🔴 The Kavanaugh-Ford hearing has begun in Washington, D.C.—We are live streaming it at facebook.com/democracynow/v… and on our homepage at democracynow.org 
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, Senate Judiciary Committee chair, is delivering opening remarks. He says he "laments" how this hearing comes about, apologizes to Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, accuses attorneys for Deborah Ramirez and Julie Swetnick for "stonewalling"
Sen. Chuck Grassley pointedly quotes Joe Biden's comments during Clarence Thomas's 1991 confirmation hearing to justify why he believes no FBI investigation is warranted for sexual assault accusations against Brett Kavanaugh #KavanaughHearings
Senator Dianne Feinstein cites numbers from @RAINN, notes that 1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men will experience sexual violence in their lifetime. "How women are treated in the United States with this kind of concern is really wanting a lot of reform," she says. #KavanaughHearings
Sen. Feinstein began her comments thanking Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. "Before you get to your testimony, and the chairman chose not to do this, I think it's important that you're properly introduced."
"I didn't forget to do that," Sen. Grassley interjects.
#KavanaughHearings
"I didn't forget to do that," Sen. Grassley interjects.
#KavanaughHearings
Feinstein: "Today, while rejecting an FBI investigation, Republicans are refusing to hear testimony from any other witness, including Mark Judge, who Dr. Ford identified as being in the room when the attack took place. And we believe Mark Judge should be subpoenaed"
Dr. Christine Blasey Ford is sworn in at #KavanaughHearings
Dr. Christine Blasey Ford: "I am here today not because I want to be. I am terrified. I am here because I believe it is my civic duty to tell you what happened to me while Brett Kavanaugh and I were in high school." #KavanaughHearings
Dr. Ford recalls the events preceding her assault at a house party in 1982: "Brett [Kavanaugh] and Mark [Judge] were visibly drunk… I was pushed from behind into a bedroom. I couldn’t see who pushed me. Brett and Mark came into the bedroom and locked the door behind them."
If you are looking for video—We're streaming the hearing live at democracynow.org, and also live on our Facebook page, facebook.com/democracynow. #KavanaughHearings
Video: Dr. Christine Blasey Ford describes to the Senate Judiciary Committee her sexual assault by Brett Kavanaugh, says she feared Kavanaugh "was accidentally going to kill [her]" #KavanaughHearings
The woman the GOP has selected to question Dr. Ford, Rachel Mitchell, a longtime Republican & sex crimes prosecutor from Maricopa County in Arizona, is probing Ford in 5-minute increments in a back-and-forth with Democrats on the committee #KavanaughHearings
.@SenatorLeahy addresses Dr. Ford during questioning: "There are millions of victims and survivors out there who have been inspired by your courage… You sharing your story is going to have a lasting positive impact… We owe you a debt of gratitude" #KavanaughHearings
Sen. Grassley has called for a 15 minute break. Earlier, prosecutor Rachel Mitchell asked Dr. Ford whether she was drinking at the time she says Kavanaugh assaulted her and questioned Ford's account of overhearing conversations between Kavanaugh and Judge after the alleged attack
Senators Leahy & Durbin both asked Dr. Ford about accusations she mistook Kavanaugh for someone else—Blasey Ford says she would not have mistaken a "doppelganger" for either Kavanaugh or Judge. She says she is "100 percent" certain her attacker was Kavanaugh. #KavanaughHearings
Before the break, Sen. Dick Durbin said the FBI should have investigated Dr. Blasey Ford's allegations. Addressing Dr. Blasey Ford, Durbin also said: "A polished liar can create a seamless story, but a trauma survivor cannot be expected to remember every painful detail"
Spotted in the hearing room: #MeToo founder @TaranaBurke, @AlyssaMilano and @FGossGraves, along with other advocates and survivors
During questioning by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Dr. Ford's attorney chimes in about the polygraph test. Klobuchar asks to enter the polygraph into the record, and in an exchange with Sen. Grassley, says Grassley has barred both the polygraph examiner and Mark Judge from testifying
Rachel Mitchell has questioned Dr. Ford about the distance between her house and the alleged party, asked how Ford obtained records from her therapist, pointed out differences in how Ford referred to the date of the alleged assault—"mid 80s," "early 80s"—evoking cross-examination
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) says President Trump's failure to demand an FBI investigation of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's accusations is "tantamount to a cover-up" #KavanaughHearings
Here's video of the exchange—
Sen. Blumenthal: "Would you like Mark Judge to be interviewed? …"
Dr. Ford: "That would be my preference, i'm not sure it's really up to me". …
Blumenthal: "Well it's not up to you, it's up to the president"
#KavanaughHearings
Sen. Blumenthal: "Would you like Mark Judge to be interviewed? …"
Dr. Ford: "That would be my preference, i'm not sure it's really up to me". …
Blumenthal: "Well it's not up to you, it's up to the president"
#KavanaughHearings
► Our livestream on FB (facebook.com/democracynow) and our homepage (democracynow.org) is following the protesters marching now to the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court, chanting "Vote No on Kavanaugh." The hearing is on break & will resume in about 25 mins.
Sen. Hirono, first to speak after the break, condemns GOP questioner Rachel Mitchell for asking Dr. Ford about events before & after the alleged assault, saying Mitchell knows survivors often do not remember this information and is trying to undermine Ford's memory & credibility
Sen. Cory Booker calls Dr. Blasey Ford she is heroic: "As much as this hearing is about a Supreme Court justice, the reality is that your courage is affecting the culture of our country… You are opening up to air hurt and pain that goes on across this country" #KavanaughHearings
Sen. Kamala Harris says the FBI "could have and should have" investigated Dr. Blasey Ford's allegations confidentially and reported to the Senate. Harris even cites the procedures for thoroughly investigating sex crimes in Maricopa County, home to GOP questioner Rachel Mitchell
You can rewind & rewatch any part of this hearing on our homepage, democracynow.org—Republican committee chair Sen. Grassley just called for another break. #KavanaughHearings
The hearing is beginning again, and we're streaming it at democracynow.org. Judge Brett Kavanaugh entered the hearing room holding hands with his wife. "My family and my name have been totally and permanently destroyed," he says in irate opening remarks. #KavanaughHearings
Kavanaugh says Dr. Ford's letter was surfaced "against her wishes" and condemns the accusations against him by Deborah Ramirez and Julie Swetnick as "false last-minute smears." He warns allegations against him will have long-term consequences. "What goes around comes around."
Brett Kavanaugh lists the first names of several women in his life, says he treated women athletes at his high school "as friends and equals." Kavanaugh says he received a text message last night from a woman he knows telling him he is "a good man, a good man, a good man"
Feinstein: "If you're very confident of your position, which you appear to be, why aren't you also asking the FBI to investigate these claims?"
Kavanaugh says the FBI wouldn't have reached any conclusion. "I wanted a hearing the next day," he says. "I'm all in immediately."
Kavanaugh says the FBI wouldn't have reached any conclusion. "I wanted a hearing the next day," he says. "I'm all in immediately."
Feinstein asks Brett Kavanaugh if he's saying all three allegations, from Ford, Ramirez and Swetnick, are "wrong."
"That is emphatically what I'm saying. The Swetnick thing is a joke, a farce."
"Would you like to say more about it?"
"No."
"That is emphatically what I'm saying. The Swetnick thing is a joke, a farce."
"Would you like to say more about it?"
"No."
Sen. Grassley has called a recess, which he says was requested by Judge Kavanaugh. If you're looking for video on-the-go, our first Facebook stream had a hiccup after Dr. Ford's testimony, but the second is live here: facebook.com/democracynow/v…
Video of confrontation between Sen. Patrick Leahy and Brett Kavanaugh—In a heated exchange, Kavanaugh says loudly, "No, no, no, no, no, I'm going to talk about my high school record, if you're going to sit here and mock me" #KavanaughHearings
"You've got nothing to apologize for!" Sen. Lindsey Graham tells Kavanaugh, calling Democrats' handling of Dr. Ford's accusations an "unethical sham." Graham adds: "She's as much a victim as you are… Would you say you've been through a job interview?… You've been through hell."
