way as dr. blasey ford has come forward? she is been clear in his letter, though this letter was not made clear to democrats or republicans on the committee until he was leakeked by the intercept in a series of developments then unfolded. >> i still feel that way. i feel pretty strongly that neither journalism nor high, high, high intensity senate confirmation hearings are the appropriate fact-finding reason based in our prices to come to the bottom of this. i think i probably still feel, as i felt whwhen i wrote the these, that the cost of forcing somebody into this system, to have this conversation under the lights of the senate were no one is persuaded becaus

dr. christine blasey ford. citizens have been harboring painful troops for years, sometimes decades not knowing if they would ever be heard or relieved or anyone would care. they want that to be true because it is their political agenda. but we have an agenda of our realm. we believe you, doc or ford. we believe you, debbie ramirez. we believe you, and nina hill. we believe you unnamed survivors and we care. we care because every single survivor of violence deserves someone, many someone's to care at the very least listened to them. we also care because we can drive state line between on cat behavior of a 17-year-old young man in the misogynistic and compassionate hyper politicized elite of this theory grown man who apparently still doesn't believe women have the right to bodily autonomy. we believe you, doc or ford because we argue. we are a movement of survivors not just because of what we've come through, but because we are causally trying to figure out how to survive. what makes us a movement as we are figu

dr. blasey ford. >> i had dismissed it. as i said, he was a jerk. when i realized he was sears league running for president i thought, well, i want people to told my family. it's all my friends, i told my book club. when iere several groups would tell my story that i could tell. some of them did not believe me. amy: and what you remember and what you don't. >> people have a perfect right to say, well, that was a long time ago and maybe your memory is flawed. i respect that. still needs to be acknowledged because how many women now in this #metoo movement? how many women have i talked to? m, i wente firstscru over the story so often of how myself saying, "oh, i can't tell it again." tellingmyself reporters, so people who would come with them, i would say, tell me about your story? every single one of them had a story. some of them minor, but they remembered. they got out how of it. some of them was, it was as simple as "i did not get a promototion because i would noto out t to lunch with this." innocents in a innocence, dr. blasey ford's story parall

dr. christine blasey ford and deborah ramirez. this is tarana burke #metoo movement, who called for the national walkout monday in solidarity with survivors of sexual violence. dr. blasey ford, like anita hill before you, we applaud you and your courage. we stand with you and we will not let you labor -- your labor be in vain. juan: in a minute, we will be joined by tarana burke in d.c. not on monday night brett , kavanaugh and his wife sat down for an unprecedented interview with fox news. it was his first public comment since dr. christine blasey ford accused the judge of attempting to rape her when she was 15 years old. kavanaugh denied the allegation. >> we're looking for a fair process where i can be heard and defend my integrity, my lifelong record -- my lifelong record of promoting dignity and equality for women, starting with the women who knew me when i was 14 years old. i'm not going anywhere. i'm not going to let false accusations drive me out of this process. i have faith in god and i have faith in the fairness of the a

dr. blasey ford's claims of anxiety, mitchell tried to pick apart dr. blasey-ford's fear of flying. >> you fly fairly frequently for your hobbies and you've had to fly for your work, is that true? >> correct. >> you were a consulting biostatistician in sydney, australia, is that right? >> i've never been to australia, but the company i worked for is based in australia. >> hawaii, costa rica, south pacific islands and french polynesia. have you been to all those places? >> correct. >> by airplane? >> yes. >> stephen: so what? being afraid of flying doesn't mean you never fly. it means you hate it while you're doing it. like everyone else... in coach. ( laughter ) i hear it's terrible. during the lunch break, a reporter tracked down utah senator and where you kept your orrin, orrin hatch. ( laughter ) anand orrin hatch told her how e felt about the testimony. >> and have you found dr. ford credible, sir? have you found dr. ford credible? >> well, it's too early to say. i don't think she's un-credible. i think she's an attractive, good witness, but it's way

dr. blasey ford is being bullied because she told her story. listen to how she's being patronized and dismissed by some members of the judiciary committee. look at how our president belittled and demeaned dr. blasey ford and ms. ramirez, reminding us once again that he has been credibly accused of committing sexual assault himself and denigrates not just women who accuse him but survivors everywhere. that's not all. the chief counsel of the senate judiciary committee tweeted after dr. blasey ford's sexual assault allegation, quote, unfazed and determined, we will confirm judge kavanaugh. and according to ms. ramirez' law, the judiciary committee isn't even interested in taking her claim seriously or getting information from her about her claims. instead of getting the facts, instead of even wanting the facts, they tried to dismiss this as a smear campaign and plow right ahead. for anyone who has ever wondered why so many survivors of sexual assault don't come forward, obviously there's trauma. but there's also the fear of this very kind of retal

dr. blasey ford named who was there has since publicly stated that she believes dr. blasey ford's account. judge kavanaugh tried to give himself an alibi, his own high school calendar, which he provided to the committee as evidence contradicts that statement. during the hearing in an exchange with my colleague senator booker, judge kavanaugh admitted that one of the entries on his calendar from thursday signify that he went to a friend's house to drink. he said repeatedly that he never in his life drank so much that he couldn't remember. numerous people who spent considerable time with him during the hearing in high school, during his high school, college, and law school years confirmed that he frequently drank to excess and sometimes became belligerent. finally, judge kavanaugh claimed that he has always treated women with dignity and respect. his words. yet he and his high school friends named one of my constituents and their yearbook pages, saying they were reducing her to a sexual conquest. that is no way to treat women with dignity and respect, in fact she attest

dr. christine blasey ford is -- dr. christine blasey ford's real attack a anyone who puts a board could face this kind of frenzy. -- real attacker. they say anyone could be that. >> it is not supposed to be that way. you should not be guilty until proven innocent. >> reporter: there standing behind judge brett kavanaugh and a lot may be determined after what happened at this hearing. >>> it gets underway in less than a half hour will bring alive undrafted coverage -- we will bring you live uninterrupted coverage starting at 7 am. we will update you here on mornings on 2 all morning long. >>> president donald trump says he may delay his scheduled meeting today with rod rosenstein to focus on the senate hearing. he added he would prefer not to fire rosenstein. rosenstein denied reports that he considered secretly recording the president and invoking the 25th amendment to remove him from office. firing it would likely set up a political crisis -- firing him would likely set off a political crisis. >>> they have a $2.2 billi

dr christine blasey ford told senators she's100% certain that it was brett kavanaugh who tried to assaultn front of the committee after dr ford, judge kavanaugh emphatically denied the allegation of sexual assault. he accused democratic senators of destroying his family and his good name for political reasons. senior republicans are now discussing a timetable for the next steps in the process to confirm mr kavanaugh. a first vote in the judiciary committe is expected on friday. now on bbc news, hardtalk‘s stephen sackur talks to former conservative party leader, lord howard.

dr. christine blasey ford. she wants an fbi investigation first. ses to take part in a senate hearing. >>> meanwhile, as dr. ford says she's received threats to her life as her public testimony hangs in the balance, the president says it's very hard for him to imagine anything happening between brett kavanaugh and his accuser. >>> and trump said it's very sad he doesn't have an attorney general. though we checked, and as of air time jeff sessions is still in office as "the 11th hour" gets underway on a wednesday night. well, good evening

dr. blasey ford named who was there has since publicly stated that she believes dr. blasey ford's account. judge kavanaugh tried to give himself an al bibi making it sod like he didn't drink on weeknights. his own high school calendar that he provided as evidence contradicts that statement. in an exchange of senator booker, brett kavanaugh admitted an entry on the calendar from a thursday signified that he went to a friend's house to drink. he said repeatedly that he never in his life drank so much that he couldn't remember. numerous people who spent considerable time with him during the hearing in high school, during his high school, college and law school years confirmed that he frequently drank to excess and sometimes became belligerent. finally, judge kavanaugh claimed that he has always treated women with dignity and respect. his words. yet he and his high school friends named one of my constituents on the yearbook pages saying they were her alumnist. reducing her to a sexual conquest. that is no way to treat women with dignity and respect. in fact, she attested

dr. blasey ford. a little over four hours ago smiling in her face, waving after her friends and joined by supporters in that room today. submitted questions from ten democratic members of the committee, 11 republican members of the committee, but all of the questions from that sex crimes prosecutor ritual mitchell. that final round of questioning from ms. mitchell, fascinating to me. she seemed to be simultaneously as she talked about how sex crimes victims are usually interviewed, what kind of process they usually go through. you see dr. shaking hands. question after question after mu like rachel mitchell was doing today in public in that questioning. she seemed to be saying those republicans who hired her, i came in to do this my way but it couldn't be done effectively -- >> i so related to her. i have been saying this for weeks. this is not how assaults, sex crimes are investigating. generally you work with either an fbi agent or work with the victim witness advocate. you work with a trained detect

dr. blasey ford's family, for herself. someone tweeted today that the president has been negotiating with robert mueller for a year whether he will sit and testify with him. and now we're talking about dr. blasey ford to only take few days to try to negotiate an appearance in front of the united states senate and all of the remenpublicans are saying ss dragging her heels. hardly. it's time she has a fair shot. i hope she makes whatever decision is sbebest for her by 0 because she's in the hot seat when in fact judge kavanaugh is the one who should be under question. >> you seen the questions that dr. blasey ford has put forward to lead her to testify before the committee. in 1991 you had thomas testifying first and hill followed. >> no anita hill was first. >> explain the importance of that. that's hotly debated this time around. >> i was actually in the hearing room in 1991 and hill was so credible. i really did not think clarence thomas could recover after her detailed, credible, well-thought out testimony. but he then ca

dr. blasey ford. but you did have this outpouofng anger by the republicans and by judge kavanaugh in a wth 's very unexpected. i think people expected him to be much more like the controlled and even-tempered person that he tried to be in that fox new interview. and a lot of republicans did end up cheering at the end of the day feeling like he was being authentic in a way that he hadn't befor and in a way that they could identify with. but the upshot of it all is that it was a tremendsly ugly an angry and partisan spectacle and it's hard to imagine that this doesn't erode public trust in the supreme court in the long-term. and that is somethinghat was already declining and that's something that hurts the institutio of the supreme court because the court can't do its job in aredible way ifeople in this country don't have confidence in it as a constitution that is not merely political. robert: already talks -- there are talks that after she spoke that maybe he would have to withdrawal, she gave such a s

dr. blasey ford was powerful. she was sincere. she was heartfelt. >> today's hearing, dr. y ford's testimony gives me great hope that the next person who comes forward and discloses their survivorship will be believed. >> reporter: one of the speakers, 25-year-old emily, herself a survivor, now an advocate. >> we stand with you. >> reporter: we met emily earlier this week at a rally in support of the women who came forward with accusations against judge kavanaugh. emily was just a sophomore in high school when she says she was sexually assaulted by someone she viewed as a mentor in her community. >> some people that i told would say, well, did you say no? or, like, how did you say no? did you cry? did you scream? and i feel like that's not -- the issue is that i didn't want what took place. that's the issue. the issue is that i was 15 and he was in a position of power. >> reporter: she says it took several months before she told her friends and would take several years to accept what happened. >> took me a couple of years of really, like, having community and having support

dr. christine blasey ford, and kavanaugh to both testify on monday. in a letter to grassley, blasey ford's attorneys wrote -- "while dr. ford's life was being turned upside down, you and your staff scheduled a public hearing for her to testify at the same table as judge kavanaugh in front of two dozen u.s. senators on national television to relive this traumatic and harrowing incident." the letter went on to reveal christine blasey ford has received multiple death threats in the past few days and has been forced to move her family out of her home. on tuesday night, one of her attorneys, lisa banks, appeared on cnn. >> any talk of a hearing on monday is premature because she just came forward with these allegations 48 hours ago. and since that time, she has been dealing with hate mail, harassment, death threats. so she has been spending her time trying to figure out how to put her life together, how to protect herself and her family. there has not been an investigation. these are serious allegations. amy: on tuesday night, senator grassley says there's

dr. blasey ford in terms of their was supposedly another person in the room when kavanaugh allegedly sexually assaulted professor blasey ford. a guy by the name o of mark jud. good you talk about mark judge, who he is? >> he is known in washington. when he was brought out as the character wititness for judge kavanaugh, that should have been setting off alarm bells for everyone. it is likeke bringining out the worst guy in your crew is the one you sent to "the new york times" to vouch for your character. if mark judge is the b best yoyu can do, that is deeply alarming. people can just google mark judge and findnd some of his pat writings, stuff that is racist, misogynist. feministid it is nice say yes means yes and no means no, but there's a middle ground. like, he has written these words in print. not on facebook or tweets, but in published articles. if this is the person who was brought out to deny he would ever do such a thing and then it was not surprising to find out namede was the accomplice by dr. blasey ford as physically, literally, in the room. and now kavanaugh is saying he was not

dr. blasey ford named said she believes dr. blasey ford's account. judge kavanaugh tried to give himself an alibi, making it sound like he didn't drink on week nights. his own high school calendar that he provided as evidence contradicts that statement. during the hearing in an exchange with my colleague, senator booker, admitted that one of the entries on his calendar from a thursday signified he went to a friend's house to drink. he said repeatedly he never in his life drank so much that he wouldn't remember. numerous people who spent considerable time with him during the hearing in high school, during his high school, college, and law school years confirmed that he frequently drank to excess and sometimes became belligerent. finally, judge kavanaugh claimed he has always treated women with dignity and respect. his words. yet he and his high school friends named one of my constituents in their year book pages saying they were her alum ni us, reducing her to a sexual conquest. that is it no way to treat women with dignity and respect. in fact, she a

we can bring it to you now, here is dr blasey ford.list of a list of very well—qualified supreme court nominees. i thought it was my civic duty to relay the information i had about his conduct, so that those considering his nomination would know about this assault. on july the birth, and a sense of urgency to relay the information to the senate as soon as possible 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's shortlist had attacked me. ialso on the president's shortlist had attacked me. i also sent a message to the encrypted washington post confidential tip line. i did not use my name but i provided the names of brett kava naugh my name but i provided the names of brett kavanaugh and markjudge. i stated that mr kavanaugh had assaulted me in the 19805 in maryland. this was an extremely hard thing for me to do. but i felt that i couldn't not do it. over the next two days i told a couple of close friends in c

dr. blasey ford is asking the chairman to do and the administration to do and they're refusing. dr. s to come forward and has said she will testify and i don't know how many times she can say yes. the republicans keep saying no. she said she would testify thursday. they said no, wednesday. they're trying to intimidate her because i fear they don't want her to testify and they want to silence her. this idea of an outside counsel is something i have never seen on the senate judiciary committee. there's nothing in the rules that allow for it. to me, that's a much smaller issue than the fact that they don't seem to be pursuing the truth which is what you would learn from an fbi investigation or calling additional outside witnesses which is also something that happened during the thomas, anita hill hearings. they called additional witnesses, not just the two of them. that's also something you're seeing that republicans in the senate are refusing to do which would actually help get to the truth of the matter. >> getting to the truth of the matter isn't easy. you tried such cases involving

dr. blasey ford. >> this hearing had people riveted. we saw couples listening together on a phone, others watching solo on a train, some watching on a jetblue flight to san francisco. for law students today was a day to learn a lesson in realtime. abc 7 news reporter kate larson has more. >> reporter: for law students and their professors at the university of san francisco, there was no mistaking the moment and the sense of history in the making. >> i think the law students have been intensely engaged in this. >> reporter: also increasing, the debate ranging back and forth across the borders of the law and into social justice. there were comparisons to anita hill's testimony and what's changed or hasn't changed in the decades between hill's appearance and ford's where she was questioned in part today boy a prosecutor which some felt made it seem like she was on trial. >> i thought as a society we have come to this feeling of believing sexual assault victims, and it's interesting to watch and really see her on trial. >> it's almost like

dr. blasey ford.ot of folks had similar experiences, but mostly i think the community just wanted to support her and say that we had her back. >> you have some notable signatures on the letter. we have to mention julia louis-dreyfus, a famous alum of the school. you wanted an independent investigation before the committee votes. do you really think that's going to make a difference? >> we do and we want to be consistent with dr. blasey ford's request which is what she has requested. this shouldn't be a resident pete of 1991. and i should note that another notable alum that we delivered the letter to yesterday is senator shelly mark capato. if you want to sign the letter, we're still taking signatures. >> and the blue lapel pin you're wearing that is school colors. >> yes. one of the alum made this and i'm wearing it today. >> president trump tweeted this morning about all of this, and for the first time there's been a lot of talk about how restrained the president has been not going after dr. blasey f