For Ford, the hearing offered both the opportunity and the burden of stepping into the middle of a fraught political moment and allowing a panel of senators to essentially sit in judgment of her just as they are weighing whether to elevate Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. In a shift from the Hill-Thomas hearing, Republicans hired a sex-crimes prosecutor from Arizona, Rachel Mitchell, to question the two witnesses (though in the middle of Kavanaugh’s session, the lawmakers took over). Democrats interviewed both witnesses themselves. Grassley said the Republicans’ decision to bring in Mitchell was made in an effort “to depoliticize” the hearing, but it was widely seen as a move to shield the all-male GOP panel from the uncomfortable position of questioning a woman about a sexual assault.

Mitchell, seated in front of the senators’ dais, began her work Thursday with an apology to Ford, as well.

Noting that Ford had said she was “terrified” to appear, Mitchell told her: “I just wanted to let you know I’m very sorry. That’s not right.”

Mitchell proceeded to ask Ford about details in the letter she had originally submitted to Congress. Asked to read it again for accuracy, Ford took the opportunity to make a couple of “corrections.” She had originally said there were four other people at the party, but she clarified to say that she could not be sure if more people weren’t there as well. She said she couldn’t be sure if Kavanaugh or Judge was the one who pushed her from behind into the bedroom where she was attacked. And she added a detail about Judge, saying that soon after the incident, she saw him working at a local Safeway grocery store. She told the committee that if it could ascertain when Judge worked at the store, she could be more precise about when the incident occurred.

Democrats had demanded that more witnesses be called and a subpoena be issued to Judge, the only other alleged witness to the incident. But Grassley refused, and so one after the other, Ford and Kavanaugh were to testify alone.

The format of questioning led to some awkwardness during Ford’s half of the hearing. Grassley allowed each senator just five minutes with Ford, but since Republicans all deferred to Mitchell, it meant that her detailed line of inquiry was frequently interrupted. The questioning was also interrupted at times by bickering between the Democrats on the committee and Grassley over the handling of the allegations and hearing. Grassley interjected whenever a Democrat accused him of rushing the process.

Adam Serwer: What Mark Judge’s absence reveals

Throughout Ford’s appearance, Mitchell questioned her in a friendly manner, but her strategy seemed designed to poke holes in Ford’s story and credibility. At one point, she questioned Ford over reports that she had a fear of flying, yet had made trips by plane across the country and to far-flung locales for vacation. Mitchell stumbled, however, when she raised the possibility that Ford had flown all the way to Australia.