I watched Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s moving testimony to the Judiciary Committee this morning, and I am still shaken up by it.

Hearing her voice, watching her face … She was telling the truth, and she was 100% clear on what the truth is: a drunk Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her.

She was asked what she remembers the most from that night, and her answer surprised me: the men’s laughter. I try to imagine what that must be like, to live with that laughter inside of her all these years – two drunk men laughing as they sexually assaulted her.

Laughing.

And then there was the Republicans’ lawyer, Rachel Mitchell, calmly trying to find a crack in her story — something, anything that Republicans could use to make it look like she was lying.  Question after question after question.

It was one of the most horrifying things I have ever seen in my life.

Yet Dr. Blasey Ford wasn’t fazed.  This strong survivor withstood every effort to undermine her, to discredit her, to bully her, to destroy her reputation.

I don’t know if I could be that strong had I been in her shoes.

In courtrooms, personal testimony is essential, because that’s what juries use to determine someone’s reliability. In fact, it is so important that there is a rule that circuit courts generally accept the set of facts as found by the jury, and only consider legal matters in an appeal.

And though Dr. Blasey Ford was not on trial, she showed just how important it is to have people testify in person.

She is a survivor.  And I believe her.