Staff ReporterChristine Blasey Ford tells Senate graphic details of alleged Kavanaugh sexual assault during a high school drinking party.
“One evening that summer, after a day of diving at the club, I attended a small gathering at a house in the Bethesda area. There were four boys I remember specifically being at the house: Brett Kavanaugh, Mark Judge, a boy named P.J. and one other boy whose name I cannot recall,” Ford, in a blue suit and top and large-frame glasses, told the Senate Judiciary Committee in the historic hearing.
“I truly wish I could be more helpful with detailed answers to all of the questions that have been and will be asked about how I got to the party, where it took place, and so forth. I don’t have all the answers, and I don’t remember as much as I would like to. But the details about that night that bring me here today are ones I will never forget. They have been seared into my memory and have haunted me episodically as an adult,” she said, her voice wavering.
“When I got to the small gathering, people were drinking beer in a small living room area on the first floor of the house. I drank one beer. Brett and Mark were visibly drunk. Early in the evening, I went up a narrow set of stairs leading from the living room to a second floor to use the restroom,” she continued.
“When I got to the top of the stairs, I was pushed from behind into a bedroom. I couldn’t see who pushed me. Brett and Mark came into the bedroom and locked the door behind them. There was music already playing in the bedroom,” she said, growing more emotional as she proceeded.
“It was turned up louder by either Brett or Mark once we were in the room. I was pushed onto the bed and Brett got on top of me. He began running his hands over my body and grinding his hips into me. I yelled, hoping someone downstairs might hear me, and tried to get away from him, but his weight was heavy. Brett groped me and tried to take off my clothes. He had a hard time because he was very inebriated, and because I was wearing a one-piece bathing suit under my clothes. I believed he was going to rape me. I tried to yell for help. When I did, Brett put his hand over my mouth to stop me from screaming,” Ford said.
“This was what terrified me the most, and has had the most lasting impact on my life. It was hard for me to breathe, and I thought that Brett was accidentally going to kill me. Both Brett and Mark were drunkenly laughing during the attack. They seemed to be having a very good time. A couple of times I made eye contact with Mark and thought he might try to help me, but he did not,” she continued.
“During this assault, Mark came over and jumped on the bed twice while Brett was on top of me. The last time he did this, we toppled over and Brett was no longer on top of me. I was able to get up and run out of the room. Directly across from the bedroom was a small bathroom. I ran inside the bathroom and locked the door. I waited until I heard Brett and Mark leave the bedroom laughing and walk down the narrow stairs, pin-balling off the walls on the way down. I waited and when I did not hear them come back up the stairs, I left the bathroom, ran down the stairs, through the living room, and left the house.”
Kavanaugh’s fate hung in the balance Thursday as the committee convened to hear from Ford, one of at least three women who have accused President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee of sexual assault or misconduct.
The committee will also hear from Kavanaugh, who has vigorously denied Ford’s allegation.
She then described an overwhelming sense of relief as she fled.
“I remember being on the street and feeling an enormous sense of relief that I escaped that house and that Brett and Mark were not coming outside after me,” she said.
The experience, she explained, was life-changing, and she was reluctant to share what happened for much of her life
“Brett’s assault on me drastically altered my life for a very long time. I was too afraid and ashamed to tell anyone these details. I did not want to tell my parents that I at age 15 was in a house without any parents present, drinking beer with boys,” Ford said.
“I convinced myself that because Brett did not rape me, I should just move on and just pretend that it didn’t happen. Over the years, I told very, very few friends that I had this traumatic experience,” she added.
But eventually she told her future spouse and others.
“I told my husband before we were married that I had experienced a sexual assault, but I never told the details to anyone, the specific details, until May 2012 during a couples counseling session,” she said.
She reluctantly decided to come forward after she heard Kavanaugh described as a champion of women’s rights.
“I saw press reports stating that Brett Kavanaugh was on the short list of a list of very well qualified Supreme Court nominees. I thought it was my civic duty to relay the information I had about Mr. Kavanaugh’s conduct so that those considering his nomination would know about this assault,” Ford said.
“On July 6th, I had a sense of urgency to relay the information to the Senate and the president as soon as possible before a nominee was selected.“
