Flake, Murkowski join Democrats in calling for probe by FBI of Kavanaugh
WASHINGTON — Republican plans to vote next week on embattled Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh derailed Friday after key undecided GOP senators joined Democrats in calling for a one-week delay to allow for an FBI probe into the sexual assault allegations against him.
The surprise move by Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., quickly joined by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, meant the divisive battle over President Donald Trump’s pick for the high court will linger for at least a few more days.
“I think it would be proper to delay the floor vote for up to, but no more than, one week,” Flake said at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing after huddling with Democrats.
Flake noted the deep divisions that had been exposed by Thursday’s powerful testimony from Palo Alto University professor Christine Blasey Ford, who said she was “100 percent” certain that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were both in high school in the early 1980s. Kavanaugh emotionally and strongly denied the allegation.
“This country is being ripped apart here, and we’ve got to make sure that we do due diligence,” said Flake, who is retiring from the Senate in January and has frequently butted heads with Trump.
Despite Flake’s new position, the Judiciary Committee approved Kavanaugh’s nomination Friday on a party-line vote, 11 to 10, with strong objections from Democrats. Flake cast one of the votes in support of the nomination with the understanding that the final vote on the Senate floor would be delayed.
The GOP-led committee later endorsed Flake’s call for an FBI background check, reversing its earlier position that one was not needed and would not reveal anything new.
“The Senate Judiciary Committee will request that the administration instruct the FBI to conduct a supplemental FBI background investigation with respect to the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to be an associate justice on the Supreme Court,” read a statement from the committee. “The supplemental FBI background investigation would be limited to current credible allegations against the nominee and must be completed no later than one week from today.”
Trump, who just days ago dismissed the allegations as a Democratic “con,” said in a statement that he had ordered the FBI to look into the matter. “As the Senate has requested, this update must be limited in scope and completed in less than one week,” he said.
The about-face was a validation of Democrats’ strategy at Thursday’s hearing, when they made the lack of an FBI probe one of their key complaints. Democratic senators repeatedly pushed Kavanaugh to join their effort to demand a probe, but the nominee refused, saying that decision was up to the committee. Ford requested the FBI investigation.
A preliminary vote on Kavanaugh by the full Senate is still planned for Saturday. Under an agreement between Republicans and Democrats, that vote won’t require a roll call and is expected to pass.
But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., will not get the final Senate vote he was hoping to have by Tuesday.
Conservatives blasted the delay.
“Shame on the United States Senate if it puts political interest before its constitutional responsibility,” said Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga. “It is time to put the Democrats’ partisan delays behind us. It is time to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court.”
With their slim 51-49 Senate majority, Republicans cannot afford to lose more than one of their members, assuming all Democrats vote against Kavanaugh.
Asked about the day’s developments, Trump said Friday, “I’m going to let the Senate handle that. They’ll make their decisions. I’m sure it will all be very good.”
The president also praised Kavanaugh and, for the first time, Ford. “I thought her testimony was very compelling, and she looks like a very fine woman,” Trump said.
Both Kavanaugh and Ford said they would cooperate with the investigation. “I’ve done everything they have requested and will continue to cooperate,” Kavanaugh said in a statement.
Debra S. Katz, an attorney for Ford said she welcomed the move, but added, “No artificial limits as to time or scope should be imposed on this investigation.”
Thursday’s hearing laid bare the deeply divisive politics at stake in Kavanaugh’s confirmation. Democrats accused the GOP of rushing through a nominee under a “dark cloud of suspicion (that) will forever change both the Senate and our nation’s highest court,” according to committee member Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt.