Christine Blasey Ford says it was her 'civic duty' to come forward with Kavanaugh allegation in emotional Senate testimony

Christine Blasey Ford opening statement. — (Image credit: Screenshot/Twitter/CBS News)

Christine Blasey Ford didn't want to relay her alleged sexual assault by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. She said she thought her "voice would be drowned out by a chorus of powerful supporters" and feared "the consequences of speaking out." Yet a "terrified" Ford felt it was her "civic duty" to share her story, she told the Senate Judiciary Committee in an emotional opening statement Thursday.

Ford is testifying before the committee regarding her claim just one day before the panel is scheduled to vote on Kavanaugh's nomination. Kavanaugh will testify Thursday afternoon. Ford privately shared her allegation — which Kavanaugh has denied — with her congressional representative in the days before Kavanaugh was nominated to the court, Ford said under oath Thursday. In fact, she kept the story private for decades, only telling her husband during a 2012 therapy session because she said she "insisted on a second front door" when they were remodeling their home, due to claustrophobia stemming from the alleged incident with Kavanaugh.

Still, Ford shared how the alleged attack "drastically altered [her] life," appearing on the verge of tears throughout her emotional statement. Since having to "relive my trauma in front of the entire world," Ford said she has seen her personal information posted online and even faced death threats. But those who try to discredit Ford's testimony as a "partisan political" attack "do not know me," she said, adding that she is "no one's pawn."

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Watch Ford's whole statement on C-SPAN.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.