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Excerpts from Brett Kavanaugh's testimony

September 28, 2018 at 5:49AM
Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh speaks at the Senate Judiciary Committee, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Michael Reynolds/Pool Image via AP)
Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh speaks at the Senate Judiciary Committee, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

"This whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit, fueled with apparently pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election, fear that has been unfairly stoked about my judicial record, revenge on behalf of the Clintons and millions of dollars in money from outside, left-wing opposition groups. This is a circus."

"I intend no ill will to Dr. Ford and her family. The other night, Ashley and my daughter, Liza, said their prayers. And little Liza — all of 10 years old — said to Ashley, 'We should pray for the woman.' It's a lot of wisdom from a 10-year-old. We mean — we mean no ill will."

If an unproven allegation "is enough to destroy a person's life and career we will have abandoned the basic principles of fairness and due process that define our legal system and our country."

"My family and my name have been totally and permanently destroyed by vicious and false accusations. The 10-day delay has been harmful to me and my family, to the Supreme Court and to the country."

"Thanks to what some of you on this side of the committee have unleashed, I may never be able to teach again."

"I will not be intimidated into withdrawing from this process. You've tried hard. You've given it your all. No one can question your effort, but your coordinated and well-funded effort to destroy my good name and to destroy my family will not drive me out. The vile threats of violence against my family will not drive me out. You may defeat me in the final vote, but you'll never get me to quit. Never."

Asked whether he had any doubts that the accusations were untrue, Kavanaugh responded: "Zero. Hundred percent certain, Senator."

"You have replaced 'advice and consent' with 'search and destroy.' "

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Speaking of a supportive letter from 65 women who knew him in high school, Kavanaugh said, "think about that. They put themselves on the line for me. Those are some awesome women."

"All of the people identified by Dr. Ford as being present at the party have said they do not remember any such party ever happening."

"Sometimes I had too many beers. I liked beer. I still like beer. But I never drank beer to the point of blacking out, and I never sexually assaulted anyone."

Kavanaugh said Ford's allegation is "refuted by the very people she says were there. He said his calendar for the summer of 1982 "shows all but definitely that I was not there."

"This has destroyed my family and my good name. A good name built up through decades of very hard work and public service at the highest levels of the American government."

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In this photo taken Monday, March 6, 2017, in San Francisco, released confidential files by The University of California of a sexual misconduct case, like this one against UC Santa Cruz Latin Studies professor Hector Perla is shown. Perla was accused of raping a student during a wine-tasting outing in June 2015. Some of the files are so heavily redacted that on many pages no words are visible. Perla is one of 113 UC employees found to have violated the system's sexual misconduct policies in rece

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