WASHINGTON - A Republican-led committee
approved President Donald Trump's nomination of Brett Kavanaugh
to the U.S. Supreme Court but moderate Republican Senator Jeff
Flake called for an FBI investigation into sexual misconduct
allegations against the judge before a final Senate vote.
Flake's intervention means a final Senate vote on the
nomination could be delayed for up to a week so that the
possible FBI investigation can be completed, if Republican
Senate leaders agree to his demand.
"I will vote to advance the nominee to the floor with that
understanding," Flake said.
Just before the scheduled vote in the Judiciary Committee,
Flake left the committee room to talk to some Democrats, adding
new drama to the proceedings. During the delay, senators and
aides could be seen in the committee room having hushed
conversations, with some going back and forth to an anteroom of
the committee chamber.
Trump's fellow Republicans secured the votes to approve
Kavanaugh in the sharply divided committee after Flake announced
his support for the nominee earlier in the day. The full Senate
must confirm Supreme Court appointments.
The committee, with tempers flaring on both sides, met the
morning after a jarring and emotional hearing into sexual
misconduct allegations against Kavanaugh that gripped the
country, with a university professor named Christine Blasey Ford
accusing him of sexual misconduct. He denied the accusation.
One Republican, Senator John Kennedy, called Kavanaugh's
confirmation process "an intergalactic freak show."
As the committee, with 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats, set
its vote, some Democrats left the room in protest. "What a
railroad job," Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono said.
It remained unclear if Republicans have the votes to confirm
Kavanaugh on the Senate floor. Republicans hold a slim Senate
51-49 majority, making the votes of two other so-far undecided
Republican moderates crucial: Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins.
Republican committee Chairman Chuck Grassley said he found
Thursday's testimony from both Ford and Kavanaugh "credible,"
but added, "There's simply no reason to deny Judge Kavanaugh a
seat on the Supreme Court on the basis of evidence presented to
us."
The timing of the panel's session gave committee members
little time to review Thursday's extraordinary testimony from
Kavanaugh and Ford, who accused him of sexually assaulting her
when they were high school students in 1982. Kavanaugh
forcefully denied the accusations and accused Democrats of a
"calculated and orchestrated political hit."
Senator Dianne Feinstein, the committee's senior Democrat,
called Kavanaugh's remarks unseemly for a judicial nominee.
"This was someone who was aggressive and belligerent. I
have never seen someone who wants to be elevated to the highest
court in the country behave in that manner. In stark contrast,
the person who testified yesterday and demonstrated a balanced
temperament was Dr. Ford," Feinstein said.
Another Democrat, Amy Klobuchar, noted that Grassley had
thanked Ford for her bravery but nevertheless failed to back any
further investigation.
"Where is the bravery in this room?" Klobuchar asked.
'THEY DON'T MATTER'
Flake, who had previously raised concerns about the
allegations against Kavanaugh, said Ford gave "compelling
testimony" but Kavanaugh provided "a persuasive response."
Soon after Flake made his announcement, he was confronted in
an elevator while on his way to the committee meeting by two
protesters who said they were sexual assault survivors.
"That's what you're telling all women in America - that they
don't matter, they should just keep it to themselves," one of
the protesters shouted at Flake in an exchange aired by CNN.
"I need to go to my hearing. I've issued my statement,"
Flake said.
The controversy has unfolded just weeks ahead of the Nov. 6
congressional elections in which Democrats are trying to seize
control of Congress from the Republicans.
If confirmed, Kavanaugh would consolidate conservative
control of the nation's highest court and advance Trump's broad
effort to shift the American judiciary to the right.
Democrats said Kavanaugh's confirmation could taint the
Supreme Court, which prides itself on staying above the
political fray.
"Voting to advance and ultimately confirm Judge Kavanaugh
while he is under this dark cloud of suspicion will forever
change the Senate and our nation's high court. It will
politicize the U.S. Supreme Court," Democratic Senator Patrick
Leahy said.
Democrats have urged a delay in the confirmation process to
allow for an FBI investigation. The American Bar Association,
which earlier endorsed Kavanaugh, and the dean of Yale Law
School, which Kavanaugh attended, also called for an FBI probe,
the first indication of the legal profession turning on the
nominee.
The committee Republicans also voted down a Democratic
motion seeking to subpoena Mark Judge, a Kavanaugh friend who
Ford said witnessed the assault. Judge told the committee in a
written statement he does not recall any such incident.
Senator Joe Donnelly, a moderate Democrat who last year
voted for Trump's previous Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch,
announced he would vote against Kavanaugh. Two other key
moderate Democrats who voted for Gorsuch, Heidi Heitkamp and Joe
Manchin, have not announced how they will vote.
Kavanaugh could be the deciding vote on contentious legal
issues if he is confirmed to the nine-member court, with
disputes involving abortion, immigration, gay rights, voting
rights and transgender troops possibly heading to the court
soon. The court begins its next term on Monday, down one justice
after the retirement of conservative Anthony Kennedy effective
in July. Trump nominated Kavanaugh to replace Kennedy.
Ford testified on Thursday she was "100 percent certain"
Kavanaugh assaulted her. Kavanaugh called himself the victim of
"grotesque and obvious character assassination."
Questions were raised about Kavanaugh's temperament at the
hearing as well as his fiery political accusations and how that
could impact his role on the court.
"I believe once he gets to the Supreme Court, he will call
the balls and strikes fairly," White House adviser Kellyanne
Conway told "CBS This Morning," using a baseball analogy.
Attention to the hearing moved far beyond the world of
Washington politics. Ford has emerged in the eyes of many
American women as a compelling figure in the #MeToo movement
against sexual harassment and assault.