Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) came to Christine Blasey Ford's Senate hearing armed with inspirational quotes intended to bolster the witness' credibility.
The creator of the motivating words? His colleague on the other side of the dais, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.).
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While questioning Ford, Blumenthal read an excerpt from Graham's 2015 book My Story about the courage of rape victims who come forward. Blumenthal observed that Graham wrote that it takes "courage from a deep and hidden place for a rape victim or sexually abused child to testify against their assailant." Graham could be seen nodding as Blumenthal read his quote.
With this in mind, Blumenthal, who previously told Ford that he believes her allegation, said he hopes senators from both parties can agree that coming forward required a lot of courage on Ford's part. Graham again nodded. Later, he told reporters that the fact that Ford hired a lawyer and took a polygraph test "makes me more suspicious," per HuffPost. Watch Blumenthal's read-along moment below. Brendan Morrow
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