On September 27, Senate hearings on Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court featured testimony from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who asserts that Kavanaugh attempted to rape her at a party they attended as high-schoolers in 1982. Ford, who had sought confidentiality when she brought her claims to the attention of California Senator Dianne Feinstein over the summer, described in vivid detail the assault she alleges Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge perpetrated, the long-term damage it inflicted upon her life, and the threats she has endured by going public with her story. Kavanaugh forcefully denied having ever assaulted Ford or anyone else in his life, and accused Democrats and their allies of unleashing a smear campaign that has caused him and his family irreparable harm.

Supporters of Ford underscore the compelling nature of her testimony and the ordeal she has experienced in coming forward; they believe her lack of partisan motivation is sincere, and suggest that Kavanaugh's angry remarks reveal his own partisan obsessions and deficit of judicial impartiality. However, Kavanaugh so far retains the outright support of most Republican senators, many of whom concur that he is a victim of character assassination. They maintain that although Ford's charges are serious, she has yet to produce evidence and corroboration of her version of events.