Politics

Live Blog: The Judge Brett Kavanaugh-Dr. Christine Blasey Ford Hearing, Part 1

By A.J. Katz 

Welcome to the final Thursday of September, a day when more Americans than usual are turning on their TVs, tablets, radios, other devices of choice for the highly anticipated Senate Judiciary Committee hearing for President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford to find out what the man who will likely get the next lifetime seat on the U.S. Supreme Court has to say about the sexual assault allegations leveled against him by Dr. Ford at a high school party in 1982.

Both Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee beginning today at 10 a.m. ET, with the professor set to testify first and Kavanaugh to follow.

While Dr. Ford is the only woman testifying today, she is not the only woman accusing the judge of sexual assault. A woman named Deborah Ramirez spoke with The New Yorker for a story published Sunday evening (time moves slowly, doesn’t it?) about how Judge Kavanaugh allegedly sexually assaulted her when both were students at Yale. (Kavanaugh has gone on the record denying denying this allegation).

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Additionally, outspoken prosecutor and Trump critic Michael Avenatti is representing a woman named Julie Swetnick, who alleges that in high school, Kavanaugh attempted to take off girls’ clothes, pressed girls against him without their consent, put alcohol in their drinks and was present as a group of boys participated in what Swetnick describes as gang rapes (all of which Kavanaugh denies).

Late Wednesday, NBC News reported The Senate Judiciary Committee asked about at least one additional allegation of sexual assault against Kavanaugh, according to a transcript of a phone call released by the committee.

Those who were around in 1991 have noted throughout the week how eerily similar this situation is to the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill hearings. As was the case in 1991, all of the Republicans on the majority-Republican committee are men. But unlike 1991, the Republican majority is ceding its time for questioning to an Arizona-based sex crimes prosecutor, who happens to be a woman.

Each of the 21 senators on the committee is supposed to have five minutes to question Ford and then another five minutes to question Kavanaugh. Counsel can ask questions on behalf of the senators.

Fox News meteorologist Janice Dean appears pleased that her former colleague and friend Megyn Kelly is part of NBC News hearing coverage:

Speaking of NBC News, Savannah Guthrie said the following during her network’s pre-hearing coverage:

“This is an extraordinary moment in our politics, the most anticipated and potentially explosive hearing in recent memory and the stakes are very, very high – not just for the individuals involved, of course, but also for the President.”

An interesting moment during Fox News’ coverage was Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace citing his daughters, both of whom grew up in the area:

“Like a lot of America families, my family, a lot of it via email, has been discussing this and a disagreeing and arguing. And to have my daughters have told me stories that I had never heard before about things that happen to them in high school. And I don’t know if they told their friends. They certainly never reported to police. They weren’t as serious as the allegations against Kavanaugh, but the point is that there are teenage girls who don’t tell stories to a lot of people, and then it comes out. I don’t disregard that. I don’t think that we can disregard Christine Blasey Ford. I think that would be a big mistake.”

CHRISTINE BLASEY FORD

10 a.m. ET:

Chairman Grassley begins remarks. He says he sincerely feels awful for what Dr. Ford for she has had to go through, and urges “a show of civility.” He later criticizes Senator Feinstein for keeping Dr. Ford’s letter a secret until after the confirmation hearing was over.

After Grassley finishing speaking, Feinstein seeks to clarify his remarks, noting she did not tell others about Ford’s allegation largely because Ford did not want her to. She then knocks Grassley for neglecting to introduce Dr. Ford, to which Grassley interjects and says that he was about to do so.

“I was going to introduce her…I will be glad to have you do that,” commented chairman Grassley.

Fireworks already…

“This is not a trial for Dr. Ford, it is a job interview for Judge Kavanaugh,” said Sen. Feinstein. “Is Brett Kavanaugh who we want on the most prestigious court in our country? Is he the best we can do?”

 

10:30 a.m.:

Dr. Ford gives her opening remarks, providing everyone with her background (though conceding Sen. Feinstein had bascially already done so) and stating she is “terrified” to be doing this, but it is “my civic duty to tell you what happened.”

Dr. Ford holds back tears while reading her opening statement, but does not break down.

Some post-opening statement reactions:

 

11 a.m. ET:

While prosecutor Mitchell was in the middle of interrogating Dr. Ford, Chairman Grassley suddenly interrupted the prosecutor to allow Sen. Feinstein to have her five minutes, before going back to the prosecutor. This was a move at least one TV newser was surprised by.

 

Democratic Senators Leahy (D-VT) and Sen. Durbin (D-IL) ask a few questions, with the Arizona prosecutor continuing her questioning in between.

“You have never forgotten them laughing at you?” asked Leahy.

“The uproarious laughter between the two and their having fun at my expense,” Dr. Ford later remarked.

The Vermont senator also told Dr. Ford that she’s a hero to many in the #MeToo movement, which elicited as much emotion as we had seen from the professor up to that point.

Chairman Grassley later got angry at something Sen. Durbin said, before taking a break at 11:30 a.m. ET.

11:30 a.m.:

Part one is done, and Dr. Ford is being praised on seemingly all of the TV news networks.

Over at NBC, Chuck Todd, Andrea Mitchell, Savannah Guthrie, Lester Holt, and Megyn Kelly talk about how emotional made them. “If she’s an actress, she’s really good,” remarked Kelly. “And if it’s true, it’s deeply problematic for him.”

Guthrie talked about how mortifying it is for a teenage girl when a boy laughs at her.

“Is she leading us to something? Is there some kind of moment she’s building to?” CBS This Morning co-host Gayle King asked rhetorically regarding the Arizona prosecutor’s line of questioning.

ABC’s Jon Karl says he’s hearing the White House doesn’t think the prosecutor has been as effective as she could be. Karl and George Stephanopoulos also talk about Mark Judge, who was allegedly also in the room with Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford, and wonder how he can’t be interrogated about this before a decision is made.

Over at CNN, reporters also noted that Republican senators would not engage with them during the break when asked about the opening statement.

Jake Tapper said he had to bring up the “crude politics” of this (though he admitted he wish he wouldn’t have to), with Gloria Borger remarking that this has been a “disaster” so far for the Republican senators and Kavanaugh. The panel also noted Dr. Ford’s line that she was “100 percent sure” it was Kavanaugh who assaulted her.

John King read a message from an unnamed, high-ranking Republican, who said the first segment of the hearing was “awful for Kavanaugh” and that their sense is that this is “slipping away.”

Over at Fox News, Chris Wallace seemed to agree that this has been a disaster for the Republicans so far. He remarked that the rumored “hit back hard” strategy that Pres. Trump has allegedly suggested Kavanaugh employ might not work in light of Dr. Ford’s statement. “It doesn’t have to be brutal, you just have to bring up the facts,” he said.

Fox News analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano remarked that he feels Dr. Ford is exceptionally credible, and says that cutting off the Arizona prosecutor after these quick five minute sessions is not working. “You have to call an audible now.”

Then, unfortunately this seemed to happen on C-SPAN:

11:55 a.m.:

Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat, also happens to be one of the prosecutors on the Senate Judiciary Committee. During his remarks, he calls out POTUS, FBI Director Christopher Wray and Republicans on the  for not doing enough to investigate this matter before today.

“Never in the history of background investigations has an investigation not been pursued when new credible derogatory information was brought forward about the nominee or the candidate,” he said.

After Sen. Whitehouse completed his remarks, Chairman Grassley became indignant again, saying the Democrats should not be complaining about the process. He says he directed his staff to investigation the Sept. 16 article in the Washington Post, offered Dr. Ford a chance to testify, and contacted Mark Judge “requesting an interview.”

Minnesota Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, also a former prosecutor, gets her five minutes.

Klobuchar first thanks Dr. Ford, and later asks her why she took the polygraph test. She says her lawyers asked if she was willing, “and I said absolutely.” Though she said it gave her a lot of anxiety.

Here’s the man who administered the test previously talking to Fox News @ Night host Shannon Bream:

 

Klobuchar later asked Dr. Ford what she remembers vividly about that night. “The stairwell. The living room. The bedroom. The bed on the right side of the room as you walk into the room, the bathroom in close proximity. The laughter, the uproarious laughter. And the multiple attempts to escape.”

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal from Connecticut with perhaps the most serious moment of the morning session:

You have given America an amazing teaching moment. you may have other moments in the classroom, but you have inspired, and you have enlightened America. You have inspired and given courage to women to come forward, as they have done to every one of our offices, and many other public places; enlightenedmen in American to to listen respectfully to women survivors, and men who have survived attacks; and that is a profound public service, regardless of what happens with this nomination. And so the teachers of America, people of America, should be really proud of what you have done.

Minutes later, everyone broke for lunch…as will we! Follow along as we keep track of the afternoon session.

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