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Senate Judiciary Committee hears Dr. Ford

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Ford hearingOn Thursday, 27 September, Christine Blasey Ford testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh‘s behavior while the two were in high school. This is her written statement.

The hearing opened with a statement from Republican Chair Sen. Chuck Grassley, whose statement was a rehash of GOP talking points, including mischaracterizing a Joe Biden statement from the Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill hearing in 1991 and accusing Democratic Party committee members of “grandstanding.”

“I understand there are two other allegations …. and they have made no attempt to substantiate their claims,” according to Grassley.

Sen. Feinstein began a short statement at 7:19 am Pacific time.

In 1991, the Senate heard from almost two dozen witnesses and held three days of hearings. In 2018, one day, one witness, Feinstein noted.

This is a “real question of character” for someone who is “asking for a lifetime appointment,” she continued, as she quoted various Republican snippets disparaging Dr. Ford (that she is ‘mixed up’ and this is a ‘hiccup’) and pointed out that Republican leadership has stated it wants to vote over on his nomination over the weekend.

She identified additional claimants. “All three women have asked for the FBI to investigate. All three women say they have witnesses that can corroborate their accounts. But Republicans refuse to investigate.”

“This is not a trial for Dr. Ford. It is a job interview for Brett Kavanaugh,” Feinstein stated.

Grassley: “we will consider other issues at other times,” in reference to the other two claimants. But the Committee is voting on Friday.

Because the mike doesn’t move, Dr. Ford has to lean forward to be heard.

As she read her statement, her voice was strong but clearly under emotional pressure.

I had been friendly with a classmate of Brett’s for a short time during my freshman 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 me.

As Dr. Ford advanced in her testimony, her voice broke and her breathing became shallow.

I tried to yell for help. When I did, Brett put his hand over my mouth to stop me from screaming. This was 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.

Her affect obviously relaxed when she described escaping from the house.

I had never told the details to anyone until May 2012, during a couples counseling session. The reason this came up in counseling is that my husband and I had completed an extensive 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 have a second front door, I described the assault in detail. I recall saying that the boy who assaulted me could someday be on the U.S. Supreme Court and spoke a bit about his background. My husband recalls that I named my attacker as Brett Kavanaugh.

As soon as she saw that Kavanaugh was on Trump’s short list of nominees, she reached out to her US Representative.

On July 9, 2018, I received a call from the office of Congresswoman Anna Eshoo after Mr. Kavanaugh had become the nominee. I met with her staff on July 11 and with her on July 13, describing the assault and discussing my fear about coming forward. Later, we discussed the possibility of sending a letter to Ranking Member Feinstein, who is one of my state’s 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, 2018. The letter included my name, but requested that the letter be kept confidential.

And this is why the first voice is so important in cases like this.

During August 2018, the press reported that Mr. Kavanaugh’s confirmation was virtually certain. His allies painted him as a champion of women’s rights and empowerment. I believed that if I came forward, my voice would be drowned out by a chorus of powerful supporters. By 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.

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. I have been called the most vile and hateful names imaginable. These messages, while far fewer than the expressions of support, have been terrifying to receive and have rocked me to my core. People have posted my personal information on the internet. This has resulted in additional emails, calls, and threats. My family and I were forced to move out of our home. Since September 16, my family and I have been living in various secure locales, with guards. This past Tuesday evening, my work email account was hacked and messages were sent out supposedly recanting my description of the sexual assault.

On to the volleyball questioning format

The standard format for a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing is to alternate questions between majority and minority members. Chairman Grassley set a five-minute limit for committee members but his behavior showed that he reserved the right to talk whenever he wanted to.

Democratic members of the committee, both men and women, asked questions directly. The all-male Republican cohort chose Rachel Mitchell, a Republican sex crimes prosecutor from Arizona, to ask their questions.

Arizona Prosecutor Rachel Mitchell began question as the proxy for Grassley by saying that she was struck by the fact that Dr. Ford was “terrified” while making her statement. “I’m sorry for that,” Mitchell said. “That’s not right.”

Guidelines: if I ask you a question you can’t understand, please ask for clarification.

(1) A screenshot of a text message on July 6 and July 10. “Are those three comments accurate?”

Dr. Ford: “There is one correction: I’ve misused the word bystander as an adjective.”

(2) Letter to Sen. Feinstein dated July 30th. Is the date correct and the letter accurate? Ford: on-or-about the 30th. In the second paragraph, “I can’t guarantee that there weren’t more people there.”

Five minutes up.

Feinstein entered letters into the record from friends and physicians.

Feinstein asked Dr. Ford to describe the impacts on her life. She described a variety of issues, including academic problems when she attended the University of North Carolina, PTSD and claustrophobia.

In describing what happened before she decided to go on the record, Dr. Ford said,
“A reporter appeared in my graduate classroom and I mistook her for a student…At that point I felt like enough was enough.”

Feinstein asked Dr. Ford if she was certain that her attacker was Kavanaugh.

The next five minutes is back to the Republicans and their proxy.

Dr. Ford noted that she could be more accurate about the timeline if someone would investigate when Mark Judge worked at Safeway.

Q: Was your statement accurate?
A: Yes.

The prosecutor then had Dr. Ford explain details about the gathering (Dr. Ford’s characterization has consistently been that this was a get-together rather than a planned party).

Volleyball back to the Democrats.

Sen. Leahy (D-VT) calls for non-partisan investigation. “You and I were both here 27 years ago… I’m concerned we are doing a lot less for these three women today… There are millions … who have been inspired by your story… We owe you a debt of gratitude.”

The person who GOP proxy Ed Whelan “blamed” for the attack (in counsel with a PR agency) was the person who introduced Dr. Ford to Kavanaugh and Judge, according to Dr. Ford. Dr. Ford declined to state his name.

In response to a question from Leahy about what she remembers from the attack:

“The laughter … and their having fun at my expense,” is an “indelible” memory, Dr. Ford recalled with an emotional, shaky voice.

Back to Prosecutor Mitchell for Sen. Graham:

Summing statement and question: you’ve said that there were at least four boys and two girls, including yourself, at the party. Have you told us everything you can remember?

“I believe so.”

Volleyball back to the Democrats:

More letters entered into the record.

Sen. Richard Durbin: “I’m asking you to address this new” claim that two other men were your attackers. “How certain are you” that Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh were your attackers?

Dr. Ford: “100%.”

Durbin wanted to know how she knew that Judge was uncomfortable when she saw him at the Safeway. She described him as looking “white” and “sick.”

Taking a break at 8:28 am. Here are some Twitter reactions and observations.

CNN is reporting that people in the hearing room have been crying.

I certainly have been.

CNN is now reminding its audience that Dr. Ford was only 15 years old.

Resumed at 8:47 am Pacific

Prosecutor Mitchell returns to discussion of a map of the area and Dr. Ford’s home.

Objection from Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris, again, about the Republican’s failure to provide the committee with maps and other documents.

The prosecutor is focusing on details that victims do not recall because they are not emotionally charged. She is implying that the distances are such that Dr. Ford could not have walked home, that someone would have had to drive her home and no such person has come forward.

Volleyball back to Democrats at 8:53 am.

Former prosecutor Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) made the point that a thorough investigation is “the most basic thing” we can offer a victim. “You have met all standards of preliminary credibility…” he continued. “You have met every condition” that a prosecutor might want.

“I feel like I could be more helpful” if the FBI were to investigate, Dr. Ford replied.

Whitehouse, “never in the history of background investigations … a new investigation has not been” initiated when there are new claims. He is clearly unhappy, based on his forceful tone and demeanor.

Grassley rebutted the Whitehouse claim about “investigation” by citing the Committee timeline. This is outside of his five-minute statement time, but he’s the chair. He is repeating hearsay.

Volleyball back to the prosecutor at 9:01 am.

She now tried to get Dr. Ford to admit that she had other incidents in her life which might have contributed to PTSD.

Dr. Ford has a fear of flying. Combined with her fixation on having two front doors on her house during a remodel (couples counseling in 2012), this reinforces her claim of claustrophia. The prosecutor attempted to suggest she’s not really claustrophobic because she has flown for vacation and work.

Back to Democrats

Sen. Klobuchar thanked Dr. Ford for coming forward. Klobuchar said that there is a federal rule of evidence that statements made to medical professionals are considered as more than hearsay.

Q: Can you tell us what you don’t forget about that night?

A: “The stairwell, the bedroom, the living room, the bathroom, the uproarious laughter, the multiple attempts to escape and the final

Grassley again intervenes and contradicts Ford. He said that that the committee would have been willing to fly to California.

Klobuchar asked to include the polygraph reports into the record and noted that the GOP would not let the person who administered the polygraph to testify. Grassley remains interruptive and argumentative, insisting that this include documents that can not stand alone without testimony. He also insisted he did not have the polygraph report; Klobuchar pointed out that it was in his packet. Eventually, he accepted that polygraph report be inserted into the record.

Back to the prosecutor at 9:14 am.

The prosecutor now shifted focus to Dr. Ford and why she acted like she did this summer.

Dr. Ford said that she had advice from “beach” friends which I took to being part of an informal network of friends as contrasted with her work network. She called her Representative’s office and put the tip in to the Washington Post.

Back to Democrats at 9:20 am

Sen. Chris Coons introduced articles into the record about memory and sexual assault. He reinforced the fact that Dr. Ford reached out to DC about his nomination when Brett Kavanaugh was on the short list and not the nominee.

Coons asked about impacts on her life.

Dr. Ford outlined the immediate impact (four years) included a “fairly disastrous” first two years at UNC. Longer term impacts included anxiety and relationship challenges.

Coons criticized the “boys will be boys” excuse.

Dr. Ford pointed out that medical research suggests that sexual assault is harder to process for younger victims, when the brain is not fully developed.

Ping-pong back to prosecutor with continued acrimony about the offer for the committee to come to California.

For the second time, Dr. Ford stated that she did not understand, earlier this summer, why she would need a lawyer.

Grassley asked for the clock to be stopped while Dr. Ford searched through papers. Pretty sure this wasn’t the case when Kavanaugh was testifying, as I recall his stalling during the five-minute period Democrats have to question a witness.

Sen. Blumenthal has the ball.

“I have found your testimony powerful and credible and I believe you,” he said with a shaking voice. “You have inspired and enlightened America.”

“I want to quote one of my colleagues, Dr. Lindsay Graham” about his prosecution of rape cases. Graham wrote: “I learned how much courage from a deep and hidden place it takes” to testify against their assailants.

Blumenthal’s kindness moved Dr. Ford to a visible struggle not to burst into tears.

Blumenthal picked up on Dr. Ford’s observation that she could narrow the time if someone would discover when Judge worked at Safeway. He asked if she would like Judge to be interviewed. She said “yes.”

The ball is back in the prosecutor’s court for Sen. Flake.

She wanted to know about the polygraph test. Dr. Ford’s counsel continued to object to questions that touch on confidentiality.

Recess for lunch at 9:42 am Pacific.

I did not expect to be triggered in the manner that I was triggered.

Addendum: relevant links and tweets outside the morning hearing period

I’m closing with this observation from Chris Hayes, because it is the most logical way to align these puzzle pieces.

Kavanaugh was so drunk that he has no memory of the attack. Which, if you’re going to engage in a (successful) goal of drinking 100 kegs of beer in your senior year of high school, is a reasonable deduction.

There are 165 12oz-bottles of beer in a full sized keg. There are fewer than 40 weeks in a traditional high school year. That’s at least two kegs a week at what sounds like relatively small parties. Do the math.

And it matches her description of his departure down the stairs. And his Yale roommate’s description of his drinking (“aggressive and belligerent when he was very drunk”) while another friend and drinking buddy called him a “sloppy drunk” in college.

Updated at 12:21 pm Pacific for spelling, grammar and outside links.
Updated at 12:45 pm Pacific with addendum.