MITCHELL: Dr. Ford, in choosing attorneys, did anyone help you with the choice on who to choose?
FORD: Various people referred me to lawyers they knew in the Washington, D.C. area. So as you know, I grew up in this area, so I asked some family members and friends and they would — they referred me to, like, divorce attorneys that might know somebody, that might know somebody and ended up interviewing several law firms from the D.C. area.
MITCHELL: And did anybody besides friends and family refer you to any attorneys?
FORD: I think that the staff of Dianne Feinstein’s office suggested the possibility of some attorneys.
MITCHELL: OK. Including the two that are sitting on either side of you?
FORD: Not both of them, no.
MITCHELL: OK. We’ve heard a lot about FBI investigations. When did you personally first request an FBI investigation?
FORD: I guess when we first started talking about the possibility of a hearing; I was hoping that there would be an — a more thorough investigation.
MITCHELL: Would that investigation have been something that you would have submitted to an interview?
FORD: I would be happy to cooperate with the FBI, yes.
MITCHELL: Would you have been happy to submit to an interview by staff members from this committee?
FORD: Absolutely.
MITCHELL: OK. Besides… you mentioned some GoFundMe accounts – besides those, are there any other efforts outside of your own personal finances to pay for your legal fees or any of the costs occurred… incurred?
FORD: It’s my understanding that some of my team is working on a pro bono basis, but I don’t know the exact details. And there are members of the community in Palo Alto that have the means to contribute to help me with the security detail, etc.
MITCHELL: Have you been provided…
BROMWICH: I… I can help you with that. Both her co-counsel are doing this pro bono. We are not being paid and we have no expectation of being paid.
MITCHELL: Thank you, counsel. Have you seen any of the questions that I was going to ask you today?
FORD: No.
MITCHELL: Have you… you’ve been asked a few questions by other people as well, have you seen any of those questions in advance?
FORD: No.
MITCHELL: Have you been told them in advance?
FORD: No.
MITCHELL: And…and likewise with my questions, have you been told my questions in advance?
FORD: Definitely not.
MITCHELL: OK. You mentioned about some possible information, such as when Mark Judge worked at the supermarket. I want to ask you about someone else. You mentioned that there was a classmate who was really sort of the connection between you and Brett Kavanaugh. Who was this person?
FORD: I — I think that that case with Mr. Whelan, who was looking at my LinkedIn page and then trying to blame the person, I just don’t feel like it’s right for us to be talking about that.
MITCHELL: I’m not trying to blame anybody, I just want to know who the common friend that you and…
FORD: The person that Mr. Whelan was trying to say looked like Mr. Kavanaugh.
MITCHELL: OK. How long did you know this person?
FORD: Maybe for a couple of months we socialized, but he also was a member of the same country club and I know his younger brother as well.
MITCHELL: OK. So a couple of months before this took place?
FORD: Yes.
MITCHELL: OK. How would you characterize your relationship with him, both before and after this took place, this person?
FORD: He was somebody that, we use the phrase, I went out with — I wouldn’t say date — I went out with for a few months. That was how we termed it at the time. And after that we were distant friends and ran into each other periodically at Columbia Country Club, but I didn’t see him often.
MITCHELL: OK.
FORD: But I saw his brother and him several times.
MITCHELL: Was this person the only common link between you and Mr. — Judge Kavanaugh?
FORD: He’s the only one that I would be able to name right now — that I would like to not name, but you know who I mean. And — but there are certainly other members of Columbia Country Club that were common friends or they were more acquaintances of mine and friends of Mr. Kavanaugh.
MITCHELL: OK. Can you describe all of the other social interactions that you had with Mr. Kavanaugh?
FORD: Briefly, yes I can. There were during freshman and sophomore year, particularly my sophomore year which would have been his junior year of high school, four to five parties that my friends and I attended that were attended also by him.
MITCHELL: Did anything happen at these events like we’re talking about, besides the time we’re talking about?
FORD: There was no sexual assault at any of those events. Is that what you’re asking?
MITCHELL: Yes.
FORD: Yes, those were just parties.
MITCHELL: Or anything inappropriate is what I meant.
FORD: Well maybe we can go into more detail when there’s more time, I feel time pressure on that question, yes.
MITCHELL: OK.
FORD: Happy to answer in further detail if you want me to.
GRASSLEY: I’m sorry, go ahead and finish answering your question.
FORD: Oh OK. Did you want me to describe those parties or…
A question of time limits pops up in the middle of this question; continuance is suggested by Grassley.
FORD: I’m just happy to describe them if you wanted me to and I’m happy to not. It’s just whatever you want.
MITCHELL: Maybe this will…
FORD: Whatever is your preference.
MITCHELL: …cut to the chase. My question is was there anything else that was sexually inappropriate, any inappropriate sexual behavior on the part of Mr. Kavanaugh towards you at any of these other functions?
FORD: No.
MITCHELL: OK.
FORD: Various people referred me to lawyers they knew in the Washington, D.C. area. So as you know, I grew up in this area, so I asked some family members and friends and they would — they referred me to, like, divorce attorneys that might know somebody, that might know somebody and ended up interviewing several law firms from the D.C. area.
MITCHELL: And did anybody besides friends and family refer you to any attorneys?
FORD: I think that the staff of Dianne Feinstein’s office suggested the possibility of some attorneys.
MITCHELL: OK. Including the two that are sitting on either side of you?
FORD: Not both of them, no.
MITCHELL: OK. We’ve heard a lot about FBI investigations. When did you personally first request an FBI investigation?
FORD: I guess when we first started talking about the possibility of a hearing; I was hoping that there would be an — a more thorough investigation.
MITCHELL: Would that investigation have been something that you would have submitted to an interview?
FORD: I would be happy to cooperate with the FBI, yes.
MITCHELL: Would you have been happy to submit to an interview by staff members from this committee?
FORD: Absolutely.
MITCHELL: OK. Besides… you mentioned some GoFundMe accounts – besides those, are there any other efforts outside of your own personal finances to pay for your legal fees or any of the costs occurred… incurred?
FORD: It’s my understanding that some of my team is working on a pro bono basis, but I don’t know the exact details. And there are members of the community in Palo Alto that have the means to contribute to help me with the security detail, etc.
MITCHELL: Have you been provided…
BROMWICH: I… I can help you with that. Both her co-counsel are doing this pro bono. We are not being paid and we have no expectation of being paid.
MITCHELL: Thank you, counsel. Have you seen any of the questions that I was going to ask you today?
FORD: No.
MITCHELL: Have you… you’ve been asked a few questions by other people as well, have you seen any of those questions in advance?
FORD: No.
MITCHELL: Have you been told them in advance?
FORD: No.
MITCHELL: And…and likewise with my questions, have you been told my questions in advance?
FORD: Definitely not.
MITCHELL: OK. You mentioned about some possible information, such as when Mark Judge worked at the supermarket. I want to ask you about someone else. You mentioned that there was a classmate who was really sort of the connection between you and Brett Kavanaugh. Who was this person?
FORD: I — I think that that case with Mr. Whelan, who was looking at my LinkedIn page and then trying to blame the person, I just don’t feel like it’s right for us to be talking about that.
MITCHELL: I’m not trying to blame anybody, I just want to know who the common friend that you and…
FORD: The person that Mr. Whelan was trying to say looked like Mr. Kavanaugh.
MITCHELL: OK. How long did you know this person?
FORD: Maybe for a couple of months we socialized, but he also was a member of the same country club and I know his younger brother as well.
MITCHELL: OK. So a couple of months before this took place?
FORD: Yes.
MITCHELL: OK. How would you characterize your relationship with him, both before and after this took place, this person?
FORD: He was somebody that, we use the phrase, I went out with — I wouldn’t say date — I went out with for a few months. That was how we termed it at the time. And after that we were distant friends and ran into each other periodically at Columbia Country Club, but I didn’t see him often.
MITCHELL: OK.
FORD: But I saw his brother and him several times.
MITCHELL: Was this person the only common link between you and Mr. — Judge Kavanaugh?
FORD: He’s the only one that I would be able to name right now — that I would like to not name, but you know who I mean. And — but there are certainly other members of Columbia Country Club that were common friends or they were more acquaintances of mine and friends of Mr. Kavanaugh.
MITCHELL: OK. Can you describe all of the other social interactions that you had with Mr. Kavanaugh?
FORD: Briefly, yes I can. There were during freshman and sophomore year, particularly my sophomore year which would have been his junior year of high school, four to five parties that my friends and I attended that were attended also by him.
MITCHELL: Did anything happen at these events like we’re talking about, besides the time we’re talking about?
FORD: There was no sexual assault at any of those events. Is that what you’re asking?
MITCHELL: Yes.
FORD: Yes, those were just parties.
MITCHELL: Or anything inappropriate is what I meant.
FORD: Well maybe we can go into more detail when there’s more time, I feel time pressure on that question, yes.
MITCHELL: OK.
FORD: Happy to answer in further detail if you want me to.
GRASSLEY: I’m sorry, go ahead and finish answering your question.
FORD: Oh OK. Did you want me to describe those parties or…
A question of time limits pops up in the middle of this question; continuance is suggested by Grassley.
FORD: I’m just happy to describe them if you wanted me to and I’m happy to not. It’s just whatever you want.
MITCHELL: Maybe this will…
FORD: Whatever is your preference.
MITCHELL: …cut to the chase. My question is was there anything else that was sexually inappropriate, any inappropriate sexual behavior on the part of Mr. Kavanaugh towards you at any of these other functions?
FORD: No.
MITCHELL: OK.
Sen. Harris gets their 5 minutes.
MITCHELL: Dr. Ford, we’re almost done. Just a couple clean up questions first of all. Which – which of your two lawyers did Senator Feinstein’s office recommend?
FORD: The Katz…
MITCHELL: I’m sorry?
FORD: The Katz firm.
MITCHELL: OK. And when you – when you did leave that night, did Leland Keyser – now Keyser ever follow up with you and say hey, what happened to you?
FORD: I have had communications with her recently.
MITCHELL: I’m talking about like the next day.
FORD: Oh no, she didn’t know about the event. She was downstairs during the event and I did not share it with her.
MITCHELL: OK. Have you been in – are you aware that the three people at the party besides yourself and Brett Kavanaugh have given statements under penalty of felony to the committee?
FORD: Yes.
MITCHELL: And are you aware of what those statements say?
FORD: Yes.
MITCHELL: Are you aware that they say that they have no memory or knowledge of such a party?
FORD: Yes.
MITCHELL: OK. Do you have any particular motives to ascribe to Leland?
FORD: I guess we could take those one at a time. Leland has significant health challenges, and I’m happy that she’s focusing on herself and getting the health treatment that she needs, and she let me know that she needed her lawyer to take care of this for her, and she texted me right afterward with an apology and good wishes, and etc, So I’m glad that she’s taking care of herself. I don’t expect that P.J. and Leland would remember this evening. It was a very unremarkable party. It was not one of their more notorious parties, because nothing remarkable happened to them that evening. They were downstairs. And Mr. Judge is a different story. I would expect that he would remember that this happened.
MITCHELL: Understood. Senator Harris just questioned you from the Maricopa County Protocol on Sexual Assault. The… that’s the paper she was holding out. Are you aware that… and you know, I’ve — I’ve been really impressed today because you’ve talked about norepinephrine and cortisol, and what we call in the profession, basically, the neurobiological effects of trauma. Have you also educated yourself on the best way to get to memory and truth, in terms of interviewing victims of trauma?
FORD: For me interviewing victims of trauma?
MITCHELL: No, to…
FORD: Oh.
MITCHELL: The best way to do it, the best practices for interviewing victims of trauma.
FORD: No.
MITCHELL: OK. Would you believe me if I told you that there’s no study that says that this setting in five-minute increments is the best way to do that?
Bromwich says that’s fine.
MITCHELL: Thank you, Counsel.
Did you know that the best way to do it is to have a trained interviewer talk to you one-on-one in a private setting, and to let you do the talking, just let you do a narrative? Did you know that?
FORD: That makes a… a lot of sense.
MITCHELL: It does make a lot of sense, doesn’t it?
FORD: Yes.
MITCHELL: And then to follow up, obviously, to fill in the details and… and ask for clarification. Does that make sense, as well?
FORD: Yes.
MITCHELL: And…and the research is done by a lot of people in the child abuse field. Two of the more prominent ones in the sexual assault field are Geisel and Fisher, who’ve talked about it, and it’s called a cognitive interview. This is not a cognitive interview. Did anybody ever advise you from Senator Feinstein’s office, or from Representative Eshoo’s office to go
get a forensic interview?
FORD: No.
MITCHELL: Instead, you were advised to get an attorney and take a polygraph. Is that right?
FORD: Many people advised me to get an attorney. Once I had an attorney, my attorney and I discussed a … using the polygraph.
MITCHELL: And instead of submitting to an interview in California, we’re having a hearing here today in five-minute increments. Is that right?
FORD: I… I agree that’s what was agreed upon by the collegial group here.
MITCHELL: OK. Thank you. I have no further questions.
FORD: The Katz…
MITCHELL: I’m sorry?
FORD: The Katz firm.
MITCHELL: OK. And when you – when you did leave that night, did Leland Keyser – now Keyser ever follow up with you and say hey, what happened to you?
FORD: I have had communications with her recently.
MITCHELL: I’m talking about like the next day.
FORD: Oh no, she didn’t know about the event. She was downstairs during the event and I did not share it with her.
MITCHELL: OK. Have you been in – are you aware that the three people at the party besides yourself and Brett Kavanaugh have given statements under penalty of felony to the committee?
FORD: Yes.
MITCHELL: And are you aware of what those statements say?
FORD: Yes.
MITCHELL: Are you aware that they say that they have no memory or knowledge of such a party?
FORD: Yes.
MITCHELL: OK. Do you have any particular motives to ascribe to Leland?
FORD: I guess we could take those one at a time. Leland has significant health challenges, and I’m happy that she’s focusing on herself and getting the health treatment that she needs, and she let me know that she needed her lawyer to take care of this for her, and she texted me right afterward with an apology and good wishes, and etc, So I’m glad that she’s taking care of herself. I don’t expect that P.J. and Leland would remember this evening. It was a very unremarkable party. It was not one of their more notorious parties, because nothing remarkable happened to them that evening. They were downstairs. And Mr. Judge is a different story. I would expect that he would remember that this happened.
MITCHELL: Understood. Senator Harris just questioned you from the Maricopa County Protocol on Sexual Assault. The… that’s the paper she was holding out. Are you aware that… and you know, I’ve — I’ve been really impressed today because you’ve talked about norepinephrine and cortisol, and what we call in the profession, basically, the neurobiological effects of trauma. Have you also educated yourself on the best way to get to memory and truth, in terms of interviewing victims of trauma?
FORD: For me interviewing victims of trauma?
MITCHELL: No, to…
FORD: Oh.
MITCHELL: The best way to do it, the best practices for interviewing victims of trauma.
FORD: No.
MITCHELL: OK. Would you believe me if I told you that there’s no study that says that this setting in five-minute increments is the best way to do that?
Bromwich says that’s fine.
MITCHELL: Thank you, Counsel.
Did you know that the best way to do it is to have a trained interviewer talk to you one-on-one in a private setting, and to let you do the talking, just let you do a narrative? Did you know that?
FORD: That makes a… a lot of sense.
MITCHELL: It does make a lot of sense, doesn’t it?
FORD: Yes.
MITCHELL: And then to follow up, obviously, to fill in the details and… and ask for clarification. Does that make sense, as well?
FORD: Yes.
MITCHELL: And…and the research is done by a lot of people in the child abuse field. Two of the more prominent ones in the sexual assault field are Geisel and Fisher, who’ve talked about it, and it’s called a cognitive interview. This is not a cognitive interview. Did anybody ever advise you from Senator Feinstein’s office, or from Representative Eshoo’s office to go
get a forensic interview?
FORD: No.
MITCHELL: Instead, you were advised to get an attorney and take a polygraph. Is that right?
FORD: Many people advised me to get an attorney. Once I had an attorney, my attorney and I discussed a … using the polygraph.
MITCHELL: And instead of submitting to an interview in California, we’re having a hearing here today in five-minute increments. Is that right?
FORD: I… I agree that’s what was agreed upon by the collegial group here.
MITCHELL: OK. Thank you. I have no further questions.
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