This will be my thread for the Kavanaugh Supreme Court confirmation hearing, "day 5," as the committee is calling it, or the Ford/Kavanaugh day, as the rest of the world is calling it.
-
-
Here's our
@BuzzFeedNews breaking news story, which will be updated as the day goes on —>https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/buzzfeednews/christine-blasey-ford-brett-kavanaugh-hearing-sexual-assault …Show this thread -
-
Grassley is opening the hearing with a statement noting that nothing turned up in Kavanaugh’s background check and is focused on the delay between when Feinstein received Ford’s letter and when he found out about it.pic.twitter.com/BGJOPUYXTT
Show this thread -
“I look forward to a fair and respectful hearing,” Grassley says, in the midst of attacking Feinstein’s handling of this, dismissing FBI investigations, & explaining why the all-male GOP side of the Comte found who McConnell referred to as a “female assistant” to ask questions.
Show this thread -
Feinstein, in response to Grassley, notes in her opening that she kept Ford’s allegations confidential at Ford’s request until Ford herself was willing to allow them to be shared.
Show this thread -
Feinstein talks about the larger issue of sexual assault, recalls watching Anita Hill’s testimony, and notes the way the committee Republicans proceeded — adding, “We continue to believe that [Mark] Judge should be subpoenaed.”pic.twitter.com/U3Q5D0pK2T
Show this thread -
Feinstein notes that all three named women accusers are seeking an FBI investigation, something that Grassley was dismissive of in his opening by quoting from a Biden comment about the *conclusions* of FBI background investigations.https://twitter.com/stevemullis/status/1045317216852475904 …
Show this thread -
Dr. Christine Blasey Ford begins her testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh.pic.twitter.com/1NuPtQH8mR
Show this thread -
"It was almost surely a spur-of-the-moment gathering," Ford says of the night in question, that followed a day of, she says, practicing diving at a Columbia Country Club.
Show this thread -
Ford, getting emotional, describes her sexual assault as previously described, noting that Kavanaugh and Judge were laughing during the assault.
Show this thread -
"Brett's assault on me drastically altered my life," Ford says.
Show this thread -
You can read Ford's prepared opening remarks here —>https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/blakemontgomery/here-are-the-statements-brett-kavanaugh-and-christine …
Show this thread -
Ford says that Feinstein explicitly promised not to share the letter without her explicit consent.pic.twitter.com/1XtnLIAxPb
Show this thread -
"My responsibility is to tell you the truth," Ford says.
Show this thread -
The 5-minute-at-a-time questioning is not good for accomplishing anything, I'd say.
Show this thread -
An unaccountable female prosecutor coming in for a short-time job asking questions for male elected officials who would have to deal w/ the consequences of questions in what is not a trial of Ford but sure looks like a cross-examination of Ford is, if nothing else, discomforting.
Show this thread -
Apologies. Deleted the last tweet about the Grassley comment per this information:https://twitter.com/Scottty_P/status/1045333404533870594 …
Show this thread -
Asked by Mitchell, Ford says that she had not hired a lawyer prior to sending her letter.
Show this thread -
The president's son tweets this as Sen. Blumenthal talks about Dr. Ford's courage to testify.https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1045350599166955520 …
Show this thread -
Ford, on the polygraph examination, which she said took longer than she expected: "I endured it, and it was fine."
Show this thread -
During the break, Hatch proves why Mitchell is there, regardless of how not-well that is going:https://twitter.com/kateirby/status/1045354070658232320 …
Show this thread -
"He’s the ‘Sixth Sense’ nominee: He’s dead but he’s the only one who doesn’t know it.” Read
@tparti on how Trumpworld thinks today is going:https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tariniparti/christine-blasey-ford-brett-kavanaugh-hearing-trump-senate …Show this thread -
Meanwhile, Graham is continuing on the warrant-requirement "particularity" path he previewed he'd be employing at the hearing. That is not, of course, what this hearing about, but Graham doesn't seem to care.https://twitter.com/nidhiprakash/status/1045360139417587713 …
Show this thread -
This is an important note. Also recall the way that Kavanaugh’s statements distinguishing what he said previously versus now regarding his confirmation hearings were defended vociferously as “immaterial” distinctions.https://twitter.com/igorvolsky/status/1045334394217660416?s=21 …
Show this thread -
The afternoon part of the hearing has begun —>https://twitter.com/pdmcleod/status/1045367181305761793 …
Show this thread - 12 more replies
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.