Brett Kavanaugh hearing: Trump tweets support for nominee as hearing ends after Christine Ford says she is '100%' sure judge assaulted her
Dr Christine Ford tells senate she thought Brett Kavanaugh was 'going to rape and accidentally kill' her as Supreme Court judge says his wife and family have been left 'destroyed' by false allegations
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Christine Ford has told Congress that she believed Brett Kavanaugh was "going to rape her" in dramatic testimony over her sexual assault allegation against Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee.
Dr Ford said she was "100 per cent" sure it was Mr Kavanaugh who assaulted her.
Later, Mr Kavanaugh appeared in front of the same Senate panel, the judiciary committee, and denied the allegations calling the hearing a "circus". He said he believed Dr Ford had been assaulted at some point, but not by him.
Dr Ford said she was "terrified" of testifying, but that she believes it is her "civic duty". Before she began Senator Dianne Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, commended her on coming forward.
The clash pitted her word against his. Members of the Senate, controlled 51-49 by Trump's fellow Republicans, must now decide whether to vote to confirm him after the extraordinary nearly nine-hour-long hearing. Senate Republicans planned to meet on Thursday night to discuss the next steps on the nomination.
“I swear today, under oath, before the Senate and the nation, before my family and God, I am innocent of this charge,” Mr Kavanaugh told the Judiciary Committee later.
Calling himself a victim of “grotesque and obvious character assassination,” Mr Kavanaugh, speaking passionately, said he “unequivocally and categorically” denied Dr Ford's allegation.
“I will not be intimidated into withdrawing from this process,” Mr Kavanaugh added.
Writing on Twitter after the hearing, President Donald Trump said of Mr Kavanaugh, “His testimony was powerful, honest, and riveting. Democrats' search and destroy strategy is disgraceful and this process has been a total sham and effort to delay, obstruct, and resist. The Senate must vote!”
Washington insiders have indicated the Senate Judiciary Committee was worried about the "optics" of so many Republican men interrogating Dr Ford about the sexual assault she claims.
Instead, sex crimes prosecutor Rachel Mitchell has been appointed to ask questions on the Senators' behalf.
Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley said Ms Mitchell was chosen for objectivity and experience supervising attorneys who handle cases involving child molestation, sexual assault and computer crimes against children in Arizona’s most populous county.
Read more about her here:
Mr Grassley begins the hearing, saying Ms Ford and Mr Kavanaugh have both had a tough time the past few weeks.
He said he hopes for a "safe, comfortable, and dignified" hearing for both witnesses and noted he wants a "show of civility" from his colleagues.
What that means for Mr Kavanaugh and Ms Ford separately may be determined by political affiliations, but Mr Grassley seems to hope that is not the case.
The politics have now come in as Mr Grassley blames the "ranking member" on the committee, Democrat Dianne Feinstein for her actions and how Democrats "refuse to participate in what should have been a bipartisan investigation".
He said Ms Ford was mistreated with the leaking of her identity, after she had sent a confidential letter about the allegation to Ms Feinstein and the California delegation.
Ms Ford is a professor at Palo Alto University in the state.
"I look forward to a fair and respectful hearing, that's what we promised Dr Ford," Mr Grassley said.
"it is not an easy [subject] to discuss," he said, explaining the reason for appointing Ms Mitchell to ask questions.
"Grandstanding and chaos" is how Mr Grassley described how Democrats conducted the first few days of Mr Kavanaugh's heading.
Ahead of Ms Ford's testimony, read more here about Anita Hill from our own Andrew Buncombe, who is also bringing us updates from DC.
Ms Feinstein says to Ms Ford "I'm very grateful to you for coming forward".
"1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men" will experience some sort of sexual assault, and "according to the Rape and Incest National Network (Rainn) nearly 60% of assaults go unreported," Ms Feinstein said.
"While young women are standing up and saying "no more"...our institutions" are still questioning their credibility, the Senator said about the #metoo movement.
Ms Feinstein said Ms Ford wanted to initially keep her identity unknown, but within 36 hours of going public, Republicans scheduled a hearing "without talking to her".
She said it was only because of a public outcry that her testimony was delayed. Ms Feinstein also reminded everyone Ms Ford was testifying without an FBI investigation into the claims, a procedure even Ms Hill was afforded.
In Ms Hill's case, the Senate heard from several witnesses but Republicans are refusing to hear from anyone else in addition to Ms Ford, even the man she said was present in the room during the claimed sexual assault.
Ms Feinstein recounts the two additional accusers of Mr Kavanaugh who described what they thought was his "aggressive behaviour" toward girls.
From Andrew Buncombe who is in the building watching the hearing:
"A small victory in one of the packed cafeterias in the Dirksen Senate building where people were able to get the volume on the TV turned on"
"This is not a trial for Dr Ford. This is a job interview for Brett Kavanaugh....Is he the best we can do?" Ms Feinstein said, ending her opening statement.
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