Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) is dismissing the Senate Judiciary Committee testimony of Christine Blasey Ford about her alleged assault years ago by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, USA Today reports.
Asked what he believes motivated Ford to testify this week, Johnson responded: “Read about false memories. Read about people who have actually confessed to crimes and then later proven totally innocent, OK?”
The has FBI reached out to Deborah Ramirez, a woman who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct while they were students at Yale University, the Washington Post reports.
“The FBI has begun contacting people as part of an additional background investigation of Kavanaugh.”
“An attorney for Leland Keyser stated plainly in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee that his client, a friend of Christine Blasey Ford, does not ‘refute’ Blasey’s sexual assault claim against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh,” the HuffPost reports.
Said attorney Howard Walsh: “Ms. Keyser does not refute Dr. Ford’s account, and she has already told the press that she believes Dr. Ford’s account.”
Walsh added that “the simple and unchangeable truth” is that his client is “unable to corroborate” Ford’s account because she does not remember it.
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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh “hysterical” and said that he was temperamentally unfit to serve on the Supreme Court, CBS News reports.
Said Pelosi: “I couldn’t help but think that if a woman had ever performed that way, they would say ‘hysterical.'”
Pelosi also said that she believed Kavanaugh’s testimony proved that he could not serve on the Supreme Court, because it showed that he is biased against Democrats.
She added: “I will say this — if he is not telling the truth to Congress or to the FBI, then he’s not fit not only to be on the Supreme Court, but to be on the court he’s on right now.”
Jim VandeHei: “Imagine if Brett Kavanaugh had offered his emotional, tearful, you-ruined-my-life opening speech to the Judiciary Committee — and then called for a quick FBI probe to clear his name and perhaps find the true assailant. He would have looked confident, humble, even a tad heroic, given the president who nominated him opposed the FBI probe.”
“Well, he and Republicans had an epic failure of imagination: Instead, they were forced reluctantly and publicly into what should have been a fairly easy-to-anticipate moderate compromise: agree to a vote after a quick FBI probe.”
“Instead of looking hungry for truth, Kavanaugh heads into the week looking fearful of findings.”
Mark Judge, the man who was said to be present when Brett Kavanaugh allegedly sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford, was in Washington, D.C., meeting with his lawyer Friday afternoon, the HuffPost reports.
Judge arrived at the law firm just as the Senate Judiciary Committee was preparing to vote to advance Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation.
His lawyer issued a statement saying Judge “was willing to cooperate with any law enforcement investigation, so long as it took place ‘confidentially.'”
Vox went through the transcript of yesterday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing and noted every single time a question was asked of Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh.
“Then we noted every instance in which answered the question or said they didn’t know the answer — and we also noted every time they either refused to answer or gave an answer that didn’t address the question.”
The results — summarized in a chart — are striking.
Senate Republican leaders formally agreed “to reopen the FBI background investigation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh after two key Republicans suggested they would not vote to confirm him to the Supreme Court without additional information on his alleged sexual misconduct while he was a teenager,” the Washington Post reports.
“Republican leaders said they still plan to move ahead with a procedural vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination on Saturday but will postpone a final vote on his confirmation that they had hoped would take place Tuesday.”
Mike Allen: “What if the week ends with the investigation ongoing, or if the probe uncovers new evidence outside the existing claims?”
“Such a delay presents both peril and promise for Kavanaugh. On the one hand, it means investigators will likely talk to Mark Judge. On the other hand, if a probe doesn’t turn up new evidence, it gives senators on the fence an easier time voting yes.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Senate floor.
However, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) voted with the condition that there would be a one-week delay for a further FBI investigation in the sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh.
New York Times: “The decision put a cloud over what Republicans expected to be a triumphant day, but they still had reason to be optimistic: Despite adamant Democratic opposition, they were still able to muscle the nomination through committee with an 11-to-10 vote and send it to the full Senate with a favorable recommendation.”
Yale Law School, where Judge Kavanaugh studied, on Friday called for further investigation into the allegations against the Supreme Court nominee, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Said law school dean Heather Gerken: “Proceeding with the confirmation process without further investigation is not in the best interest of the Court or our profession.”
First Read: “Another thing that struck us yesterday was just how empty questioning from the Democrats on the committee was. With some exceptions (Klobuchar comes to mind), they mostly lectured Kavanaugh and their Republican colleagues rather than trying to land a punch.”
“One obvious question not asked: Why do you think Dr. Ford is so certain that it was you? Another: Why couldn’t your July 1 calendar entry, which references some of the individuals Dr. Ford named, be the event in question? The GOP-hired attorney — who ironically did more damage to Kavanaugh than any Democratic senators — got close to addressing that July 1 question, but then Graham stole the show.”
“What I was thinking is, if he was a judge in a courtroom and I had acted like that…he would have thrown me out. The point is, he did apologize later, publicly, to me, which I appreciate it. Still, the problem for me is, he really didn’t answer the question about if there have been incidences where he didn’t partially remember what happened.”
— Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), in an interview with NBC News, on questioning Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh about his drinking.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has 48 hard “yes” votes to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, and needs 50 for a win, with Vice President Pence breaking the tie, Axios reports.
“Republicans are increasingly optimistic about getting the vote of Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who’s in a tough reelection race in a state Trump won by 42 points (not a typo).”
“The uncommitted Republican senators are Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and the retiring Jeff Flake of Arizona. GOP vote counters believe that to avoid future primary challenges fueled by the Trump machine, Collins and Murkowski will find their way to voting aye.”
Politico: “Donnelly, Manchin, Murkowski and Collins are all expected to vote the same way, per senators and aides.”
CBS News: “The American Bar Association has urged the Senate Judiciary Committee and the full Senate to slow down the confirmation process for President Trump’s Supreme Court pick, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, until the FBI has time to do a full background check on the claims made by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and other women.”
“My family and my name have been totally and permanently destroyed. This confirmation process has become a national disgrace. You have replaced ‘advice and consent’ with ‘search and destroy.'”
— Judge Brett Kavanaugh, quoted by the New York Times.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will convene at 10 a.m. ET to hear from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Judge Brett Kavanaugh of trying to rape her when they were both in high school.
Each senator on the committee will have one five-minute round of questioning for each witness. Senators can opt to have counsel or another senator ask questions on their behalf.
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Todd Purdum: “In just over an hour, the president undermined the frantic work of his own White House aides and Senate Republicans, who have been scrambling for days to salvage Kavanaugh’s nomination…”
“Trump’s disjointed, incoherent performance ignored the carefully disciplined strategy of the White House and Senate Republicans to plow through the growing swirl of allegations against Kavanaugh and press for a quick confirmation vote… The president also raised the stakes—and complicated the strategies—of both Republicans and Democrats on the judiciary committee, who are set to question Kavanaugh and Ford on Thursday.”
“Whether Thursday’s hearing will be a circus or a sober examination of serious and deeply unsettling claims remains to be seen. But it’s hard, at the moment, to see how whatever fireworks the hearing produces could top the thunderous, confounding curtain-raising overture offered up by Trump himself. In the end, it will all come down to which side has the votes, and, whatever his intentions, the president has just made that question harder to answer.”
Jonathan Swan: “Brett Kavanaugh is hopping mad about the late wave of allegations against him and will be charged up for this morning’s hearing.”
“Team Kavanaugh sources last night ranged from nervous and unsure to modestly confident. All agreed that Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation hinges on how compelling he and Christine Blasey Ford are at the 10 a.m. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.”
“The view from inside is that if Kavanaugh comes across as awkward, stiff, and evasive — as he has in previous public appearances — he’s toast.”
Also important: “Everyone involved in Kavanaugh’s confirmation was blindsided by the specificity of the sworn testimony produced yesterday by Michael Avenatti.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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