Trump agrees to FBI probe of Kavanaugh, bows to Flake, Dems
- by Gene Daniel
- in Life&Culture
- — Sep 30, 2018
Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., a key swing vote to confirm Kavanaugh, said he would vote to proceed to a full Senate vote, but that the Senate vote should be preceded by a new, expanded FBI investigation of the allegations against Kavanaugh.
The committee questioned Kavanaugh and one of his accusers, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford during a hearing Thursday; other potential witnesses have submitted sworn statements.
But Flake, after urgent consultations with colleagues including Democratic Senator Chris Coons, cast the vote only after asking the Republican-led panel to request that the Trump administration pursue an Federal Bureau of Investigation probe lasting up to seven days of the explosive allegations against Kavanaugh. He was viewed as a possible "no" vote on the panel and in the closely-divided Senate - until his morning announcement Friday.
Sen. Jeff Flake said he chose to call for a delay of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation vote because the Senate is "just falling apart".
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Judge has written in his memoir, Wasted: Tales of a Gen X Drunk, that he and his friends were determined to drink 100 kegs of beer their senior year at Georgetown prep. Kavanaugh's bio in the senior yearbook notes that he was a member of the "Keg City Club (treasurer) - 100 Kegs or Bust".
Kavanaugh's third accuser, Julie Swetnick, who is Jewish, stepped forward this week, alleging that he engaged in sexual misconduct as a high schooler.
Earlier Friday, the Judiciary Committee voted to send Kavanaugh's nomination for the Supreme Court to the full Senate after securing a party-line vote in favor of the nod, but Arizona Republican Jeff Flake requested a delay in the floor vote and the additional investigation. Has a flake just saved the Supreme Court?
Kavanaugh has also forcefully denied the allegations by Swetnick, calling them completely false and ridiculous. Flake, also as expected, voted with his party.
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Republicans who back Kavanaugh said there was no corroborating evidence for Ford's allegation.
"What you are doing is allowing someone who actually violated a woman to sit on the Supreme Court".
Later in the day, Trump ordered the FBI to reopen its investigation into Kavanaugh's background and the Senate, by voice vote, took an initial step to move ahead with the nomination.
Dannenfelser also said the SBA List field team "has spent months on the ground in IN where we will be active through Election Day, reaching out to pro-life voters who don't always get to the polls, as well as persuadable Democrats, Independents, and Hispanic voters". Judge had previously notified the Judiciary Committee that he didn't want to testify in public.
Coons of DE said that after Flake announced his support for Kavanaugh earlier Friday, they had a private conversation and Coons said he told Flake, "I respect you as my friend, but I'm having difficulty with your vote. I was demanding a connection, demanding that he look at us, demanding that he give us real answers", she said.
"I've never known McConnell to be anything other than candid and honest", said Jennings, who did not have direct knowledge of the conversations with the White House.
"We have not heard anything from the FBI, and with each passing hour, I'm growing increasingly concerned that this is a sham of an investigation". "So you can imagine my surprise at receiving your letter regarding the supplemental FBI background investigation".
After Thursday's hearing, the nation's leading legal organization, the American Bar Association - which initially endorsed Kavanaugh - called for the vote to be postponed until an FBI investigation could be carried out.
