Closing summary
We’re going to close down this live blog now. Here’s a summary of the day’s events:
- The Senate will ask the White House to order the FBI to carry out a week-long background check on Brett Kavanaugh, before voting on whether or not to confirm him.
- Two Republican senators, including Jeff Flake, have said such a move is a condition of their agreeing to vote for him, forcing the hand of the majority leadership.
- Mark Judge, who refused to testify to the Senate committee, says he will cooperate with the investigation.
- Earlier, that committee voted 11 to 10 to advance the nomination after Flake, a Republican, asked for the FBI investigation.
- Flake’s proposal was informal because the judiciary committee doesn’t set the vote, senate majority leader Mitch McConnell is responsible for that.
- Donald Trump had been meeting with the president of Chile during the committee meeting but said shortly after the vote: “I just want it to work out well for the country.”
- The day started with a morning vote on whether to vote to advance the nomination in the afternoon. Nearly all the Democratic senators walked out in protest of that vote, but ultimately participated in the afternoon vote.
You can read the full report here:
Updated
The Senate judiciary committee says the FBI’s supplemental background check would be limited to “current credible allegations” against Kavanaugh – and that it must be completed within one week.
It will ask the Trump administration to order the checks be carried out before a confirmation vote.
The second most-powerful Republican in the US Senate, John Cornyn, says the chamber will meet on Saturday to vote on a procedural motion on Kavanaugh’s nomination.
The Senate will vote on a motion to proceed, one of the steps leading to a full chamber vote on the nomination itself, Reuters reported.
A lawyer for Mark Judge, a schoolfriend of Kavanaugh who Ford testified was in the room when she was assaulted, says he would answer any and all questions put to him by investigators, according to Reuters.
Updated
According to the Associated Press, the Democratic senator, Joe Manchin, often viewed as a possible swing vote, says he supports Flake’s call to delay voting so the FBI can conduct a background investigation.
I applaud Senator Jeff Flake’s decision to rise above the partisan circus on display during this entire process. It took courage to take a stand and call for a one-week FBI investigation to get to the bottom of the allegations against Judge Kavanaugh. This has been a partisan and divisive process.
Here’s a clip of Jeff Flake’s dramatic intervention before the committee vote:
Updated
The Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski, says she supports the proposed one-week delay to the US Senate’s Kavanaugh vote.
The committee cannot force such a delay but Republicans hoping to push through the nomination in a full Senate vote will need all the support they can get, meaning it would be difficult for them to steamroller wavering the likes of Murkowski and Flake and win.
Summary
The senate judiciary committee has finally voted on whether Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the supreme court should be advanced to the full Senate after a chaotic morning.
- The committee voted 11 to 10 to advance the nomination after senator Jeff Flake, a Republican, asked for the vote to be delayed one week so the FBI could investigate the accusations made against Kavanaugh.
- Flake’s proposal was informal because the judiciary committee doesn’t set the vote, senate majority leader Mitch McConnell is responsible for that. The implication is that Flake will vote no if the investigation doesn’t happen and the vote advances early next week as was initially planned.
- Donald Trump had been meeting with the president of Chile during the committee meeting but said shortly after the vote: “I just want it to work out well for the country.”
- The day started with a morning vote on whether to vote to advance the nomination in the afternoon. Nearly all the Democratic senators walked out in protest of that vote, but ultimately participated in the afternoon vote.
Trump has also just commented on Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony.
“I thought her testimony was very compelling, and she looks like a very fine woman to me,” Trump told reporters.
“Brett’s testimony was, likewise, really something that I hadn’t seen before.”
Trump: 'I'm going to let the Senate handle that'
And now, Donald Trump: “I’m going to let the Senate handle that.”
He says he has only heard a little bit about the meeting because he is meeting with the president of Chile.
“I just want it to work out well for the country,” Trump says.
Updated
Amid a nice bout of chaos, Politico’s chief political correspondent appears to have much more confidence than US senators.
This isn’t complicated:
— Tim Alberta (@TimAlberta) September 28, 2018
There’s no legislative mechanism to enforce Flake’s agreement with Ds. McConnell could call his bluff and bring #Kavanaugh vote to the floor immediately — *if* he believes Flake is the only R who supports the delay. Would be an enormous gamble.
Several things could happen on Kavanaugh: Senate could vote to move to the nomination..& then not hold procedural votes or move to vote on the nomination. Or...
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) September 28, 2018
McConnell could hold off completely, contingent upon Flake’s wishes..& then move on the nomination. Path is unclear now
The meeting’s final moments:
Open mics captured Grassley, Feinstein & Leahy bickering over what happened in the Judiciary Cmte. Kavanaugh has advanced to the floor of the Senate but there's a "gentlemen and women's agreement" to delay floor vote for a week so FBI can probe. McConnell is not bound by the deal pic.twitter.com/Z4orwHqi1k
— David Martosko (@dmartosko) September 28, 2018
Graham: 'Somebody has got to explain this to Trump'
And now, South Carolina Republican, Lindsey Graham: “Somebody has got to explain this to Trump, so I guess that’ll be my job.”
Updated
Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota Democrat, tells reporters: “we are in a better place than we were at 8am this morning.”
In sum, Flake is now suggesting he won't vote to confirm Kavanaugh without a one-week FBI probe into Dr. Ford's allegations. That gives nice cover to other hold-outs, Collins and Murkowski.
— Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) September 28, 2018
Up to McConnell to grant that week of delay, which he def doesn't want to do.
I'll just say we *still* don't have answers about July 1st and this gathering of people Ford says was present the night of the assault and which Kavanaugh notes in his calendar that he was with drinking beers.
— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) September 28, 2018
An FBI investigation could definitely clear those questions up.
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
Amid confusion, Grassley abruptly adjourns the meeting, citing a two hour rule.
The gavel went down and Feinstein said: “What?”
“This is all a gentlemen’s and women’s agreement,” Grassley responds before the mics are switched off.
Updated
Republicans won the key committee vote, bringing Kavanaugh to the brink of becoming a supreme court justice.
Kavanaugh’s nomination to the nation’s highest court now advances to the full Senate.
There is an informal potential roadblock, however, which is that Flake has asked for the vote to be delayed for a week, though this is not something the committee can decide.
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell schedules the vote, and is not on the judiciary committee.
Flake is saying he will vote no unless an FBI investigation takes place, which would give McConnell reason to delay the vote.
McConnell controls the floor. But if Flake has Collins & Murkowski on his side, it doesn’t matter
— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) September 28, 2018
Committee backs Kavanaugh nomination 11-10
There is still some confusion on whether Flake’s call for an investigation is being weighed.
Either way, the committee voted 11-10 to advance Kavanaugh’s nomination.
Updated
Flake calls for week's delay on floor vote
The meeting is back in session.
Republican senator Jeff Flake, of Arizona, has asked to speak.
Flake says they’ve had ongoing conversation to make sure “they do due diligence.”
He asks to delay the floor vote for up to one week. He says he spoke to other Republicans who might be supportive of that move.
“This committee has acted properly,” Flake says.
Senators are asking for clarity on what they are voting for.
Updated
Senators are coming back in the room so we should have some explanation for the delay momentarily.
Worth noting:
Elsewhere in the Capitol, other Senate Republicans are having what I'm sure is a leisurely lunch.
— Niels Lesniewski (@nielslesniewski) September 28, 2018
The recess was supposed to end seven minutes ago, but there have been many intense side meetings between senators in and outside the chamber for the past 30 minutes.
There are a lot of aides and senators moving around and a lot of people talking with folders in front of their faces to stop lip readers.
What is actually happening? Only a couple dozen people know.
Now 1:30 pm et. But no vote yet on Kavanaugh. Grassley just went into the back. Something is up
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) September 28, 2018
A very agitated Sen. Grassley just admonished reporters for trying to ask him a question while he was trying to talk to an aide right outside anteroom
— Tim Mak (@timkmak) September 28, 2018
The dean of Yale law school, which Kavanaugh attended, has also called for an additional investigation before the confirmation process proceeds.
Dean Gerken Joins the ABA in Calling for Further Investigation. pic.twitter.com/SYAsVHwsi7
— Yale Law School (@YaleLawSch) September 28, 2018
Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat who walked out of the hearing earlier, said he has to “disbelieve” Kavanaugh, who he calls an “angry” man.
Senators on both sides have largely avoided saying explicitly that they believe one person and do not believe the other.
Blumenthal addresses Dr Ford’s sons, calling their mother a hero.
It’s an interesting comment as the Republican senators have repeatedly mentioned Kavanaugh’s daughters and how the process has impacted them.
With 30 minutes to go until the vote, here’s a brief roundup of reactions on Twitter to the morning’s news:
Writer Jill Filipovic
Divorce your Republican husbands.
— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) September 28, 2018
MSNBC analyst Maya Harris
Hard to hold your head up when you have no spine. https://t.co/5NwUlfy6p0
— Maya Harris (@mayaharris_) September 28, 2018
Writer Jessica Valenti
I hope rape survivors confront Jeff Flake in public for the rest of his life.
— Jessica Valenti (@JessicaValenti) September 28, 2018
Journalist Elise Hu
It feels like we're in the last season of America
— Elise Hu (@elisewho) September 28, 2018
John Kennedy, Republican from Louisiana, has called the process an “intergalactic freak show.”
He spends his allotted time roundly criticizing the entire procedure.
“There were no winners in this room yesterday,” he said. “None. All I saw were two people, two human beings in pain.”
Cory Booker walks out: 'We should listen to women'
Booker has overrun his allotted time and resisted Grassley’s initial calls to wrap it up.
“We should not brush aside her comments,” Booker says.
“We should listen to her. We should listen to women.”
He concludes his statement and walks out of the room.
It is unclear if he will return in 40 minutes for the vote.
Grassley as Sen. Booker speaks in Judiciary Committee - looks like a stopwatch on his phone: pic.twitter.com/tFFq6Nx6Sf
— Ben Siegel (@benyc) September 28, 2018
Updated
Montana senator Jon Tester, a Democrat, has said he’s voting no on Kavanaugh.
So this is where things stand:
With @SenatorTester and @SenDonnelly coming out as NOs today, and @JeffFlake coming out as a YES, Kavanaugh's nomination is now up to FOUR undecided Senators:
— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) September 28, 2018
1) @SenatorCollins
2) @lisamurkowski
3) @SenatorHeitkamp
4) @Sen_JoeManchin
Democrat Cory Booker, of New Jersey, is now up.
He walked out earlier in protest but is back to use his time in the meeting.
“This is not a partisan moment for our country,” Booker says.
Action is also happening off camera, with senators Flake, a Republican from Arizona, and Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, meeting privately off to the side.
Flake surprised many this morning when he said he would vote yes to Kavanaugh.
Flake just got up and left the hearing room and asked to speak privately to Coons in the ante room.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) September 28, 2018
They are close friends; Coons became emotional and upset this AM when he learned about Flake’s support of Kavanaugh
Jeff Flake confronted by sexual assault survivors
Some pictures of the women who challenged Jeff Flake in the elevator of the Senate building on Capitol Hill. One woman stopped the elevator door from closing and said to Flake: “Look at me when I’m talking to you. You are telling me that my assault doesn’t matter.”
You can read the story here:
US senator Joe Donnelly, a Democrat from Indiana, said he opposes Kavanaugh’s nomination.
He was one of a handful of Democrats who could have swung in favor of Kavanaugh.
“I do not view Supreme Court vacancies through a partisan lens, which is why I have used the same thorough process to evaluate nominees regardless of who the president is at the time. That was the case regarding the nomination of Judge Garland and also when I voted for Justice Gorsuch, who was President Trump’s first nominee. It has remained my approach with Judge Kavanaugh.
The Guardian’s Lucia Graves spoke with three women who accused Donald Trump of sexual harassment about the pain they experienced watching the hearing:
“This is about character and someone who clearly has no respect for women leading our nation and we’ve just let that continue,” says Rachel Crooks, who alleges Trump kissed her forcibly on the lips in 2005. “We should not be surprised he’s nominated Brett Kavanaugh and stood by Roy Moore and other men who have been in similar situations.
For Melinda McGillivray, a Florida resident who was among the first accusers to speak out against Trump, Kavanaugh’s indignation and categorical denials on Thursday carried echoes of the president’s response to her.
“I truly feel like Donald Trump had a big influence on his testimony as to deny, deny, deny,” she said of Kavanaugh’s approach. “The mere fact that she wasn’t granted and FBI investigation is completely misogynistic and political.”
Harvard students cheered when Kavanaugh said he might not teach again
Republican Ted Cruz, of Texas, is speaking about the possibility that Brett Kavanaugh won’t be able to teach law ever again.
The Harvard Crimson, the university newspaper where Kavanaugh has taught as a guest lecturer for more than a decade, reported on the hearing yesterday:
In a letter to this committee, my former students — male and female alike — wrote that I displayed ‘a character that impressed us all,’” Kavanaugh said Thursday. “I loved teaching law. But thanks to what some of you on this side of the committee have unleashed, I may never be able to teach again.”
According to several Law School enrollees, students sitting in Harvard Law classrooms Thursday “applauded” and “burst out in cheers” when Kavanaugh said he might never return to a teaching role.
Updated
Klobuchar: 'This isn't a he said, she said. It's a he said, they said'
Klobuchar is one of four women on the 21-person senate judiciary committee.
“This is not a ‘he said, she said,’” she says. “This is a ‘he said, they said.’”
Updated
Senator Mike Lee, Republican from Utah, retreading a Republican sticking point.
Why wasn’t Ford’s anonymous letter immediately shared with the FBI?
Now for Minnesota Democrat, Amy Klobuchar.
This is interesting. She does not lead on the Ford allegations.
Instead, she talks about Kavanaugh’s writings on executive privilege before moving on to the sexual assault allegation.
Klobuchar says she understands that people are frustrated this process happened late in the process, but says the justice system and what matters is:
“What do you do when it happens? When you are in a position of power?”
Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse: 'Cover-ups never last'
Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat from Rhode Island, says he doesn’t believe Kavanaugh’s explanation of his own calendar.
He says the FBI has resources to more seriously investigate the contents of the calendar and what they show about Kavanaugh’s actions that night. He also says a serious investigation would not rely solely on comments as evidence.
“Over time I expect that facts to come out,” Whitehouse says. “Cover-ups never last. The sand is running through Kavanaugh’s hourglass.”
Updated
A pattern is emerging among the Republican senators, who have repeatedly showed sympathy for Mark Judge’s issues with mental health.
Cornyn says calls to subpoena Mark Judge, a recovering alcoholic and cancer survivor, are cruel because Judge suffers from anxiety and depression. “That is cruel. That is reckless. That is indecent.”
He did not mention that Ford spoke about her struggles with mental illness yesterday, telling the committee that she had experienced anxiety, claustrophobia, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
John Cornyn, Republican from Texas, is up.
Cornyn says it is not fair to say Republicans are treating Dr Ford badly by pointing out the politicization of the confirmation process.
Meanwhile:
Graham is interacting with another protestor now and he is being very polite and attentive
— Emma Dumain (@Emma_Dumain) September 28, 2018
Just came upon a truly remarkable scene: a group of women literally sitting on the concrete floor in a circle in the Hart Senate office building recounting their stories of being abused and raped. “I have literally told no one else this story before I talked to you all,” one says
— Sam Stein (@samstein) September 28, 2018
It’s back to the Democrats, with Dick Durbin of Illinois backing Dr Ford.
As the two sides trade interpretations of the event, it might be useful to review the University of Michigan’s guide to sexual assault misconceptions. This guide provides evidence-based clarifications of sexual assault myths.
The hearing and commentating around it has used sexual assault myths to defend arguments on both sides.
Facts from the University of Michigan guide:
- “Likable and charming people commit violence, too.”
- “Sexual assault is a traumatic experience, and one common reaction to the overwhelming thoughts and feelings of trauma is to attempt to forget that the situation happened and to move on.”
- “Sexual assault is an act of violence, not sex.”
- “The consumption of alcohol does not cause sexual assault.”
Graham accuses Democrats of 'delay and destruction'
More from Graham: “I feel sorry for her [Dr Ford]. I do believe something happened to her. But I do not believe it was Brett Kavanaugh.”
He then repeats the alarming, and untrue, claim he made yesterday that it is not in the character of someone who people describe as nice to commit sexual assault. Kind behavior does not preclude someone from committing sexual assault.
Graham says he does not believe Diane Feinstein leaked Dr Ford’s allegations.
“This has never been about the truth,” Graham says. “This has been about delay and destruction.”
"That really bothers me," Sen. Graham says of @NBCNews reporting this story -> https://t.co/p7IQFQMgzD
— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) September 28, 2018
Updated
Back to the Republicans.
South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham says he will speak despite people thinking a “single, white male” such as himself should “shut up.”
Graham was extremely emotional at one point during the hearing yesterday, accusing his Democratic colleagues of making this a purely political issue.
At a much more measured register, he is now explaining why Democrats holding up Kavanaugh’s nomination is different from the Republicans holding up Merrick Garland’s nomination under Barack Obama.
He says it is about the available seats being different. The seat available now belonged to Anthony Kennedy, who was considered the court’s crucial swing vote. Garland, meanwhile, would have replaced the seat of conservative Antonin Scalia.
Graham is usefully transparent about the fact that this has very little to do with jurisprudence and much to do with Trump
— David A. Graham (@GrahamDavidA) September 28, 2018
Updated
Leahy expresses serious concerns about how the hearing could impact survivors of sexual assault.
“If victims think they will never be believed or won’t matter even if they are believed, why come forward at all?” Leahy says.
He notes that yesterday the number of people helped by the National Sexual Assault Hotline was 201% above average yesterday, according to the nonprofit Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN).
Updated
Republican senator Jeff Flake, one of the most prominent Trump critics in his party, was confronted by protestors earlier. The full video is here:
Updated
More from Leahy, who says this is not about delaying a nomination (though, he says, Republicans did do that under Obama).
Leahy asks why Kavanaugh is being held “to a lower standard than all the nominees before him.”
“They don’t want to hear women who have relevant evidence,” Leahy says of the judiciary committee.
Updated
Vermont senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat, is up and comparing the situation to Alice in Wonderland.
Leahy says the judiciary committee is no longer an independent branch of government.
“We are an arm, a very weak arm, of the Trump White House,” Leahy says.
Republican senator Orrin Hatch is now commending both sides of the aisle for taking the issue seriously.
Hatch touting the extent to which Kavanaugh has been investigated, saying he sat through 30 hours of testimony.
He repeatedly calls the situation a “circus.”
“Frankly, we’ve had enough time on this to choke a horse,” Hatch says.
“I’m personally tired of all the games and gamesmanship that his been going around,” he says.
Now he is praising Grassley for being “fair” and “decent.”
“Frankly, you’re a great chairman,” Hatch says.
Grassley spoked extensively on the allegations made by women who were not Dr Ford.
He also falsely stated that comments made by three witnesses refuted Dr Ford’s description of the incident.
The three witnesses swore they had no recollection of the party, not that they were certain it did not happen. Just yesterday, Judge again told the committee that he doesn’t “recall” the incident. https://t.co/TAQMyStDq5 https://t.co/jpeMmsw4S2
— Lauren Gambino (@laurenegambino) September 28, 2018
Grassley now addresses Feinstein’s issues with how the request for an FBI investigation was handled.
“We can’t learn anything from the FBI we can’t learn ourselves,” Grassley says.
Grassley: “If the people on the other side of the aisle sincerely want an FBI investigation, I would ask why they did not notify me of Dr Ford’s then confidential letter way back in July.”
As senators trade off their different interpretations of every detail of the situation, along party lines, protests are raging in the hallway outside the committee meeting.
Women are standing in silent protest at the back of the Judiciary Committee room. They're now being led out by security. pic.twitter.com/TSC8S8VOLW
— Paul McLeod (@pdmcleod) September 28, 2018
Feinstein: 'this was about doing the bare minimum'
Feinstein continues, raising issues with the procedure.
“This was not about ensuring a fair process, this was about doing the bare minimum,” Feinstein says.
“Let’s be clear, Dr Ford asked for confidentiality,” Feinstein says. “We all know that if I referred allegations to the FBI when she would not come forward, there would have been nothing to do.”
“Dr Ford’s allegations were referred to the FBI on Sep 12,” Feinstein says.
Feinstein says Democrats have not had an opportunity to question any of the witnesses, the polygraph examiner or the other women who have alleged they were sexually assaulted by Kavanaugh.
“While the Republican strategy is no longer attack the victim, it is now ignore the victim,” Feinstein says.
Outside the judiciary committee meeting:
The protest here is deafening in Dirksen pic.twitter.com/NDeou0iv23
— Lauren Fox (@FoxReports) September 28, 2018
Democrats walk out of hearing in protest
More Democratic senators have walked out.
Dianne Feinstein, one of the remaining Democrats, is now being allowed to explain her disappointment with the result of the vote.
Feinstein denies that she and her staff leaked Ford’s letter, which was sent to her office.
She says Republicans did not share information with Democrats on the committee relevant to the case and claims they learned things from the press that were in the hands of their Republican colleagues.
Feinstein said she was shocked that Kavanaugh launched such a strong attack against Democrats.
“Judge Kavanaugh used as much political rhetoric as my colleagues,” she said.
“This was not someone who reflected an impartial temperament or the fairness and even-handedness one would see in a judge.”
Updated
Democrats are walking out of the hearing as Grassley reads a statement about Kavanaugh.
“I found Dr Ford’s testimony credible and I believe she is sincere in her version of the facts,” Grassley says.
He says he also found Kavanaugh’s statement credible.
“There is simply no reason to deny Judge Kavanaugh a seat on the supreme court,” he says, citing the evidence presented to them.
Feinstein, Leahy, Durbin, Klobuchar, Coons and Booker remain.
— Jackie Kucinich (@JFKucinich) September 28, 2018
Updated
Chuck Grassley moves to have the committee vote on Kavanaugh at 1:30pm ET. He ignored protests from Democrats and did not debate the vote.
The majority voted in favor 11-8, with Democratic senators Cory Booker and Kamala Harris declining to vote, citing unfairness.
Grassley is now reading a letter he says Mark Judge sent the committee last night.
“I’ve told the committee I do not want to comment about these events publicly,” Grassley said, quoting Judge’s letter.
He identifies himself as a recovering alcoholic and cancer survivor who suffers from depression and anxiety and does not speak publicly.
Blumenthal’s motion to subpoena Mark Judge is struck down in a quick 11-10 vote.
Blumenthal urges committee to subpoena Mark Judge
The hearing is under way.
Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, asks for the vote to be postponed until the committee hears from more witnesses.
He spoke about Dr Ford’s testimony first. “Everyone of us I think were riveted and powerfully impressed by her truth,” he said.
Blumenthal says more facts could be uncovered if the committee hears from other witnesses. He specifically raises making Kavanaugh’s high school friend, Mark Judge, a formal witness.
“I believe we have a responsibility to subpoena at the very least Mark Judge before we move to vote,” Blumenthal says.
Updated
Protestors confronted Flake for about three to five minutes as he waited in a elevator to go to the hearing.
At least one of the protestors identified herself as a survivor of sexual assault.
“Don’t look away from me,” one woman said. “Look at me and tell me that it doesn’t matter what happened to me.”
Flake backs Kavanaugh
The vote isn’t for another 15 minutes, but Arizona senator Jeff Flake, a Republican, confirmed he will vote for Kavanaugh in an emailed statement.
Flake was one of the few possible Republican defectors.
“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.”
America Magazine, the only Catholic weekly magazine in North America, has withdrawn its previous endorsement of Kavanaugh.
“While we previously endorsed the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh on the basis of his legal credentials and his reputation as a committed textualist, it is now clear that the nomination should be withdrawn,” the editors wrote.
They continued:
If this were a question of establishing Judge Kavanaugh’s legal or moral responsibility for the assault described by Dr Blasey, then far more stringent standards of proof would apply. His presumption of innocence might settle the matter in his favor, absent further investigation and new evidence. But the question is not solely about Judge Kavanaugh’s responsibility, nor is it any longer primarily about his qualifications. Rather it is about the prudence of his nomination and potential confirmation. In addition to being a fight over policy issues, which it already was, his nomination has also become a referendum on how to address allegations of sexual assault.
The American Bar Association (ABA), which sets the legal standard for US law schools, has urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to slow down the confirmation process after yesterday’s hearing.
Kavanaugh cited the ABA during his testimony yesterday, and told the committee: “For 12 years, everyone who has appeared before me on the DC Circuit has praised my judicial temperament. That’s why I have the unanimous, well qualified rating from the American Bar Association.”
In a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, ABA president Robert Carlson said the confirmation process should be slowed because of the ABA’s “respect for the rule of law and due process.”
“The basic principles that underscore the Senate’s constitutional duty of advice and consent on federal judicial nominees require nothing less than a careful examination of the accusations and facts by the FBI,” Carlson said.
Richard Wolffe says that Kavanaugh’s credibility did not survive yesterday’s hearing, and that Republicans were left trying to calculate the political cost of the nomination:
What was larger? The number of votes they were losing among women versus the number of votes they would lose among Trump fanatics by putting this flatlining nomination out of its misery.
Wolffe says that the questions posed to Ford were “tone deaf”, “uncaring” and “self-defeating”. And that, for his part, the more Kavanaugh was grilled about sex and alcohol, the worse he sounded.
More than anyone else in Washington, Brett Kavanaugh should know that he stumbled badly just as he believed he was striding towards his rightful place on the supreme court.
Updated
Jill Abramson has written about how yesterday’s proceedings reminded her of when she watched Anita Hill testifying about Clarence Thomas in 1991, and will trigger a similar backlash. She says:
In some ways, Thursday’s hearing was worse than Hill-Thomas. Although the Republicans were careful not to attack Dr Ford directly and hid behind the skirts of the so-called ‘female assistant’ they hired to do their questioning, they hurled the big lie at Dr Ford. They built a false case that Dr Ford was part of a Democratic conspiracy to bring down a conservative nominee. It was a shameful, baseless charge, almost as bad as when Republicans in 1991 tried to paint Hill as an erotomaniac who made up her charges. The truth is that Dr Ford came forward only reluctantly and with no partisan aim.
Abramson thinks that yesterday’s hearing could ultimately have a huge impact on the shape of US politics.
Republicans say they will push on with a confirmation vote in the coming days. They risk a tidal wave of backlash from voters, especially women, who know Dr Ford is the truth-teller. In 1991, residual anger over the way Hill was treated by the Senate judiciary committee helped elect a group of women to the senate who called themselves the Anita Hill class. The Christine Blasey Ford class will likely be much bigger.
Updated
“Women everywhere are listening to Christine Blasey Ford’s voice cracking and feeling their own hearts break, just a little bit more, at the world we’ve all inherited,” tweeted the New York Times’ Sheera Frenkel yesterday, as huge numbers of women in the US and worldwide watched the university professor give her testimony.
For many it bought back painful memories, and there were scenes around the US of women huddled around their phones to hear Ford speak. Many used social media to express how they felt as the hearing unfolded in Washington DC.
Updated
Republicans have said the Senate judiciary committee will vote on the supreme court nomination as scheduled, just a day after after the extraordinary Capitol Hill testimony. The committee is due to meet at 9:30am ET (2.30pm BST), and the vote is expected later. It isn’t clear whether Republicans will have enough support to carry the nomination forward to a full vote of the Senate next week.
Republicans are under pressure to get Kavanaugh in place before mid-term elections in November, when Democrats are hoping to take control of the Senate, which might allow them to halt the process.
Last night the American Bar Association called on the committee to delay the vote, to allow more time for investigation.
Updated
In his response to the accusations, Kavanaugh was defiant and combative in front of the senators. He defended himself in a furious and emotional speech, saying the process had become a “national disgrace”.
“The constitution gives the Senate an important role in the confirmation process, but you have replaced advice and consent with search and destroy,” he stated, hitting out at the Democrats who have been insisting that a series of allegation of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh must be investigated. He suggested a “frenzy” on the left was trying to destroy his career.
Updated
Yesterday’s hearing focused first on testimony from Dr Christine Blasey Ford, who said of Trump’s pick for the supreme court: “I believed he was going to rape me. I tried to yell for help. When I did, Brett put his hand over my mouth to stop me from yelling.”
She spoke about the long-term effects the incident has had on her life, including inducing “anxiety, phobia and PTSD-like symptoms”.
Kavanaugh denies all of the allegations.
You can read Christine Blasey Ford’s opening statement in full.
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Hello and welcome
Good morning and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the crucial Senate judiciary committee hearing in Washington DC. After yesterday’s testimony from both US supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and university professor Dr Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who accused him of sexual assault, today we are expecting senators to hold a vote.
The committee currently comprises 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats, leaving little margin for error for Republicans – if just one of them breaks ranks, the nomination will be left in limbo.
At least one of the Republicans on the committee, Jeff Flake of Arizona, has expressed reservations about Kavanaugh, but is yet to signal how he might vote.
Last night, though, US president Donald Trump made his feelings clear with a tweet, saying that Kavanaugh’s testimony was “powerful, honest, and riveting”:
Judge Kavanaugh showed America exactly why I nominated him. His testimony was powerful, honest, and riveting. Democrats’ search and destroy strategy is disgraceful and this process has been a total sham and effort to delay, obstruct, and resist. The Senate must vote!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 27, 2018
We will be covering events as they unfold during the day.
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