ford charges. she said we are neither going to ignore or insult dr. ford. i thought that was a good standard. unfortunately, since she said that, neither the president nor the republican leaders have lived up to it. i really come to this as a member of thehe senate judiciary committee trying to think about the gravity of the situation and what is fair. in this situation we have dr. ford coming forward. i i thought long and hard and i talked to many of my staffers and friends back home about her motivation. what in the world does she have to gain by putting herself and her family through this? was at the end of it for her? i can't see any positives other than thesh satisfaction that she is pursuing what she believes to be true. she is exposing herself to ridicule, harassment, attack, even by the president of the united states in his tweets. her family is in danger and it had to move out of their homes. their computers have been hacked. she's had to engage attorneys and get into lengthy negotiations with the republicans in the senate just for a chance to come

that's what dr. ford specifically requested. they would have passed on those allegations to the judiciary committee so an investigation could have been conducted in a more timely and confidential fashion.d and then it they could be addrd during the hearing, if necessary, that we had earlier this month. that is standard procedure would've treated ms. ford as a real person, not as a political pawn. and it would let the democratic operatives who have now been hard to dig up dirt out of the mix. i want to say that chairman grassley throughout all this has been exceedingly generous toward dr. ford, as we all want him to be. even when his patience has been tested or under want to commend him once again because he has had a very difficult job, trying to run the judiciary committee, trying to be fair to the nominee and the accuser alike, when this wrench thrown into the spokes of the committee operation has created more of a circus like atmosphere than it has a sort of deliberative process insert fore the truth and testing the backgroun

the decision whether to come forward should have been dr. ford's and dr. ford's alone. and i cannot rule out the person who leaked this information had a partisan agenda but i am certain ranking member feinstein and her staff did not disclose dr. ford's account prior to that date because it was not theirs to share and i think it is regrettable that long serving honorable colleagues of hers have questioned her motives. i know since the day that my democratic colleagues and i learned of these allegations, we have had one consistent request to allow the fbi to investigate them in a nonpartisan professional evenhanded manner and deliver their findings to us so that we could reach a conclusion. that same night, ranking member feinstein sent a letter requesting such an investigation. to suggest that senate staff interviews or letters from lawyers are in adequate substitute for a robust fbi fact gathering process is not credible and reflects sadly willful blindness to the dysfunction of our institution. to my colleagues across the aisle, you know me. even with those who we pas

i believe dr. ford. i may be wrong but i believed her and i believe calf nauge dodged, ranted and raved, filibustered and prevaricated. i did not find him credible. i don't belief boof is flash lance, i don't believe calling ourself a girl's alumnius is being her friend and i think drinking until you ralph or fall out of the bus or don't remember the game or need to piece together your memory the next day is more consistent with dr. ford's and other testimony than his own. if dr. ford's testimony is true , i hope we can all agree kavanaugh has no business on the court. nd i for one believed her. but set aside my own belief. as a prosecutor i am horrified t what the committee has done. terminating the f.b.i. background investigation before these allegations were even considered. ing partisan interviews by partisan staffers, declare tiffly determined to force the number -- declaritivel determined to force the nominee through. letting kavanaugh's acomp police in the assault, the guy in the room with him whe

they're not doing that for dr. ford. no fbi investigation because their plan is to treat her with even more unfairness than they treated anita hill. anita hill's accusations got three days of testimony in the senate judiciary committee. 22 witnesses were heard am. chuck grassly wants one day of a hearing with only two witnesses, judge kavanaugh and dr. ford. because chuck grassly's job is to do what you heard mitch mcconnell just promise, to plow right through it. the democrats want to hear from all the relevant witnesses and, quote, outside experts who can speak to these allegations. that's always a good idea. but now for fairness it is an absolutely mandatory idea. now that the president of the united states is publicly questioning why christine blasey ford did not report this assault when she was a teenager. the reasons that young girls and women don't report these assaults are well-known. they've been discussed many times on television. we know donald trump watches television. there's a vast body of scholarly literat

the republicans refuse an investigation of the charges by dr. ford. dr. ford has called for the f.b.i. to investigate her own charges. they refuse. if they truly believed that there was no evidence, no witness to back up the charges of dr. ford, wouldn't they obviously have called the f.b.i. and said do your job, kind what you can, and we are confident at the end that judge kavanaugh will be exonerated? but they haven't. they haven't. and despite all the calls for fairness, fairness over and over again by senator mcconnell, fairness would dictate that a nonpartisan investigative group like the f.b.i. look into this matter and come to conclusions, whatever they may be. i listened as senator mcconnell said this morning. justice matters, he said. evidence matters, he said. facts matter, he said. i might add an f.b.i. investigation matters, too. because it would get to the bottom of all three of those things. and yet, the white house, the president, senator mcconnell, and republicans have resisted this f.b.i. investigation despite dr. ford asking for it. as f

four people who knew dr. ford who dr. ford said were present at the gathering where she was sexually assaulted said it didn't happen. that's patently untrue. mark judge said i have no memory of the alleged incident. this is not it did not happen. pj smith said he has no judge. that's not it did not happen. leland kaiser said through her attorney she has no recollection of being at a party or gathering where kavanaugh was present. that was not it did not happen. in fact leland kaiser said she believes dr. ford. the only person who denied the event has taken place and said it did not happen is judge kavanaugh. so now this is the real point, sir. >> can you -- >> i would like to finish, sir. i understand that, but may i finish my segment. >> okay. i want to ask you a question. you have gone 17 minutes. i have three other people who would like to speak. >> sir, i understand that. i will be closing my commends soon and would like to continue. >> are you willing to let three other people speak. >> i can finish my comments and y

i was not at the party described by dr. ford. this confirmation process has become a national disgrace. the constitution gives the senate an important role in the confirmation process, but you have replaced advice and consent with search and destroy. since my nomination in july, there has been a frenzy on the left to come up with something, anything, to block my confirmation. shortly air was nominated the democratic senate leader said he would "oppose me with everything he's got." a democratic senator on this committee publicly referred to me as evil -- evil. think about that word. and said that those who supported me were "complicit in evil." another democratic senator on this committee said "judge kavanaugh is your worst nightmare." a former head of the democratic national committee said, "judge kavanaugh will threaten the lives of millions of americans for decades to come." i understand the passions of the moment, but i would say to those senators, your words have meaning. millions of americans listened carefully to you. given

ford, dr. ford said were present at the gathering what you sexual assault it said it didn't have it. that's just patently untrue. mark judge said i have no memory of this alleged incident. this is not, it did not happen to p. j. smyth said he has no knowledge of these allegations. that is not it did not happen. leland keyser has said to her attorney she has no recollection of being at a party or gathering where kavanaugh was present. that is not, it did not happen. in fact, leland keyser has said she believes dr. ford. the only person who is denied the events that have taken place who said it did not happen is judge kavanaugh. and so now this is the real point, sir. >> you've got -- >> i would like to finish. i understand that but may i finish my statement? >> okay. i want to ask you a question. uconn 70 minister i have three of the people who would like to speak. >> i understand that. i'm going to be closing my comments soon and i like to continue. >> are you willing to let through other peopl

i was not at the party described by dr. ford. this confirmation process has become a national disgrace. the constitution gives the senate an important role in the confirmation process but you have replaced advise and consent with search and destroy. since my nomination in july, there's been a frenzy on the left to come up with something, anything to block my confirmation, surely after i was tinominated the democratic senae leader saidd he would oppose me with everything he's got, a democratic senator on this committeeot publicly referred to me as evil, evil, think about that word and said that those who supported me were, quote, complicit and evil. another democratic senator on this committee said, quote, judge kavanaugh is your worst nightmare. a former head of the democratic national committee said, quote, judge kavanaugh will threaten the lives of millions of americans for decades to come. i understand the passions of the moment but i would say to those senators, your words have meaning, millions of americans listen carefully

i was not at the party described by dr. ford. this confirmation process has become a national disgrace. the constitution gives the senate an important role in the confirmation process, but you have replaced advice and consent with search and destroy. since my nomination in july there's been a frenzy on the left to come up with something, anything to block my confirmation. shortly after i was nominated the democratic senate leader said he would, quote, oppose me with everything he's got. a democratic senator on this committee publicly referred to me as evil. evil. think about that word, and said that those who supported me were, quote, complicit in evil. another democratic senator on this committee said, quote, judge kavanaugh is your worst nightmare. a former head of the national democratic committee said, quote, judge kavanaugh will threaten the lives of millions of americans for decades to come. i understand the passions of the moment, but i would say to those senators, your words have meaning. millions of americans listen care

i like that dr. ford will be heard. i would particularly like to thank senator grassley who assured a comfortable setting for this to take place. he gave dr. ford the opportunity to testify in public or in private, or to speak with investigators who would meet with her anywhere she wished or conduct the entire interview by phone. he has brought a patient, professionalism to this process, one that stands in stark contrast to those on the other side of the aisle who self-describe as sport -- spartacas and play to the television cameras. so dr. ford will be heard, thank, to chairman grassley and despite the irresponsibility of senate democrats who ignored her allegation for weeks and then discarded her request for confidentiality and leaked it to the press. so let me walk through this again. the ranking democrat on the judiciary committee received a letter from dr. ford all the way back in july in which she stated her allegation and asked for confidentiality. mr. president, that was in july. the committee's thorough review

ford. dr. ford's lifelong friend, ms. keyser, stated she doesn't know judge kavanaugh and as a recall ever attending a party with him. my staff made repeated requests to interview dr. ford during the past 11 days. volunteering to fly to california to take her testimony. but her attorneys refuse to present her allegations to congress. i never, i nevertheless, honored a request for a public hearing, so dr. ford today has the opportunity to present herc allegations under oath. as you can see, the judiciary committee was able to conduct thorough investigations into allegations. or thorough investigations into allegations. some of my colleagues consistent with their stated desires to obstruct kavanaugh the nomination by any means necessary pushed for an fbi investigation into the allegations. but i have no authority to force the executive branch agency to conduct an investigation into a map it considers to be closed. moreover, once the allegations became public, it was easy to identify all the alleged witnesses and conduct our

. >> reporter: any message for dr. ford? gripping his wife ashley's hand, judge brett kavanaugh walked past the cameras into the senate committee. >> do you afir that the testimony you're about to give before the committee will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you god? >> i do. >> reporter: then in a voice filled with anger and emotion, he proclaimed himself an innocent man. >> the day after the allegation appeared, i told this committee that i wanted a hearing as soon as possible to clear my name. i demanded a hearing for the very next day. unfortunately, it took the committee ten days to get to this hearing. in those ten long days, as was predictable, and as i predicted, my family and my name have been totally and permanently destroyed by vicious and false additional accusations. this confirmation process has become a national disgrace. >> reporter: judge kavanaugh blamed a, quote, frenzy on the left. >> a democratic senator on this committee publicly referred to me as evil. evil. think abou

ford, mr ayres and denied the allegations by dr ford, mrayres and —— denied the allegations by dr ford, mr ayres and —— mr mears... denied the allegations by dr ford, mr ayres and -- mr mears. .. yes. all three of these women have asked the fbi to investigate their claims. i listened carefully to what you said, your concern is evident and clear, and if you're very confident of your position, and you appeared to be, why are you not also asking the fbi to investigate these claims? senator, i will do whatever the committee wants. i wanted a hearing today after the allegation came up. i wanted to be here that day. instead, ten days past where all this nonsense is coming out, i'm in gains, i'm in votes in rhode island, i'm in colorado, i decided all over the place. these things are printed and run breathlessly by cable news. i wanted a hearing next day. my family has been destroyed by this, senator, destroyed. and whatever the committee decides, i'm all in. i'm all in immediately. and the terrible and hard part of this is, when we get in allegation, we are not in a position to prove it

ford? dr. ford: based on advice from counsel i was happy to underground the polygraph test although i found it extremely stressful. than imuch longer anticipated and i felt like i told my whole life story but i endured it and it was fine. ever taken any other polygraph in your life? dr. ford: never. him that you went see a gentleman by the name of jeremiah hannifin to serve as the polygrapher. did anybody advise you on that choice? dr. ford: yes and a believe his name was jerry. >> jerry hannifin? dr. ford: yes. >> did anyone advise you on that choice? didn't choose him myself, he was just the person who came to do the polygraph test. >> he conducted the polygraph not in his office in virginia but in the hotel next to the baltimore, washington, airport. why was that location chosen? dr. ford: i had left my grandmother's funeral at fort lincoln cemetery that day and was on a tight schedule to catch manchester, to hampshire, so he came to me. >> he administered a polygraph on the day you attended

it's been 60 days since dr. ford's letter was -- dr. ford's letter was made public. then, we have had some comment about why we didn't investigate ramirez. when i learned of miss ramirez allegations, i acted immediately to investigate them, unlike our democratic colleagues, some of whom sat on their story and conducted their own private investigation rather than share it. >> mr. chairman, excuse me for interrupting. can we have order? >> i would agree on the order. the order is we go back and forth. apparently you can have two republicans speak and one democrat. is that what -- >> that's what -- absolutely. after i get done, i'm not giving an opening statement. i'm explaining, as a chairman ought to explain the work of the committee to people who don't seem to understand it. i'll call on senator hatch when i'm done, then you senator leahy. when i learned of miss ramirez's allegations, i acted immediately to investigate them, unlike our democratic colleagues some of who sat on her story and conducted their own private investigation rather than share it with the chairm

ford says, dr. ford accepts the committee's request to provide her firsthand knowledge of brett kavanaugh's sexual misconduct next week although many aspects of the proposal you proceeded via e-mail on september 21st, 2018 at are fundamentally inconsistent with the committee's promise with fair and impartial investigation into her allegations, we are disappointed with the leaks and the bullying that have tainted the process. we are hopeful to reach agreement and later this afternoon to continue negotiations, sincerely debra, joel, your reaction? >> my reaction is they are concerned that this is going to end up being sort of a kangaroo-type hearing where there's no real facts, the fbi investigation which is standard for a nominee should be reopened to ensure that the facts are given and clearly she feels like she's been bullied, she's been pushed to testify without having background work done as is always the case with nominees. arthel: by the fbi. >> which is normal. fbi investigations for backgroun

ford. dr. ford's life-long friend miss kaiser stated she doesn't know judge kavanaugh and doesn't recall ever attending a party with him. my staff made repeated requests to interview dr. ford during the past 11 days. even volunteering to fly to california to take her testimony. but her attorneys refused to prevent -- present her allegations to congress. i never -- i nevertheless honored her request for a public hearing so dr. ford today has the opportunity to present her allegations under oath. as you can see the judiciary committee was able to conduct thorough investigations into allegations or internal investigations into allegations. some of my colleagues consistent with their stated desires to obstruct kavanaugh's nomination by any means necessary pushed for an fbi investigation into the allegations. but i have no authority to force the executive branch agency to conduct an investigation into a matter it considers to be closed, moreover, once the allegations become -- became public, it was

i intend no ill will to dr. ford and her family. my daughter liza said their prayers and little liza, 10 years old -- said to ashley, we should pray for the woman, a lot of wisdom from a 10-year-old -- we mean -- we mean no ill will. first, let's start with my career. for the last 26 years since 1992, i've served in many high-profile and sensitive government positions for which the fbi has investigated my background six separate times. six separate fbi background investigations over 26 years. all of them after the event alleged here. i've been in the public arena and under extreme public scrutiny for decades. in 1992 i worked for the office of solicitor general in the department of justice. in 1993 i clerked on the supreme court for justice anthony kennedy. i spent four years at the independent counsel's office during the 1990s. that office was the subject of enormous scrutiny from the media. the year of the impeachment of president clinton our office and i personally were in the middle of intense national media and political spotli

i was not at the party described by dr. ford. this confirmation process has become a national disgrace. the constitution gives the senate an important role in the confirmation process, but you have replaced advice and consent with search and destroy. since my nomination in july there's been a frenzy on the left to come up with something, anything to block my confirmation. shortly after i was nominated the democratic senate leader said he would, quote, oppose me with everything he's got. a democratic senator on this committee publicly referred to me as evil. evil. think about that word, and said that those who supported me were, quote, complicit in evil. another democratic senator on this committee said, quote, judge kavanaugh is your worst nightmare. a former head of the national democratic committee said, quote, judge kavanaugh will threaten the lives of millions of americans for decades to come. i understand the passions of the moment, but i would say to those senators, your words have meaning. millions of americans listen care

dr. blasey ford did so. the question is, what is he hiding western mark what is the administration concealing? thoseve we not received millions of pages of documents that remain hidden? kavanaugh not taken a polygraph? he says they are not reliable. and that the polygraph dr. ford subjected herself to was meaningless. she passed it. judge on the d.c. circuit, judge kavanaugh ruled that they are in fact meaningful. he wrote, quote, law enforcement agencies use polygraphs to test the credibility of witnesses and terminal defendants. refusing to take a polygraph, judge kavanaugh has failed that test. judge kavanaugh claims all four witnesses dr. ford identified at the party, has said the sexual assault did not happen. only one person has said the sexual assault did not happen, brett kavanaugh. the other three partygoers dr. ford identified say they do not remember the incident. that is a big difference. do not recall is different than it did not happen. , dr. ford named, has publicly stated that she ford.es dr.

ford is credible, the other aspect of this is not just dr. ford. you have this opportunity avenatti who is a sensational publicity-garnering lawyer, very slick, and he's the type that has gotten new york city and san francisco to file these nuisance lawsuits against energy companies, and so once this is over, there's going to be another slew of attacks. so what you have here is trying to determine the veracity of what happened 30 some odd years ago, but it's really a battle, it's a political battle, and the key is going to be how do those senators from montana, north dakota, indiana, west virginia, who are democrats, vote and also obviously, certain republicans with it. you know, i think of what muhammad ali said. he said a man who at age 50 looks at the world the same as he did at age 20, has wasted 30 years of his life. so when you're bringing up activities of someone as a teenager or college student, i don't think that's an indication of judge kavanaugh. the best indication is his judicial experience. liz: here he sits. he is about to take the s

ford's mouth with your hand? >> no. >> dr. ford described an incident where you tried to remove her clothes. have you ever tried to remove her clothes? >> no. >> referring back to the definition of sexual behavior that i have given you, have you ever at anytime engaged in sexual behavior with dr. ford? >> no. >> have you ever engaged in sexual behavior with dr. ford even if it was consensual? >> no. >> want to talk about your calendars. you submitted to the committee copies of the handwritten calendars that you talked about for the months of may, june, july and august of 1982. you have them in front of you? >> i do. >> did you create these calendars in the sense of all the handwriting that is on them? >> yes. >> okay. is it exclusively your hand writing? >> yes. >> when did you make these entries? >> in 1982. >> has anyone changed, been changed for those since 1982? >> no. >> do these calendars represent your plans for each day or do they document, in other words, prospectively or do they document what actually occurred, more

dr. ford has been through hell. the last two weeks, i have no doubt, have been extraordinarily painful for her, for her family. the testimony she gave yesterday was powerful. it was clearly heart wrenching, it was clear she was hurting and hurting mightily. having her name made public against her wishes and dragged through the mud was a hurtful thing to do. the wrong thing to do. and judge kavanaugh, he, too, has been dragged through the mud for the last two weeks in a way that has no precedent. in our polarized society we live in today, it's almost tribalized. where half of us wear one team's jersey, the other half wear the other team's jersey, and everything we see we see through the lens of our jersey. so it would not surprise me if across the country a significant percentage of those on the democratic side of the aisle saw yesterday's testimony and concluded he must be guilty. and it would not surprise me if a very significant percentage of those on the republican side of the aisle saw yesterday's testimony, the

ford. dr. ford's lifelong friend, miss kizer, stated she doesn't know judge kavanaugh and doesn't recall ever attending a party with him. my staff made repeated requests to interview dr. ford during the past 11 days, even volunteering to fly to california to take her testimony. but her attorneys refused to present her allegations to congress. i nevertheless honored her request for a public hearing. so dr. ford today has the opportunity to present her allegations under oath. as you can see, the judiciary committee was able to conduct thorough investigations into allegations -- thorough investigations into allegations. some of my colleagues consistent with her stated desires to obstruct kavanaugh's nomination by any means necessary pushed for fbi investigations into the allegations. but i have no authority to force the executive branch to conduct an investigation into a matter it considers to be closed. moreover, once the allegations became public, it was easy to identify all the alleged witnesse

dr. ford did not attend one of those schools. she attended an independent private school named molton arms. she and i did not travel in the same social circles. it is possible that we met at some point at some events. although do i not recall that. to repeat. all of the people identified by dr. ford as being present at the party do not remember any such party ever happening. importantly, her friend, mr. no knowledge of the party, miss kaiser said under presentive felony, she does not know me and does not recall ever being at a party ever. and my two male friends that were allegedly there that knew me well, have told this committee under penalty of felony that they do not recall any such party and that i never did or would do anything like this. dr. ford's allegation is not merely uncorroborated. it is refuted by the very people she said were there, and a long time friend of hers, refuted. third, dr. ford has said that this event occurred at a house near columbia country club on the corner of connecticut country club and east/west

illamily and i intend no will for dr. ford or her family. beforewear under oath, the senate and the nation, before my family and god, i am innocent of this charge. thank you, judge kavanaugh. questions, irt will not repeat what i said this morning, but we will do it the same way as we did for dr. ford. five-minute rounds. mitchell.tart with ms. >> good afternoon, judge kavanaugh. we have not met, my name is rachel mitchell. i would like to go over a couple of guidelines for our question and answer session today. -- ask a question >> i am ready, thank you. youf i ask a question that do not understand, please ask me to clarify or ask in a different way. i may ask a question where i incorporate some information you already have provided. if i get it wrong, please correct me. i am not going to ask you to guess, if you do estimate, please let me know you are estimating. i want to make sure all of the committee members have gotten a copy of the definition of sexual behavior. >>i want to make sure all of the committee members have yes, at . >> we a

ford. dr. ford's lifelong friend, ms. kaiser, stated she doesn't know judge kavanaugh and doesn't recall every attending a party with him. my staff made repeated requests to interview dr. ford during the past 11 days. even volunteering to fly to california to take her testimony. but her attorneys refused to present her allegations to congress. i nevertheless honored her request for a public hearing so dr. ford today has the opportunity to prevent her allegations under oath. as you can see, the judiciary committee was able to conduct thorough investigations into allegations -- thorough investigations into allegations. some of my colleagues consistent with her stated desires to obstruct kavanaugh's nomination by any means necessary, pushed for fbi investigations into the allegations. but i have no authority to force the executive branch agency to conduct an investigation into a matter it considers to be closed. moreover, once the allegations become -- became public, it was easy to identify all of the alleged witnesses and c

ford and dr. ford's alone. i cannot rule out that the person who leaked this has a partisan agenda, but i am sure that ranking member feinstein and her staff did not disclose it before that date, because it is not theirs to share. and it is regrettable that the long-serving honorable colleagues of hers have questioned her motives. i know that since the day of my democratic colleagues and i learned of the allegations, we have had one consistent request to allow the fbi to investigate them in a nonpartisan, profession professional even-handed manner r and to deliver the findings to us so we could reach a conclusion. that same night ranking member feinstein sent a letter requesting such a letter. a and to suggest that the senate staff interviews or the letters from the lawyers are an adequate substitute for a robust fbi fact-gathering process that we might then weigh is not credible and reflects sadly a willful blindness to the dysfunction of the institution. to my colleagues across the aisle. you know me. you kno

i was not at the party described by dr. ford. this confirmation process has become a national disgrace. the constitution gives the senate an important role in the confirmation process, but you have replaced advice and consent with search and destroy. since my nomination in july, there has been a frenzy on the left to come up with something, anything, to block my confirmation. shortly after i was nominated, the democratic senate leader said he would, quote, oppose me with everything he's got. a democratic senator on this committee publicly referred to me as evil. evil. think about that word. and said that those who supported me were, quote, complicit in evil. another democratic senator on this committee said, quote, judge kavanaugh is your worst nightmare. a former head of the democratic national committee said, quote, judge kavanaugh will threaten the lives of millions of americans for decades to come. i understand the passions of the moment. but i would say to those senators, your words have meaning. millions of americans listen

ford. dr. ford's lifelong friend, miss keyser stated she doesn't know judge kavanaugh and doesn't recall ever attending a party with him. my staff made repeated requests to interview dr. ford during the past 11 days, even volunteering tofully to california to take her testimony, but her attorneys refused to present her allegations to congress. i, nevertheless, honored the request for a public hearing so dr. ford today has the opportunity to present her allegations under oath. as you can see, the judiciary committee was able to conduct thorough investigations into allegations -- thorough investigations into allegations. some of my colleagues, consistent with their stated desires to obstruct kavanaugh's nomination by any means precisely -- by any means necessary pushed for fbi investigations into the allegations, but i have no authority to force the executive branch agency to conduct an investigation into a matter it considers to be closed. moreover, once the allegations became public, it was eas

ben sass shook dr. ford's hand. not in the room -- lisa murkowski and susan collins, who watched the hearing from a private office in the capitol. tonight all republican senators have been summoned to a conference meeting to talk about the way forward. those that are defending kavanaugh are pushing for a committee vote at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow morning. right now we just don't know the answer to that critical question do they have 50 votes to confirm kavanaugh. lester? >> all right, thank you. >>> at the white house, they were riveted by the testimony, president trump glued to the tv like people across the country. hallie jackson is on the north lawn. what are you hearing about reaction from inside the building behind you? >> reporter: president trump as of right now stands by his man, making that very clear in a new tweet right as the hearing wrapped up, writing, "judge kavanaugh showed america exactly why i nominated him," saying his testimony was powerful, honest, and riveting. the president slamming democrats, telli

i was not at the party described by dr. ford. this confirmation process has become a national disgrace. the constitution gives the senate an important role in the confirmation process. but you have replaced advice and consent with search and destroy. since my nomination in july, there's been a frenzy on the left to come up with something, anything to block my confirmation. shortly after i was nominated, the democratic senate leader said he would oppose me with everything he's got. a democratic senator on this committee publicly referred to me as evil. evil. think about that word. said that those that supported me were "complicit and evil." another democratic senator on this committee said "judge kavanaugh is your worst nightmare." a former head of the democratic national committee said "judge kavanaugh will threaten the lives of millions of americans for decades to come." i understand the passions of the moment. i would say to those senators, your words have meaning. millions of americans listened carefully to you. given comments

ford. >> rorter: the moment dr. christine blasey ford was introduced, you would see the fear in her shaking voice. >> theetails about that night that bring me here today are the ones i will never forget. they have been sered into my memory arm r af describing in detail what happened a washington bedroom in the early '80s. >> both brett andark re drunkenly laughing during the attack. >> reporter: dr. ford didn't tell anyone at the time. >> i convinced myself because brett did not rape me, i should just move on and just pretend that it didn't happen. t>> reporter: ove years, she said she did tell a few friends and her husband that she had been assaulted but didn't name kavanaugh until 2012. she and her husband were renovating he said andt he could understand why she wanted two ways out of the front of their house. >> in explaining why i wanted a second front door, began to describe the assault in detail. saying that the boy who assaulted me could some day be on the u.s. supreme court. >> reporter: there were dethe cou

that is what dr. ford specifically requested. it would have cost on those allegations to the judiciary committee so an investigation could have been been a more timely and confidential fashion. and then theyf could be addressd during the hearing if necessary that we had earlier this month. that's standard procedure would've treated ms. ms. ford is a real person, not as a political pawn in the would have left the democratic operatives now hired to dig up to dig up the mix. i want to say chairman grassley throughout all of this has been a generous as we would all want him to be an i want to commend him what began because he's had a very difficultun job trying to run te judiciary committee, trying to be fair to the nominee and the accuser alike when thrown in the spokes of the committee operation has created more of a circus like atmosphere than it has a sort of deliberative process in search for the truth and testing the background of the nominee, which is something allto nominees deserve. no nominee deserves to be dragged through

ford, and now dr. ford is dictating to them what her terms are going to be. let's listen to what lindsey graham said earlier tonight when he was playing tough against dr. ford before dr. ford's letter arrived at the committee with her demand for an fbi investigation. let's listen to what lindsey graham said earlier this evening. >> if she does not want to come monday, publicly or privately, we're going to move on and vote wednesday. >> bob schiff, i for one think that lindsey graham has met his match, that lindsey graham is not going to beat dr. ford at this game. >> i think that's right. you know, this is a very strategic thing they've done, but it's also the right thing that they're asking to do. >> right, exactly. that is a very important point, bob. i don't mean to reduce this to a strategic issue. as senate insiders, i'm hugely impressed at that level. your point is the important one. it is the right thing to do. >> right from the start when these allegations finally became public, my thought back to the anita hill hearing was that exactly the wrong way

and he has not heard one word from dr. ford. and he doesn't have to because he knows the job chuck grassly has given him is to make sure judge kavanaugh is confirmed. and we know about these tweets because our first guest tonight found them and brought them to public attention whereupon the tweets were deleted because they are outrageous. but mike davis is still determined and chuck grassly is still determined and orrin hatch is still determined and every republican man who's a member of the judiciary committee is still determined to confirm brett kavanaugh. and they are willing, all of them, to tell any lie to do it. every single one of them. every single republican member of the committee and every republican member of the senate has collectively joined in the big lie that there is no role for the fbi in this investigation. every one of them has joined in the big lie that this nomination must be voted on quickly. and so dr. ford knows that if she walks into the judiciary committee hearing she will be walking into a room where

in the treatment of dr. ford. i think something happened to her, i just don't think judge kavanaugh did it. she of course would be sympathetic. but the issue becomes the treatment of judge kavanaugh. you have seen her treated sometimes with kid gloves. women can take the heat of the kitchen when they are asserting their truth. judge kavanaugh, you have see the politics involved from the democratic side. it's not a search for truth. they never wanted the truth here. they wanted to firm this down on a thoroughly politicized. and they changed his life. charles: dr. kavanaugh mentioned that very fact during this opening statement. >> this has destroyed my family and my good name. a good name built up through decades of very hard work and public service at the highest levels of the american government. this whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit. charles: you are a seasoned trial attorney. it felt like to tammy's point, two different sort of approaches here. obviously we understood t

dr dr. ford has been through held. the last two weeks i have no doubt have been extraordinarily painful for her, for her family. the testimony she gave yesterday was powerful. was clearly heart wrenching, was clear she was hurting and hurting mightily. having her name made public against her wishes and dragged through the mud was a hurtful thing to do. it was the wrong thing to do, and judge kavanaugh, he, too, has been dragged through the mud for the last two weeks in a way that has no precedence. in our polarized society we live in today, it's almost tribalized where half of us wear one team's jersey, the the other half wear the other team's jersey and everything we see we see through the lens of the jersey. it would not surprise me if across the country a significant percentage of those on the democratic side of the aisle saw yesterday's testimony and concluded he must be guilty. and it would not surprise me if a very significant percentage of those on the republican side of the aisle saw yesterday's testimony the s

that is what we promised dr. ford. some of my colleagues have complained about the fact that next for on this site is investigating sex crimes will be questioning the witness. i see no basis for complaint other than just plain politics. the testimony we will hear today concerns allegations of sexual assault. very serious allegations. this is an incredibly complex and sensitive subject to discuss. and it is not an easy one to discuss. that is why the senators on this side of the dais believe an expert with deep experience and training in interviewing victims of sexual assault and investigating sexual assault allegations should be asking questions. this will be a stark contrast to the grandstanding and chaos that we saw from the other side during the previous four days in this hearing process. i can think of no one better equipped to question the witnesses than rachel mitchell. she is a career prosecutor, civil servant with decades of experience, investigating a prosecuting sex crimes. she is -- has dedicated her career