WASHINGTON (AP) — Christine Blasey Ford told the Senate Judiciary Committee and a riveted nation Thursday that Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in a locked room at a 1980s high school gathering, as the panel began an extraordinary hearing at which Kavanaugh hoped to salvage his Supreme Court nomination.

RELATED: Kavanaugh vehemently denies Ford accusation, sees "disgrace"

"I believed he was going to rape me," said Ford, 51, her voice breaking. Expressing certainty that Kavanaugh was her attacker, the California psychology professor explained how the brain remembers traumatic events. "Indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter, the uproarious laughter of the two," she said, referring to Kavanaugh and a friend who was with him.

Kavanaugh now 53, has denied Ford's and other women's allegations of sexual misconduct, in a clash that has underscored America's political and cultural fault lines. But the accumulating accusations have raised questions about whether Republican leaders will be able to hold GOP senators behind President Donald Trump's nominee.

The conservative jurist, whose Senate confirmation had seemed assured until Ford and the other women emerged, awaited his own chance to testify later in the day.


In fact, both she and Kavanaugh have received death threats.

Republicans have challenged Ford's and the other women's allegations, in part because it took them years to come forward. But when Feinstein asked her how she could be sure that Kavanaugh was the attacker, Ford said, "The same way I'm sure I'm talking to you right now."

The Judiciary panel's 11 Republicans — all men — were letting Rachel Mitchell, a veteran sex crimes prosecutor from Arizona, ask their questions. She began by expressing sympathy for Ford, saying, "I just wanted to let you know, I'm very sorry. That's not right."


















Nothing on the calendar appears to refer to her.







Kavanaugh testimony: http://apne.ws/xkhv2Yv

Ford testimony: http://apne.ws/Wpklfy3




