USA TODAY International Edition
How events unfolded over the summer
July 9
President Donald Trump announces his nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
July 30
Christine Blasey Ford, a psychology professor, quietly sends a letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. She alleges Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in high school. Feinstein does not release the letter publicly, at Ford’s request.
Aug. 10
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, announces that confirmation hearings for Kavanaugh will begin Sept. 4.
Sept. 4-7
Kavanaugh testifies for three days. On the fourth day, legal experts and other witnesses testify. Ford’s allegations are never raised.
Sept. 12
Feinstein sends Ford’s letter to the FBI. The bureau puts the letter in Kavanaugh’s background check file but does not launch a criminal investigation, in part because the statute of limitations on the alleged sexual assault expired years earlier.
Sept. 14
Ford’s allegations surface in a story by The New Yorker magazine. The story does not include Ford’s name. “I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation. I did not do this back in high school or at any time,” Kavanaugh says in a statement.
Sept. 16
The Washington Post publishes an interview with Ford, who allows her name to be released publicly for the first time. Kavanaugh again denies that the incident ever took place.
Sept. 17
Grassley says the panel will hold a hearing to hear from both Ford and Kavanaugh about the allegations.
Sept. 23
Ford agrees to testify publicly at a committee hearing Sept. 27. Grassley says Kavanaugh will testify after Ford. Later that day, The New Yorker releases a report that Deborah Ramirez, a woman who attended Yale University with Kavanaugh, accuses him of exposing himself to her.
Sept. 24
Kavanaugh sends a letter to Grassley and Feinstein declaring that he “will not be intimidated into withdrawing from this process.”