***Live Updates*** Senate Judiciary Committee to Vote on Brett Kavanaugh Nomination
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday morning will hold a committee vote on Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination hours after Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford testified before the committee on Thursday.
Stay tuned to Breitbart News for live updates. All times eastern.
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3:30 PM:
BREAKING: Kavanaugh friend Mark Judge says he’ll cooperate with any law enforcement agency that investigates `confidentially’
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) September 28, 2018
3:27 PM:
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) says the Senate GOP conference has reached “an accord” on how to proceed on Kavanaugh and will announce soon.
— Alex Bolton (@alexanderbolton) September 28, 2018
3:25 PM:
Dean Gerken Joins the ABA in Calling for Further Investigation. pic.twitter.com/SYAsVHwsi7
— Yale Law School (@YaleLawSch) September 28, 2018
3:20 PM: Spartacus statement:
My thoughts on Senator Jeff Flake’s request for an FBI investigation before the Senate #KavanaughVote: pic.twitter.com/8JSpOnvmLG
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) September 28, 2018
3:17 PM:
I feel relieved that @JeffFlake seems to have heard my and @AnaMariaArchil2’s voices in the Senate elevator today. We absolutely need an FBI investigation and for him and all Senators to vote NO. #StopKavanaugh pic.twitter.com/VnsfTIRGXJ
— Maria Gallagher (@mgallagher822) September 28, 2018
Tell me again why we shouldn’t confront Republicans where they eat, where they sleep, and where they work until they stop being complicit in the destruction of our democracy. https://t.co/YEft6pmc7o
— Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) September 28, 2018
3:15 PM: Manchin with Flake as well:
JUST IN: Sen. Joe Manchin supports Sen. Jeff Flake’s call for a delay in Kavanaugh vote for FBI background investigation.
“I applaud Senator Jeff Flake’s decision to rise above the partisan circus on display during this entire process.” https://t.co/hJ8OmY9HGK pic.twitter.com/I6T8whNo9w
— Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) September 28, 2018
Sen Manchin, a moderate Dem who voted for Gorsuch and hasn’t yet announced whether he would vote for Kavanaugh, is also on board with Flake/Murkowski
— Lawrence Hurley (@lawrencehurley) September 28, 2018
2:40 PM: Murkowski with Flake:
NEWS: Murkowski, entering the Capitol “on the way to talk to her colleagues,” said she supports @JeffFlake proposal for a one week delay and an investigation.
— Leigh Ann Caldwell (@LACaldwellDC) September 28, 2018
2:35 PM: Coons also said he thinks the FBI should investigate “other allegations” if they come forward in the next week.
Coons says has traveled around world with Flake, knows he is concerned that our country’s division right now teaches wrong thing to world about our democracy.
— Laura Rozen (@lrozen) September 28, 2018
2:33 PM: Manchin update:
Politico reported in story updated this morning that Manchin would vote in a bloc with Donnelly, Murkowski and Collins. Just asked Manchin’s spokesman if this is true, given Donnelly announcing his opposition. “Not accurate,” he said. pic.twitter.com/Vk34AgvMIX
— Jake Zuckerman (@jake_zuckerman) September 28, 2018
2:30 PM:
President Trump says Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony was “very compelling” and Brett Kavanaugh’s was “something that I haven’t seen before. It was incredible” pic.twitter.com/Rm1qiBg4Zd
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) September 28, 2018
2:15 PM: Even Kamala Harris stunned:
A stunned Kamala Harris exiting the judiciary committee: “I can’t even. I don’t know. I don’t know how to react to that.”
— Arthur Delaney (@ArthurDelaneyHP) September 28, 2018
Kamala Harris: “When our colleague Amy Klobuchar asked him a very legitimate question, he turned it on her and attacked her. We will not be bullied. We will not be bullied. We will not be bullied. And why? Because we are strong and we will fight. We are strong and we will fight.” pic.twitter.com/IuAkByI3bg
— The Hill (@thehill) September 28, 2018
1:55 PM: Senate Judiciary Committee votes Kavanaugh nomination out of committee (11-10). Flake says he will be only comfortable moving on the floor with the one-week investigation/due diligence. Grassley and Graham note that they don’t control what happens on the floor.
MORE: Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) voted ‘yea’ to move the process forward, but said he will not vote in favor of Kavanaugh being confirmed in a full floor vote unless he sees an FBI investigation of up to one week into the allegations of Christine Blasey Ford https://t.co/ioZf8jiXvI pic.twitter.com/4PB9dNZpBc
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) September 28, 2018
1:51 PM: Grassley, citing point of personal privilege, calls on Flake to speak before the vote. Flake says he thinks it would be proper to delay the floor vote for up to one week to enable the FBI to due an investigation, limited to time and scope to no more than one week. He says he will vote to advance the vote to the floor with that understanding.
1:30 PM: Manchin undecided:
Speaking to press in West Virginia, Joe Manchin says he is still undecided on Kavanaugh, per @Bencjacobs.
— Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) September 28, 2018
1:07 PM: Blumenthal talks about how Kavanaugh was “filled with anger” and walks out after his speech. (He walked out with Harris/Hirono at the start only to come back to get some camera time.)
Sen. Blumenthal: “The United States of America deserves not just a good nominee, but the best person for the job. And the person that we saw come before us yesterday was filled with such anger, that I cannot accept that he would be an impartial and objective justice on [SCOTUS].” pic.twitter.com/KpjoBosxIt
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) September 28, 2018
12:49 PM: Sen. Kennedy calls the confirmation hearings an “intergalactic freak show” and says Congress has hit “rock bottom.” He says there were no winners in the room yesterday. There were just two human beings in pain. He blasts the “cynical games” that have damaged Ford, Kavanaugh, and their families irreparably. He says this is no country for creepy old men, or young men, or middle-aged men. But he also says he doesn’t want to live in a country without due process where the accuser and accused are not entitled to respect, fairness, and due process. He says the people who betrayed Ford’s trust and did not tell her she could testify in California should bow their heads in shame and hide their heads in bags for the rest of their lives. He also quotes Matthew 16:26 to close his remarks: “For what is a person profited if he gains the whole world and he loses his soul?”
12:48 PM: Drama Queen Booker now dramatically announces that he is going to leave the hearing because he cannot participate in something that history will not judge favorably.
“I cannot participate in what I know history will look back to be as a dark moment again, the same way we look at the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas trials,” Senator Cooker says in concluding remarks. “We should listen to women.” https://t.co/NmIZm7XrXq pic.twitter.com/CgjwPUuISY
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 28, 2018
12:41 PM: Harris rallying the Resistance.
Senator Kamala Harris speaks to media as protestors rally on Supreme Court steps against Kavanaugh’s nomination https://t.co/kiD7Z7JtmV
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) September 28, 2018
12: 40 PM: Dems. meeting with Flake?
After Sen. Coons spoke, he was seen walking from the cmte. chamber with Sen. Flake and Sen. Klobuchar. pic.twitter.com/ya3YyHoK0C
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 28, 2018
Something weird is happening — lots of chatter among Democrats after Coons and Klobuchar returned from their talk with Flake
— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) September 28, 2018
12:31 PM: Harris insisting on a “pause.”
We are talking about putting Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court for a lifetime. For the sake of our democracy and the integrity of our democracy, you would think that members of the U.S. Senate would say there’s enough here to push pause — let’s reflect on what we’re about to do.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) September 28, 2018
12:28 PM: Heitkamp undecided.
Just off the phone with Sen. Heitkamp, who remains undecided on Kavanaugh. She’s still dissecting the hearing from yesterday and expressed disappointment there wasn’t an FBI investigation into sexual assault claims #ndpol #ndsen
— John Hageman (@jhageman_) September 28, 2018
12:25 PM: Sen. Spartacus (D-“T-Bone”) now speaking about how he has always wanted to be on the Judiciary Committee and how he fought to get on Judiciary Committee. Booker, who has written about groping a woman in high school, says the process has been a “sham.” He proudly talks about how he “willfully” and “knowingly” violated the rules re: “releasing documents” (publicity stunt). Booker “resents” that Republicans accused Ford of “partisanship.” He says it shifted the debate from “raw partisanship” to “something deeper.” Booker praises Grassley for being genuinely concerned about Ford’s humanity behind closed doors even when the klieg lights were off. Grassley says Booker has spoken for 17 minutes already and wonders if he will let anyone else speak. Booker speaking about “dark corners” in American society and says the Supreme Court is not an entitlement.
12:24 PM: Tester a “No.”
JON TESTER IS A NO on Kavanaugh.
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) September 28, 2018
Tester announces his opposition: “I have concerns about his support for more dark money in politics. I have concerns about who he believes is in charge of making personal health decisions. And I have deep concerns about the allegations of sexual assault against Judge Kavanaugh.” pic.twitter.com/6jYXODTK8Z
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) September 28, 2018
12:21 PM: Chairman Grassley doing excellent job–succinctly pointing out when Democrats are wrong and moving the hearing along. He may realize some Republicans may not be doing Kavanaugh any favors by bloviating and asks Republicans to keep their statements brief.
(I personally love Grassley’s OG Tweeting style. It’s how Twitter was originally envisioned to be used.)
12:20 PM: Pressure on Collins:
Crowd of protestors continues to grow outside Senator Susan Collins’ Portland office. @WMTWTV pic.twitter.com/fIX4Q0ofKq
— Jim Keithley (@JimKeithleyWMTW) September 28, 2018
Hundreds chanting, “we will remember in November,” as protesters gather outside Senator Susan Collins’ Portland office. #KavanaghHearing pic.twitter.com/ugWnOIT8FD
— Jim Keithley (@JimKeithleyWMTW) September 28, 2018
12:15 PM: Coons says he was against Kavanaugh after he first testified because of Kavanaugh’s expansive view of executive power. He asks for a one-week delay and says “not recalling is not the same as refuting” when talking about the various named parties who have sent in statements to the Judiciary Committee about the gathering in question.
12:10 PM: Indiana’s Mike Braun (GOP Senate challenger) after Dem. Donnelly announces “no” vote on Kavanaugh:
This entire process has been an embarrassment to our democracy as Hoosiers watched firsthand how Senator Donnelly’s liberal colleagues used uncorroborated allegations to create a media circus designed to smear and destroy Judge Kavanaugh’s reputation. Donnelly’s decision to oppose President Trump’s highly qualified nominee is a grave mistake, but proves he is more concerned with standing with his liberal Democrat leaders than standing for Hoosiers. I continue to strongly support Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court.
12:05 PM: House Democrats now saying Kavanaugh “should be prosecuted to full extent of the law.” Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) is the House Judiciary Committee’s Ranking Member.
Someone committed perjury under oath in the Senate Judiciary Committee and I think it was Judge #Kavanaugh and therefore he should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and should not serve as a judge on any court. – @RepGutierrez #twill #BelieveSurviviors https://t.co/CLokautSZN
— Luis V. Gutierrez (@RepGutierrez) September 28, 2018
#Kavanaugh pic.twitter.com/MSWsyY7aMT
— (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) September 28, 2018
NEW from @RepCummings, who could soon have subpoena power if Dems win House: “I would *love* to have (Mark) Judge testify before my committee. I would love to. Bring him out from Bethany Beach or wherever he is. And he can sit there and tell us, sworn, what’s going on.”
— Mike DeBonis (@mikedebonis) September 28, 2018
11:55 AM: Cruz lamenting today’s tribalism and says Kavanaugh may never be able to coach girl’s basketball again–he says could be a “real consequence” of the hearings. He also says that Kavanaugh doesn’t have a “pattern” of sexual assault like many other disgraced executives/journalists who have been exposed. He says Kavanaugh’s reputation “for a long time” has been that of a “boring boy scout.”
11:45 AM: Collins still undecided.
SUSAN COLLINS just told me she hasn’t made up her mind yet on Brett Kavanaugh for SCOTUS.
She declined to comment on the hearing yesterday.
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) September 28, 2018
11: 40 AM: Donnelly (D-IN), who voted for Gorsuch, voting “no.”
Read Joe’s statement on the Kavanaugh nomination: pic.twitter.com/JvjTOKEDyF
— Senator Joe Donnelly (@SenDonnelly) September 28, 2018
11:34 AM: Dems more about grandstanding than attending committee hearing:
This morning, @SenKamalaHarris and I walked out of the Judiciary Committee markup on Brett Kavanaugh. This Committee and the Republicans have tossed out all rules and norms to push Brett Kavanaugh onto the Supreme Court. We will not be part of this sham. pic.twitter.com/F1coQbXrwd
— Senator Mazie Hirono (@maziehirono) September 28, 2018
The protest here is deafening in Dirksen pic.twitter.com/NDeou0iv23
— Lauren Fox (@FoxReports) September 28, 2018
Kamala Harris: “This should not be tyranny of the majority. There has not been a fair process in place from the beginning on this. It should not be about raw power influencing the outcome of a decision about who will sit for a lifetime on the U.S. Supreme Court” #tictocnews pic.twitter.com/zhrOnIIobO
— TicToc by Bloomberg (@tictoc) September 28, 2018
11:31 AM: Klobuchar says there was “a lot of chest beating” that went on on the other side and says she doesn’t think the “innocent” was protected yesterday. She doesn’t want to hear about Republicans “respecting” Ford if they are not going to support an FBI investigation. Klobuchar says Kavanaugh was “sanctimonious” and nobody is “entitled” to be on the Supreme Court.
11:24 AM: Grassley immediately points out that Kavanaugh’s calendar has six boys listed and Dr. Ford said there were four boys at the gathering in question. Grassley says Whitehouse’s allegations about FBI investigations are false.
11:17 AM: Whitehouse claiming July 1 entry on Kavanaugh’s calendar could be “corroborating evidence.” Whitehouse says Mark Judge’s letter is “ridiculous” and “investigator Kavanaugh” would not have tolerated letters like this from the “third person in the room” had their been one with Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky.
11:15 AM: Whitehouse doesn’t buy Kavanaugh’s explanations about boofing and Devil’s Triangle. People around the world must have been confused by all of this slang brought up in yesterday’s hearing.
“I don’t believe ‘the Devil’s triangle’ is a drinking game,” Sen. Whitehouse tells Congress, “and I don’t believe calling yourself a ‘girls alumnus’ is being her friend.” https://t.co/NmIZm7XrXq pic.twitter.com/2xrpEEXbus
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 28, 2018
Sen. Whitehouse says that he doesn’t find Kavanaugh credible, and cites his explanations for his yearbook entries. “I don’t believe boof is flatuence and Devil’s Triangle is a drinking game.”
— Ted Johnson (@tedstew) September 28, 2018
.@SenWhitehouse: “This may, may, be powerful corroborating evidence that the assault happened, that it happened that day and that it happened in that place, but with no FBI investigation, we can’t tell.” pic.twitter.com/wrpd6wj0K1
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 28, 2018
11:05 AM: Cornyn blasts the indecency of the process and blames Democrats for the indecency.
Cornyn compares inquiry into Kavanaugh with McCarthy hearings.
“I think this process has been cruel and reckless and indecent,” he says.
— Zach Wolf (@zbyronwolf) September 28, 2018
Republican Sen. John Cornyn said it would be wrong to force Mark Judge to testify given his struggle with addiction: “That is cruel… That is indecent.”
— Steve Peoples (@sppeoples) September 28, 2018
10:57 AM: Grassley says the American Bar Association (ABA) is not going to dictate what the Committee does. He says the letter was just from the ABA president.
Senator #Durbin is reading the American Bar Association letter asking for the confirmation to be delayed. It will “negatively affect the great trust necessary for the American people to have in the Supreme Court.” #KavanaughHearings
— Alex Miller (@AlexMillerNews) September 28, 2018
10:45 AM: Dems. using hearing to rally midterm voters:
The deep, roiling anger across America cannot be overstated. Dr. Ford was the most credible witness ever. But it didn’t matter. She was an inconvenient speed bump on the GOP rush to overturn Roe.
Dr. Ford is all of us. If she is not believed, who among us will ever be? #Nov6— Jennifer Granholm (@JenGranholm) September 28, 2018
10:35 AM: Graham says he’s not going to shut up. He urges Democrats to listen to Joe Biden. He says based on evidence, “this would not get out of the batter’s box. He says FBI investigation will not do anything.
.@LindseyGrahamSC: “I know I’m a single white male from South Carolina and I’ve been told I should shut up but I will not shut up, if that’s okay.” pic.twitter.com/gG5DutufW3
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 28, 2018
.@LindseyGrahamSC on Kavanaugh: “Would you have picked him? No. But you lost the election. And that has consequences.”
— Phil Mattingly (@Phil_Mattingly) September 28, 2018
“Six FBI investigations and we missed the sophomore, junior gang rapist? We didn’t miss it. It’s a bunch of garbage.” Sen. Lindsey Graham gives passionate speech during final meeting before Senate votes on Kavanaugh https://t.co/DUyAiQPUOm pic.twitter.com/EJdZ70uvzS
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 28, 2018
Lindsey Graham just fired a warning shot to the Senate Judiciary Committee: “If I am chairman next year … I’m going to remember this. There’s the process before Kavanaugh, and the process after Kavanaugh.”
— Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) September 28, 2018
.@LindseyGrahamSC: “Every custom the Senate has embraced before Kavanaugh has been pretty much destroyed and I don’t know if it will ever be revived.” pic.twitter.com/DPrYW2qkq8
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 28, 2018
Left upset:
I thoroughly enjoyed watching @LindseyGrahamSC perform for @realDonaldTrump yesterday according to script. Watching him lick Trump’s boots while auditioning to take Sessions’ job as AG was great theater.
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) September 28, 2018
Mansplaining taken to its most repulsive degree as @LindseyGrahamSC tells Christine Blasey Ford that he knows better than she does what happened to her & who attacked her. But bad as that is, voting onto the court a man like Kavanaugh is itself a crime against women & all of us.
— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) September 28, 2018
Nauseated and stunned by the fabric of lies out of the mouth of @LindseyGrahamSC about the process, about the case, about the court, about the committee, about the Democratic Party, about the people involved, about the stakes, about the morality of this situation. Even for him.
— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) September 28, 2018
10:30 AM: While the hearing is taking place, Harris, Hirono, Blumenthal holding press conferences:
Senator Kamala Harris, Senator Richard Blumenthal, and Senator Mazie Hirono hold a news conference after walking out of the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on the nomination of Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh. https://t.co/nEBgAY1PCr
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 28, 2018
Senate Democrats, flanked by women of the House, are decrying Judiciary Committee as a sham. @KamalaHarris : “This is about raw power.” pic.twitter.com/7udNeoB9ky
— Sheryl Gay Stolberg (@SherylNYT) September 28, 2018
10:20 AM: Leahy claims this is not about delaying the vote until after the election. He says historians will view this moment as a “turning point.” Leahy accuses Kavanaugh of lying every time he has come before the Judiciary Committee and says the only person who has denied the alleged assault did not happen is Kavanaugh. Leahy says the others have said they simply do not recall the incident in question. He says he does not have the “veracity” or the “temperament” to be a Justice.
Sen. Leahy: Feels like Alice in Wonderland around here. We are no longer an independent body but an arm of the Trump White House. This committee is on the verge of confirming a nominee who has been credibly accused of sexual assault.
— Russ Spencer (@russfox5) September 28, 2018
10:17 AM: Hatch says it’s time to “end the circus” and “it’s time to vote.”
10:06 AM: Harris: “This hearing is a sham…” Dems who walked out are holding a press conference while the hearing is going on…
Moments ago I walked out of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Kavanaugh. This hearing is a sham and Dr. Ford and the American people deserve better.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) September 28, 2018
Dem House lawmakers just stood up, seemed to be staring at the Judiciary Committee, and then walked out: pic.twitter.com/btbbrJzMv3
— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) September 28, 2018
The committee will vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination at 1:30 today, @KamalaHarris refused to vote on the motion. She just walked out of the committee as the Chairman talked about Kavanaugh’s reputation pic.twitter.com/9b5GeNoIYK
— Joyce Koh (@JoyceKohTV) September 28, 2018
Three empty spots have stayed empty on the Dem side: Blumenthal, Hirono and Harris. pic.twitter.com/l4U2Jllkmp
— Kate Irby (@kateirby) September 28, 2018
10:01 AM:
.@JeffFlake is a YES on Kavanaugh.@SunlenSerfaty broke that news to Sen. Coons in the hallway as he walked into the hearing.
Coons said, “Oh f—k,” then choked up, “We each make choices for our own reason. I’m struggling, sorry.”
— Elizabeth Landers (@ElizLanders) September 28, 2018
9:56 AM: Feinstein blasts Kavanaugh for “yelling at Democrats” on Thursday and accusing them of using Ford as a political weapon. She says she has never seen a nominee behave like Kavanaugh.
BREAKING: Republicans just defeated our motion to subpoena Mark Judge, the individual Dr. Blasey Ford places in the room during her assault. They have no interest in the facts or the truth.
— Sen Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) September 28, 2018
9:53 AM: Harris leaves hearing in protest with other Senate Democrats:
Kamala Harris walks out of Senate Judiciary hearing room in disgust. Blumenthal and Hirono follow
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) September 28, 2018
NOW: Sev Dem Senators have left the hearing in protest.
Saw: Harris, Hirono, Whitehouse, Blumenthal.
— Lisa Desjardins (@LisaDNews) September 28, 2018
DEMS STILL AT HEARING:
Booker, Coons, Klobuchar, Durbin, Feinstein. #AlreadyOffRails
— Lisa Desjardins (@LisaDNews) September 28, 2018
9:51 AM: Grassley says he found both Ford and Kavanaugh credible and there is no reason to deny Kavanaugh a seat based on the evidence presented to date.
9:50 AM: Panel votes, 11-8, to schedule 1:30 PM ET vote. Sens. Harris (D-CA) and Booker (D-NJ) do not vote to protest.
9:41 AM: Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) moves to subpoena Mark Judge.
“He has never been questioned by any member of our committee,” he says. “He has never submitted a detailed account of what he knows.”
Grassley reads Judge’s letters submitted to the committee last night.
Left enraged at Flake:
He likes to talk a big game. But disappoints every time. What a fraud. https://t.co/wZW4sbN56z
— US Rep Brendan Boyle (@RepBrendanBoyle) September 28, 2018
Anyway, a legitimacy crisis is unfolding before us and it’s only a question of when the cataclysmic moment comes when no one can deny it anymore.
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) September 28, 2018
If you were counting on Jeff Flake to ever stand up when it counts you have not been watching this movie the past two years. https://t.co/zdOCFARMza
— Ronald Klain (@RonaldKlain) September 28, 2018
the main difference between jeff flake and the rest of the republican caucus is that jeff flake is a little more transparent about being a morally bankrupt fraud https://t.co/p01UthC6kb
— Ashley Feinberg (@ashleyfeinberg) September 28, 2018
.@JeffreyToobin goes in on Flake 🔥
Toobin: “If there is a weaker, more pathetic political figure in the U.S. than Jeff Flake, i’m not aware of who it is. I thought yesterday was a classic demonstration of his inability to stand for anything” pic.twitter.com/3wZWqT6YWI
— Lis Power (@LisPower1) September 28, 2018
Flake confronted by rape victim:
“Don’t look away from me. Look at me and tell me that is doesn’t matter what happens to me” – through tears, a rape victim confronting Flake on live television. https://t.co/qsVA24RpTJ
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) September 28, 2018
A sexual assault survivor just confronted Jeff Flake (who just announced he’s voting for Kavanaugh): “Don’t look away from me! Look at me and tell me that it doesn’t matter what happened to me, that you will let people like that go into the highest court of the land” pic.twitter.com/Jix2BI090B
— David Mack (@davidmackau) September 28, 2018
9:40 AM: Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) begins the proceedings.
9:35 AM: Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) will vote for Kavanaugh:
After hearing more than 30 hours of testimony from Judge Kavanaugh earlier this month, I was prepared to support his nomination based on his view of the law and his record as a judge. In fact, I commented at the time that had he been nominated in another era, he would have likely received 90+ votes.
When Dr. Ford’s allegations against Judge Kavanaugh surfaced two weeks ago, I insisted that she be allowed to testify before the committee moved to a vote. Yesterday, we heard compelling testimony from Dr. Ford, as well as a persuasive response from Judge Kavanaugh. I wish that I could express the confidence that some of my colleagues have conveyed about what either did or did not happen in the early 1980s, but I left the hearing yesterday with as much doubt as certainty.
What I do know is that our system of justice affords a presumption of innocence to the accused, absent corroborating evidence. That is what binds us to the rule of law. While some may argue that a different standard should apply regarding the Senate’s advice and consent responsibilities, I believe that the constitution’s provisions of fairness and due process apply here as well.
I will vote to confirm Judge Kavanaugh.
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