Democratic Congresswoman Anna Eschoo was the first to hear of Christine Ford's allegation of sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and is saying she came away from their 90 minute sit down convinced of her story.

Eschoo, who represents the Palo Alto area of California where Ford lives, describes the psychology professor as non-political, intelligent and 'terrified' for her family.

'It was more than obvious to me that she bore the scars of what she had been subjected to,' Eshoo told The Washington Post. 'She doesn't have a political bone in her body. And she obviously was really terrified about what could become of her and her family.'

Democratic Congresswoman Anna Eschoo was the first to hear of Christine Ford's allegation of sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh

'At the end of the meeting, I told her that I believed her,' Rep. Anna Eshoo said of her meeting with Christine Ford (pictured)

'At the end of the meeting, I told her that I believed her,' she added. 'In telling her story, you know, there were details to it, and I believed her.'

Ford is a registered Democrat and participated in a local Women's March protesting Trump last year where she wore one of the pink-yarned hats.

Her claim that Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court, sexually assaulted her during a high school party in the 1980s, has rocked the confirmation process. He has denied the allegation.

Her hour-and-half sit down with Eshoo took place in mid-July in a conference room in the congresswoman's district, over coffee, tea and cookies.

Ford spoke softly and choked up at times, but she didn't seem nervous, Eshoo told The San Jose Mercury News.

'She was obviously intelligent,' said Eshoo, who asked Ford multiple questions during their time together. 'She seems like the person next door — well, the professor next door.'

Their meeting was the result of a call Ford placed to Eshoo's office requesting time with the congresswoman.

A staffer spoke with Ford in advance but Eshoo said she didn't realize the magnitude of Ford's allegations until the two women met in person on July 20.

Ford didn't remember all the details but Eshoo described her as a convincing and said Ford would be a strong witness.

It was Eshoo who suggested Ford write a letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Eshoo's staff hand-delivered it to Feinstein's Washington, D.C., office on July 30, giving it to an aide there.

'You don't drop it off at the receptionist's desk,' Eshoo told The Post.

Eshoo and Feinstein were both elected to Congress in 1992, the 'Year of the Woman' election that swept a then-record number of women into office following Anita Hill's accusation of sexual harassment against Justice Clarence Thomas.

Eshoo said she hasn't met with Ford since their July sit down, although her staff has been in contact with her since she came forward.

'She's a courageous woman, and she has come forward for all the right reasons,' Eshoo told The Mercury News. 'What I'd like to see more than anything else is that she be treated with the respect that she should have — and that there not be a rush to judgment but a transparent process that really seeks the truth.'

She joined her fellow Democrats in calling for an investigation into the allegation.

'This should not be treated as a he-said, she-said,' Eshoo told The Post. 'I've dealt with the FBI when I served on the House Intelligence Committee for almost a decade. They are perfectly capable of conducting an investigation which then becomes foundational for the hearing.'

'That's what they do; they conduct investigations,' she added. 'And what I'm struck by is that there seems to be such a rush to judgment rather than taking the time for justice. There is no question in my mind that the Judge Kavanaugh, from the outside looking in, has excellent credentials. He has served on the bench. He's served in an administration. But character matters.'

Trump has said the FBI doesn't need to investigate.

'It would seem that the FBI really doesn't do that,' he said of the Democrats' demand.

Republicans have questioned the timing of Ford's public statements, which came after Kavanaugh had sat through more than 20 hours of judiciary committee hearings.

He strongly denies the allegation.

Republicans have also been sharply critical of Feinstein, who delivered the letter to the FBI a week ago.

Eshoo said her actions were dictated by Ford's desire for confidentiality as she weighed whether or not to go public. She said only she and one of her senior aides knew about Ford's allegation as part of their effort to keep it private.

'I think it's difficult for people to understand if you haven't dealt with people that have been subjected to something like this,' the congresswoman told The Post. 'They keep it to themselves. They feel guilty. They bury it. They tell themselves to move on. And so there wasn't any kind of political process in her mind whatsoever.'

Brett Kavanaugh, leaving his house in Chevy Chase, Md., on Thursday, strongly denies the allegation against him

Christine Blasey (now Ford) and Brett Kavanaugh in their respective high school year books

Rep. Eshoo (center) said Ford would be a strong witness if she testifies

The question now remains whether or not Ford will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday. Republican Chairman Chuck Grassley has given her a deadline of 10 am on Friday to decide.

Democrats have pushed for an FBI investigation and expanded witness list. Only Kavanaugh and Ford are scheduled to speak on Monday.

Ford's lawyers said Republicans are not acting in 'good faith.'

'The Committee's stated plan to move forward with a hearing that has only two witnesses is not a fair or good faith investigation; there are multiple witnesses whose names have appeared publicly and should be included in any proceeding,' Ford's lawyer Lisa Banks said in a statement on Wednesday. 'The rush to a hearing is unnecessary, and contrary to the Committee discovering the truth.'

But Republicans, who want to see Kavanaugh on the court by its October 1 opening, are holding fast to Monday's date.

'It would be a disservice,' Grassley wrote in a letter to Democrats on Monday 'to delay this hearing any further.'

There are fears among Republicans that Democrats are trying to delay a vote on Kavanaugh's until after the midterm election, when there is a possibility Democrats will take control of the Senate and control the confirmation process.

Republicans are balancing their desire to place a conservative justice - who can tilt the Supreme Court's bench to the right - on the high court before its new term begins on Oct. 1 with fears of alienating women voters ahead of the November election.

The GOP is also mindful that with its 51-seat majority in the Senate, they can only lose one vote - if all Democrats vote no on Kavanaugh - in order to get him confirmed.

And the two Republicans to watch are both women - moderate GOP Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, neither of whom has committed to voting for Kavanaugh.

Democrats on Tuesday charged Republicans with not doing enough to ensure Ford avoids an Anita Hill-type situation, where Clarence Thomas' accuser was assailed by Senate Judiciary Committee members in his 1991 confirmation hearing, and the GOP is countering they are giving her the option of public or private testimony.

'She is under no obligation to participate in the Republican efforts to sweep this whole thing under the rug, to continue this nomination on the fast track and to participate in a smear campaign and basically a railroad job,' said Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono, a member of the judiciary committee, to reporters Tuesday on Capitol Hill. 'This is what they did to Anita Hill!'

She added: 'I just want to say to the men in this country, just shut up and step up. Do the right thing, for a change.'

Ford described to The Washington Post in detail how, when she was at a teenage party in the 1980s, Kavanaugh and his high school classmate followed her upstairs when she went to the bathroom and pushed her into a bedroom.

She detailed how Kavanaugh held her down, tried to rip off her swimsuit, and put his hand over her mouth when she tried to scream.

She said she escaped when his friend, Mark Judge, jumped on top of them.

'I thought he might inadvertently kill me,' Ford told the newspaper.

An aide to Rep. Eshoo hand delivered Ford's letter to an aide for Sen. Dianne Feinstein (pictured)

Republican Chairman Chuck Grassley of the Senate Judiciary Committee has given Ford until 10 am on Friday to decide if she'll testify in Monday's hearing

She said the incident affected her for years.

'I think it derailed me substantially for four or five years,' she said. She struggled academically and socially, she said, and was unable to have healthy relationships with men. 'I was very ill-equipped to forge those kinds of relationships.'

Kavanaugh has repeatedly and strongly denied the allegation.

'This is a completely false allegation. I have never done anything like what the accuser describes—to her or to anyone,' Kavanaugh said in a statement provided by the White House.

Kavanaugh said he 'had no idea' who made the allegation until Ford identified herself Sunday in a bombshell Washington Post interview.

'Because this never happened, I had no idea who was making this accusation until she identified herself yesterday,' he noted.