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.
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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