On Thursday, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, whom she has accused of sexual assault.
Watch the testimony in the live video stream from CBS News above.
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In her first public statements, Blasey Ford is answering questions from lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee about her alleged encounter with Judge Brett Kavanaugh when they were both teenagers. She claims he sexually assaulted her at a party during their high school years in the early 1980s.
Blasey Ford introduced herself at the hearing, admitting she was “terrified” and told senators that it is her “civic duty” to be there.
“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,” she said. “I have described the events publicly before. I summarized them in my letter to ranking member Feinstein, and again in a letter to Chairman Grassley. I understand and appreciate the importance of your hearing from me directly about what happened to me and the impact it has had on my life and on my family.”
After her opening statement, Blasey Ford responded to questions from the 21-member committee, starting with attorney Rachel Mitchell, who was hired by the Republican party to cross examine Blasey Ford. Each member of the committee is permitted five minutes to question Blasey Ford.
In addition to Blasey Ford, two other women have accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault. Deborah Ramirez, 53, claimed that she attended a dormitory party at Yale that was also attended by Kavanaugh. There, she alleges that he exposed himself to her and thrust his penis in her face. When she pushed him away, she accidentally touched it without her consent.
The third woman, Julie Swetnick, came forward through attorney Michael Avenatti and claimed to have witnessed Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge “drink excessively and engage in highly inappropriate conduct with girls and not taking ‘No’ for an answer.” Swetnick said in a sworn statement that she attended house parties in 1981-1983 with Kavanaugh and Judge, accusing them of spiking drinks with drugs at parties. She also alleged that they organized and took part in the gang rape of people at parties she attended.
Kavanaugh has denied all of the allegations against him. He is expected to testify Thursday before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding Blasey Ford’s allegations.
So far, Blasey Ford is the only Kavanaugh accuser scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley has scheduled a vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation for Friday.
