Senate Panel Approves Kavanaugh, but Flake Wants F.B.I Investigation Before Final Vote

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In a surprise development, Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, a Republican, is pressing the Senate to delay Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to be a Supreme Court justice. Friday morning, it seemed likely that Kavanaugh would proceed on a party-line vote to a procedural vote by the full Senate Saturday, with final confirmation likely on Tuesday.

But Flake, who had hours before announced he would support Kavanaugh’s nomination, then said during the Judiciary Committee proceedings that he would support advancing the nomination to the full Senate for consideration, but would not cast a vote on a motion to proceed with the final confirmation unless there was a week-long pause to allow the FBI to investigate some of the sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh.

Soon after the party-line vote to advance Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Senate, two undecided senators said they support Flake’s proposal — Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. The support of these senators, along with that of all the Senate Democrats, is enough to halt Kavanaugh’s nomination, likely forcing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to ask President Trump to request that the FBI open an investigation into the Kavanaugh allegations.

Before the 1:30 p.m. vote, Flake left the Senate Judiciary Committee room for a lengthy meeting with Democrats on the committee, who had stalked out of the room in protest over the refusal of Republicans to ask for an FBI investigation, a day after Ford’s powerful testimony about her alleged encounter with the Supreme Court nominee decades ago moved most senators, as well as the president, to deem her “credible.”

While Ford said she was “100 percent sure” Kavanaugh assaulted her, Kavanaugh insisted he is “100 percent” innocent. – READ MORE

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