"For every one woman who comes forward, only God knows how many women and children go to their grave with the abuse," Senator Lindsey Graham acknowledges.

He also notes that he's been "doing this legal stuff" for the majority of his life.

The South Carolina senator says he knows of a case of one young man who almost killed himself after he was accused of sexual assault in a criminal case that fell apart.

"I've never heard a more compelling defence of one's honour and integrity that I did from Brett Kavanaugh. He looked me in the eye and he was mad and he should've been mad."

"We're in the Twilight Zone," he says. He adds that he feels sorry for Ford and he believes something happened to her, "but I don't believe it was Brett Kavanaugh."

"In America, before you can accuse someone of a crime you have to tell them where it happened and when it happened," he says.

Image source, Getty Images

Senator Lindsey Graham says: "I know I've been told I'm a single white male from South Carolina so I should just shut up, but I won't."

He is referring to Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono recent exhortation to men in political power to "shut up and step up".

Graham's fiery speech yesterday had many questioning whether he was seeking to get President Trump's attention somehow.

Some have suggested he is auditioning to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions, since Trump has repeatedly rubbished his top lawman.

"I think you did a good job Mr President," Graham said about the Kavanaugh nomination on Friday.

"For somebody who's supposedly crazy and there's chaos everywhere he did a good job here."

The Supreme Court "should be above politics", Leahy says.

Kavanaugh will change that.

"Every one of us who's been a prosecutor has seen how hard it is sometimes for victims to come forward, and are we sending the signal - you stay there! Don't come forward!" Leahy says, impassioned, gesturing.

"How this committee handles this nomination will be viewed as a reflection of how seriously our society views credible claims of sexual misconduct."

Image source, Get

"Remember, Dr Ford is not backed by the most powerful officials in our nation's government," he says.

"She did not testify with a job promotion on the line. She did not evade our questions and she did not demean our motives, of either Republicans or Democrats. She instead, plainly, with grace, and at times emotionally, recounted the trauma she experienced as a 15-year-old girl."

He ends, saying: "I believed her, as I believed Anita Hill."

He's a 'no.'

Leahy says Kavanaugh is worse than Clarence Thomas, the current serving Supreme Court justice who was narrowly confirmed after being accused of sexual assault in the 1991.

Senator Leahy continues to say that "as a member of this committee, as a former prosecutor, as a husband, as a parent" he found Ford's testimony credible. As did everyone on the committee."

"The same cannot be said for Judge Kavanaugh," he says.

The senator says the nominee cannot be depended upon to tell the truth under oath.

"Time and time again when confronted under oath about his involvement... in controversial matters, Judge Kavanaugh misled the Senate. The fact that he's misled the Senate over and over again does not make him guilty of sexual assault as a 17 year old. Nor does the fact that he minimised the heavy drinking in his youth and misrepresented the misogyny in his yearbook."

"But it does go to the heart of Judge Kavanaugh's truthfulness."

"He falsely claimed over and over again that every other person in the house said the assault didn't happen. That's just not true!" Leahy says, raising his voice.

"The only person who has claimed this incident didn't happen is Brett Kavanaugh - the others say they have no knowledge or memory of it. Just as Dr Ford assumed they'd say given for them, it was an ordinary night."

A co-founder of the Women's March protest shared on Instagram that she was arrested as part of the protests on Capitol Hill yesterday.

Image source, CNN

Several Democrats, including Richard Blumenthal, Mazie Hirono and Kamala Harris, staged a walkout when the committee scheduled a vote for later today.

After leaving the room, they held a press conference as the hearing continued inside.

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, who says she was asked to leave the committee room just now after staging a protest, is saying that Republicans are committing an affront to women.

She says she felt disgusted as she watched Kavanaugh begin "to attack and to suggest that a woman who was terrified was part of a conspiracy".

She appeals for "mercy" on behalf of "those who cannot speak for themselves".

Image source, AFP

"They don't want to hear women who have relevant evidence," Senator Leahy says of his Republican colleagues.

"Is that really what the Senate Judiciary Committee has lowered itself to?"

"Our constitutional obligation at the very least is to investigate properly," says Senator Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat.

He points out that Republicans actively delayed a vote when it was about Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland.

"Why is Judge Kavanaugh, who is facing... serious allegations of sexual abuse, why is he being held to a lower standard than all the nominees before him? Certainly all the nominees I've seen in 44 years."

Leahy demands they hear from all the witnesses.

"Most stunningly, this committee has refused to call the sole eyewitness to the alleged assault, so all we have is a brief letter from Mr Judge, vaguely asserting he has no memory of this... I'd like to ask him questions about that, under oath. A lot of us would."

Georgina Rannard
BBC News

Image source, Reuters

Even before Christine Blasey Ford accusedSupreme Court choice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, the nomination was said to be about women.

Appointing Mr Kavanaugh would tip the court's balance in favour of Republicans. This sparked real fear among progressive women that landmark Roe v Wade decision that granted the right to abortion could be overturned.

Once Mr Kavanaugh denied Ms Ford's allegations, the hearings became a test of how far the Me Too movement has changed America.

The BBC spoke to women before and after the extraordinary hearing to find out whether this is really about women's rights.

Did listening to Dr Ford and Mr Kavanaugh change their minds about who and what to believe?

Read the full story here.

"I hope they are searching their souls to do the right thing," says Hawaii Democrat Mazie Hirono, about her undecided colleagues.

"It was so nakedly political," she says about Kavanaugh's testimony yesterday.

"We do not need a political operative on the Supreme Court."

After committee chairman Grassley reiterates his criticisms of Democrats, he gives the floor Senator Orrin Hatch.

Hatch goes on to repeat much of Grassley's remarks about Kavanaugh and the Democrats.

Hatch also criticises the new allegations - taking a dig at Stormy Daniels' lawyer Michael Avenatti.

He says we can't allow "more time for smears" or for people to "beat Judge Kavanaugh into submission".

For America's reputation, we have to "end the circus".

"Frankly we've had enough time on this to choke a horse. Let's be fair about this, let's vote whichever way we want to, let's move on this."

He says he is "personally tired of the gamesmanship".

Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, just said: "It's obvious to the American people that the Senate is ramming through this nomination.

"The Republican leadership is jamming Judge Kavanaugh through this process without knowing the facts.

"But eventually the facts will come out," he says, adding that there will be further investigations.

He is also decrying Republicans for blocking additional witnesses from being called before the committee.

Image source, EPA

Women hold protest at the back of the Senate Judiciary room, says BuzzFeed News Capitol Hill reporter.

"This has been about raw power," says Senator Kamala Harris of California.

"It's been pushing and pushing and ramming this thing through. Because they have the power.

"Opposed to the integrity to say let the American people know what's about to happen. Have transparency in the system.

"This is a failure of this body to do what it has always said it's about, which is be deliberative," she said.

Image source, EPA

Here's that jaw-dropping video of two women, one of whom identifies herself as a sexual assault survivor, barracking Republican Senator Jeff Flake in a lift after he announces he will vote to confirm Kavanaugh.

He looks incredibly uncomfortable.

Image source, Getty Images

Senator Dianne Feinstein: "Not one senator has had the opportunity to question Deborah Ramirez or Julie Swetnick [Kavanaugh's other accusers].

"My colleagues are right that we should not rush to judgement and it's not fair to assume Judge Kavanaugh is guilty without gathering the information.

"But it's equally unfair to have heard from a credible poised and brave witness and simply ignore what we've heard and move forward immediately."

The senator says she doesn't know Deborah Ramirez or Julie Swetnick, doesn't know if their allegations are credible, but she does know this: "Dr Ford provided powerful, credible testimony" that deserves to be considered.

"I hoped we could show women that our country has changed," Senator Feinstein says.

She adds before closing that the Republican strategy seems now to be "ignore the victim".

Learn more about who Kavanaugh's accusers are here.

"We can't learn anything from the FBI that we can't learn ourselves," says Grassley, rejecting Democratic demands for federal agents to investigate the Kavanaugh allegations.

"If the people on the other side of the aisle sincerely want an FBI investigation I would ask why they did not notify me of Dr Ford's then letter way back in July.

"The FBI would honour confidentiality and so would I."

Grassley is referring to Senator Feinstein, who received a letter from Kavanaugh's accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, in late July but did not disclose its contents until September.

Meanwhile, here's what other observers are saying about the events surrounding Kavanaugh's nomination.