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!”
"I believe still, this is the first background investigation, in the history of background investigations that has not been reopened" when an allegation about the subject of the investigation comes up, Mr Whitehouse said.
Bloomberg News is reporting that President Donald Trump is planning on standing behind his Supreme Court nominee, after heated testimony that has seen Mr Kavanaugh attack Democratic senators questioning him.
They're back from their break, and Utah Senator Orrin Hatch is defending Mr Kavanaugh against the accusations by noting the estimation of many who have known him in his adult and professional life that he is an "honorable" man.
Mr Hatch previously said that this hearing has been more outrageous than the hearings to confirm Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who was accused of sexual harassment in the workplace during his confirmation in the 1990s.
Senator Hatch listed through the various allegations against Mr Kavanaugh, and asked him when he heard about the accusations. For each, Mr Kavanaugh indicated that he learned about the allegations during his confirmation process.
Delaware Senator Christopher Coons has asked Mr Kavanaugh if he has ever been "aggressive" while drinking.
Mr Kavanaugh suggested no, but indicated that he was not familiar with any allegations to that effect.
Mr Coons read an allegation from a Yale classmate that Mr Kavanaugh sometimes was a "sloppy drunk" when drinking.
Mr Kavanaugh took issue with that classification.
Senator Grassley has burst out that it has been over 40 days since Mr Kavanaugh's nomination was announced. He wondered aloud why these allegations were not raised earlier, or why Democrats did not ask for FBI investigations sooner.
Dr Ford's name was not released publicly until after Mr Kavanaugh's initial hearings, and she had sought to remain private with her allegations prior to those leaks.
Senator Grassley presented a letter he said was signed by 65 women who claim that the allegations of Mr Kavanaugh are inconsistent with the nominee's character.
It has been entered into the record.
Utah Senator Mike Lee has brought up former Vice President Joe Biden's claims previously during the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas that indicated that FBI investigations do not come to conclusions. He is using those statements to attack Democrats who have repeatedly called for Mr Kavanaugh's confirmation to be stalled for the FBI to conduct an examination of the claims against Mr Kavanaugh.
Earlier, Mr Kavanaugh, following the most recent break, apologised to Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar for asking if she had ever blacked out from drinking too much.
"She asked me a question me at the end, and I responded by asking her a question, and I’m sorry I did that, this is a tough process, I’m sorry about that," Mr Kavanaugh said.
"I appreciate that," she responded. "I would like to add, when you have a parent that's an alcoholic, you're pretty careful about drinking".
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