Christine Ford has told Congress that she believed Brett Kavanaugh was "going to rape her" in dramatic testimony over her sexual assault allegation against Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee.
Dr Ford said she was "100 per cent" sure it was Mr Kavanaugh who assaulted her.
Later, Mr Kavanaugh appeared in front of the same Senate panel, the judiciary committee, and denied the allegations calling the hearing a "circus". He said he believed Dr Ford had been assaulted at some point, but not by him.
Dr Ford said she was "terrified" of testifying, but that she believes it is her "civic duty". Before she began Senator Dianne Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, commended her on coming forward.
Donald Trump has said "it's possible" he'll change his mind about nominating Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court after hearing the testimony of Christine Blasey Ford, who alleges the judge tried to force himself upon her at a party while both were high school students in the 1980s.
He told reporters in New York last night: "We’re giving the women a major chance to speak. It’s possible I’ll hear that and I’ll say: ‘Hey, I’m changing my mind.’ It’s possible."
But president has done little else to suggest Mr Kavanaugh's alleged victims would get a fair hearing, defending his nominee a number of times and branding the allegations a Democrat-driven "con job".
Our international editor Chris Stevenson has the full story:
Trump says 'it's possible I'll change my mind' on Kavanaugh after hearing alleged victim
'We’re giving the women a major chance to speak,' president saysThe Senate Judiciary Committee hearing is due to get underway at 10am local time (3pm BST).
The hearing will take place in a small committee room with only a few journalists admitted, with a limited number of cameras.
That's a change — at Christine Blasey Ford's request — from the first four days of hearings into Brett Kavanaugh's nomination for the Supreme Court.
Previous evidence was heard in huge, lit-for-television rooms typically used for high-profile proceedings.
Watch Brett Kavanaugh's hearing live in front of the United States Judiciary Committee
Supreme Court nominee has been accused of sexual assault by multiple women
According to Ms Ford, Mr Kavanaugh assaulted her at a party when she was 15 and he was 17. She has claimed he pinned her to a bed, groped her and tried to pull off her clothes, covering her mouth with his hand when she tried to scream.
Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee will then question Ms Ford. The committee's all-male Republican majority has hired a female lawyer with experience prosecuting sex crimes to take charge of their questioning.
Democratic senators will ask their own questions.
Mr Kavanaugh, who denies the allegations made by Ms Ford and two other women, will testify later, although he will not be in the room when Ms Ford is speaking.
He said he hopes for a "safe, comfortable, and dignified" hearing for both witnesses and noted he wants a "show of civility" from his colleagues.
"A small victory in one of the packed cafeterias in the Dirksen Senate building where people were able to get the volume on the TV turned on"
The clash pitted her word against his. Members of the Senate, controlled 51-49 by Trump's fellow Republicans, must now decide whether to vote to confirm him after the extraordinary nearly nine-hour-long hearing. Senate Republicans planned to meet on Thursday night to discuss the next steps on the nomination.
