'Indelible in the Hippocampus Is the Laughter': Christine Blasey Ford Is Going Through Hell Today

The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with Christine Blasey Ford this morning is underway. It’s already been absolutely heart-wrenching to hear Ford describe her memories of sexual assault in front of the entire world, and even though her opening statement was released yesterday, the emotional punch of hearing Ford, close to tears, delivering her remarks in real time cannot be overstated.

Two lines from Ford’s testimony struck me as particularly powerful.

In one, Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont, asked Ford about her “strongest memory of the incident, something that you cannot forget.”

Ford, a research psychologist, replied she will never forget her alleged attackers’ “laughter.” Here was the exchange:

FORD: Indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter, the uproarious laughter between the two and they’re having fun at my expense.

LEAHY: You’ve never forgotten that laughter, you’ve never forgotten them laughing at you?

FORD: They were laughing with each other

LEAHY: And you were the object of their laughter?

FORD: I was underneath one of them, while the two laughed. Two friends having a really good time with one another.

The laughter. The “uproarious laughter.”

Another moment came when Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin asked Ford: “With what degree of certainty do you believe Brett Kavanaugh assaulted you?”

Her response: “100 percent.”

We’re not even halfway through these proceedings, so it’s not a stretch to say this will only get more brutal. You can follow along with our liveblog over here.