KAVANAUGH
and Ford transfixed the nation, the Capitol campus remained a stew of tension as the election-season cliffhanger neared its conclusion. A hefty police presence added an air of anxiety, as did thousands of noisy anti-Kavanaugh demonstrators who gathered outside the Supreme Court and in Senate office buildings. U.S. Capitol Police said 302 were arrested — among them comedian Amy Schumer, a distant relative of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
“What we know for sure is the FBI report did not corroborate any of the allegations against Judge Kavanaugh,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters about the document. On the Senate floor, he witheringly called the accusations “uncorroborated mud.”
Earlier, Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, one of the publicly undecided Republicans, told reporters that “we’ve seen
no additional corroborating information” about the claims against the 53-yearold conservative jurist and said the investigation had been comprehensive.
A second undeclared Republican, Susan Collins of Maine, also expressed satisfaction with the probe, calling it “a very thorough investigation.” She paid two visits to the off-limits room where the document was being displayed to lawmakers and later told reporters she’d announce her position Friday.
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, said she was “still reviewing” her decision.
While GOP leaders were not saying they’d nailed down the support needed, backing from two of those three would ensure Kavanaugh’s confirmation because every other Republican was poised to back him. Republicans have a narrow 51-49 Senate majority, and Vice President Mike Pence will be available to cast a tie-breaking vote.
The trio of GOP moderates, leery of the women’s claims of alcoholfueled sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh, had refused to let his nomination proceed last week until Trump ordered the FBI probe. The three were briefed together on the investigation in the secure room that senators used to view the report. They skirted reporters for much of the day, sometimes shielded by Capitol Police.
Underscoring the partisan tensions, one of the two undecided Democratic senators said she’d oppose Kavanaugh. North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, who faces a difficult re-election race next month, cited concerns about his “past conduct” and said she felt his heated attacks on Democrats during last week’s Judiciary Committee hearing raised questions about his “current temperament, honesty and impartiality.”
West Virginia’s Joe Manchin, the other undeclared Democrat, spent time looking at the report and said he would resume reading it Friday.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat, said while her party had agreed to a week-long FBI probe with a finite scope, “We did not agree that the White House should tie the FBI’s hands.”
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“Whitewash,” steamed Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. “A check-the-box scam.”
Countered Maine’s Republican Sen. Susan Collins, a crucial unknown vote, “It appears to be a very thorough investigation.”
the White House have used for years, FBI background checks are considered confidential, and lawmakers and aides are not supposed to reveal details.
White House spokesman Raj Shah rebuffed Democrats’ complaints, saying, “What critics want is a never-ending fishing expedition into high school drinking.” He said the FBI reached out to 10 people and interviewed nine, including “several individuals at the request of the Senate, and had a series of follow-up interviews ... following certain leads.”
Senators said the documents they examined totaled about 50 pages. Some said there were notes on interviews with nine people, though others said 10.
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said five of the witnesses involved Ford’s claims and four were related to Deborah Ramirez, who has asserted that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her when both were Yale freshmen.
Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said nine of the pages were about Mark Judge, the Kavanaugh friend who Ford said also jumped on her while Kavanaugh assaulted her. Judge has said he
doesn’t recall the incident.
Ohio Sens. Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman both read through the confidential FBI report, with Portman saying “there is no evidence to support the serious allegations” against Kavanaugh.
In a floor speech Thursday evening, Portman, a Republican, warned that the vitriolic Senate Judiciary Committee hearings would discourage Americans from entering public service.
“How many good public servants have we possibly already turned away by this display?” Portman asked. “How many more will we turn away if we let uncorroborated allegations tarnish the career of a person who has dedicated 25 of the past 28 years to public service — and done so with honor?”
Brown, a Democrat, seemed to suggest the FBI report wasn’t thorough enough. He said he “strongly supported a thorough investigation, and I believe the FBI should have been allowed to do its job without political pressure or restrictions.”