The 1991 confirmation hearing of Thomas, accused by Hill of sexual harassment, angered people on all sides and is not recalled as one of the Senate's proud moments. Lessons learned from that episode will likely guide senators Thursday as they hear Christine Blasey Ford's claims that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers. The panel's Democrats, criticized for weakly defending Hill in 1991, stand united against Kavanaugh. The most obvious difference is that the Senate Judiciary Committee is no longer all white and all male, at least on the Democratic side. But the committee in 1991 did not hear from other women, independent of Hill, whose accounts of Thomas' behavior toward them were similar to what Hill said.

Source: Economic Times September 26, 2018 20:15 UTC