America Gripped by Tears and Trauma of Ford and Kavanaugh's Heart-Wrenching Day, Now It's Up to the Senate

The future of Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court is now in the hands of the Senate after Thursday's dramatic and historic hearing. Now it's up to a few senators from both parties to decide if he'll be confirmed, and the voting process begins Friday morning.

The intense hearing gripped the nation for an entire day. Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Judge Brett Kavanaugh both gave emotional testimonies about what they remember from 1982.

It began with an emotional accusation of sexual assault from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, followed by a vehement denial from Judge Kavanaugh.

"I am here today not because I want to be. I am terrified," she told the Senate panel. "I am here because I believe it is my civic duty to tell you what happened to me while Brett Kavanaugh and I were in high school."

When asked how certain she was that Kavanaugh was the one who assaulted her, Ford replied, "100 percent."

READ: Republicans to Vote 'Yes' on Kavanaugh After Sen. Jeff Flake Agrees to Advance His Nomination

Dr. Ford described that traumatic moment in as much detail as she could recall.

"Brett groped me and tried to take off my clothes," she said. "I believed he was going to rape me."

She said she has no doubts it was Brett Kavanaugh and Mark Judge who were in the room and attacked her.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) asked her, "What is the strongest memory you have?"

Dr. Ford replied, "The uproarious laughter between the two. And their having fun at my expense."

Then Judge Kavanaugh took his turn where he categorically denied her claims.

"I'm here today to tell the truth. I've never sexual assaulted anyone, not in high school, not in college, not ever," Kavanaugh said.

He said while he believes something may have happened to Dr. Ford, he did not do it. He provided his actual calendar from 1982, which included details about where he was and what he was doing every day, arguing that it was evidence that he couldn't have been at the party where the attack occurred.

He became emotional, repeatedly fighting back tears as he talked about the impact of the accusations on him and his family.

Kavanaugh said, "The other night, Ashley and my daughter, Liza, said their prayers. And little Liza – all of 10 years old – said to Ashley, 'We should pray for the woman.' That's a lot of wisdom from a 10-year-old."

Kavanaugh told how this process has damaged his family and destroyed his good name... consequences that will follow them for decades. He pointed out his lifelong goals of helping women advance in the judiciary and teaching the next generation of children, but his reputation is so damaged he may never be able to teach law or to coach sports again.
 
"I love coaching more than anything I've ever done in my whole life. But thanks to what some of you on this side of the committee have unleashed, I may never be able to coach again," he said through tears.

Kavanaugh confronted Democrats head-on, calling the process an orchestrated and calculated political hit job.

"This confirmation process has become a national disgrace. The Constitution gives the Senate an important role in the confirmation process, but you have replaced advice and consent with search and destroy," he said.

Judge Kavanaugh assured senators no matter what, he's not backing out of this process.

"You may defeat me in the final vote, but you'll never get me to quit. Never," he said.

As soon as they got the chance, some Republicans unleashed their anger on Democrats for dragging Judge Kavanaugh and his family through the mud in an effort, they say, to score political points ahead of the midterms.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) passionately pointed a finger of blame at the Democrats on the committee saying, "If you wanted an FBI investigation you could have come to us. What you wanted to do was destroy this guy's life, and hold this seat open and hope you win in 2020, you've said that... This is the most unethical sham since I've been in politics."

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said, "This is a national disgrace, the way you're being treated."

Pastor Robert Jeffress, who sits on the president's evangelical advisory board, says Democrats demonstrated how far they'll go to protect abortion rights.
 
"The hearings put the hypocrisy of the Democrats on full display," he says. "When we all know that their number one objection to Judge Kavanaugh is that he might restrict in some way the murder of 700,000 females every year in the womb through abortion."

But even if Kavanaugh is confirmed, Democrats believe Dr. Ford served as a credible witness who will energize their voter base come November.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) said, "She was credible, calm. She told us she was terrified, but I thought she handled the questions professionally and honestly."

Appearing on CBN's Faith Nation Republican National Committee Spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany praised the way Kavanaugh handled Ford's accusation.

"He does not disbelieve Ms. Ford, he believes something very terrible could have happened to her, but it just wasn't him that did it. So he was very compassionate toward her, but very strong and very unmistakable in denying these allegations. He swore before God," she said.

A relieved President Trump tweeted, "Judge Kavanaugh showed America exactly why I nominated him."

The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to advance Kavanaugh's nomination to the full Senate, and procedural action over the weekend will set up a potential confirmation vote as early as Tuesday.