Live Briefing: Kavanaugh Hearing Live Updates: Christine Blasey Ford Steps into the Spotlight
“Miss Mitchell, I don’t know whether this is fair to interrupt, I want to keep people within five minutes,” Mr. Grassley said. “Is that a major problem for you in the middle of a question?”
— Nicholas Fandos
Women are watching: “Credible.”
A group of 10 women watching the hearings in Bangor, Maine — the home state of Senator Susan Collins, whose vote will be pivotal in Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh’s confirmation, started out suspicious that Dr. Blasey had partisan motivations; some declared they believed her; others said they were determined to approach the hearings with an open mind.
Jean Barry, a high school science teacher and a firm opponent of abortion rights, began listening to the hearing concerned about the timing of the accusations.
“So far she seems somewhat credible, like she’s telling us something that happened from her heart.”
Emily McLaughlin, a sophomore at the University of Maine who was a treasurer for the college Republicans, said she believed Dr. Blasey, but wanted to hear from Judge Kavanaugh and wondered, too, whether she just had one beer.
During the short recess, the group had a lively back and forth. While most believed Dr. Blasey, some were waiting to hear further questioning and believed it was important to hear Judge Kavanaugh. They gathered again around the television as the hearings resumed, listening intently.
— Susan Chira
Kavanaugh ruled polygraphs are “an important law enforcement tool.”
Dr. Blasey, who has made her fear of flying clear, said that taking a polygraph test was almost as anxiety-provoking as an airplane flight. But her polygraph test did come out, “No Deception Indicated.”
Judge Kavanaugh has written that polygraph tests have a role to play in law enforcement. In a 2016 opinion for a unanimous three-judge panel of his court, he ruled that the Department of Defense could withhold reports concerning the effectiveness of polygraph tests in response to request under the Freedom of Information Act.