Senate Judiciary Committee approves Kavanaugh nomination
WASHINGTON ( AP) — Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh cleared a key hurdle at the Senate Judiciary Committee Friday.
Republican Sen. Jeff Flake then indicated he would vote for full Senate approval pending yet another background check on the nominee.
Republican leaders said — and Trump ordered — that the new probe be limited in scope. But there was no specific direction as to what that might include.
Democrats have been particularly focused on getting more information from Mark Judge, a high school friend of Kavanaugh who Ford said was also in the room during her alleged assault. Judge has said he does not recall any such incident. In a new letter to the Senate panel, he said he would cooperate with any law enforcement agency assigned to investigate “confidentially.”
Kavanaugh issued his own state- ment through the White House saying he’s been interviewed by the FBI before, done “background” calls with the Senate and answered questions under oath “about every topic” senators have asked.
“I’ve done everything they have requested and will continue to cooperate,” said the 53-year-old judge.
Flake, a key liberal Republican, was at the center of Friday’s uncertainty. In the morning, he announced he would support Kavanaugh’s nomination. Shortly after, he was confronted and trapped in an elevator by two women who claimed to be sexual assault victims.
“Look at me and tell me that it doesn’t matter what happened to me,” said 23-year-old Maria Gallagher, a volunteer with a left-wing activist group.
The confrontation was captured by television cameras invited by Gallagher’s group.
Soon Flake backtracked on his vote and was working on a new deal with his Republican colleagues and Democrats in a Judiciary Committee anteroom.
Flake announced he would vote to advance Kavanaugh’s nomination to the full Senate only if the FBI were to investigate. Democrats have been calling for such a probe, though Republicans and the White House have said it was unneces- sary. The committee vote was 1110 along party lines.
Attention quickly turned to a handful of undeclared senators.
Two other key Republicans, Collins and Murkowski, said they backed the plan after they and other GOP senators met for an hour in Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office in the Capitol.
West Virginia’s Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat, said he supported Flake’s call for a further probe “so that our country can have confidence in the outcome of this vote.”
With a 51-49 majority, Senate Republicans have little margin for error on a final vote, especially given the fact that several Democrats facing tough re-election prospects this fall announced their opposition to Kavanaugh on Friday. Bill Nelson of Florida, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Jon Tester of Montana all said they would vote no.
Some Republicans still resisted the delay but went along with the plan that may be the only way salvage Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
“I think it’s overkill,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. “But they have a right to request it.”
The FBI conducts background checks for federal nominees, but the agency does not make judgments on the credibility or significance of allegations. It compiles information about the nominee’s past and provides its findings to the White House, which passes them along to the committee. Republicans say reopening the FBI investigation is unnecessary because committee members have had the opportunity to question both Kavanaugh and Ford and other potential witnesses have submitted sworn statements.
Agents could interview accusers and witnesses and gather additional evidence or details that could help corroborate or disprove the allegations.