The Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday morning will hold a committee vote on Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination hours after Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford testified before the committee on Thursday.
Stay tuned to Breitbart News for live updates. All times eastern.
—
9:30 PM: Coons explained what happened.
8:35 PM: Klobuchar thanks Flake again:
8:30 PM: Resistance: “Castrate the Patriarchy” and Don’t Vote for the “Privileged White Boy”:
8:20 PM:
7:55 PM: Biden:
6:15 PM:
6:10 PM:
6:05 PM:
6:00 PM:
5:20 PM: Ford’s attorney says “no artificial limits as to time or scope should be imposed on this investigation.”
5:08 PM: Cotton:
5:05 PM: Blumenthal reportedly wants Ford’s, Ramirez’s, and Swetnick’s allegations investigated.
5:01 PM: Trump:
5:00 PM: Kavanaugh statement:
4:51 PM: Flake, asked if he could vote no after FBI investigation, reportedly said: “Sure, you bet.”
4:48 PM: Trump reportedly will authorize FBI investigation:
4:45 PM: Heitkamp supports Flake:
4:38 PM:
4:30 PM: COLLINS:
4:25 PM:
4:20 PM:
4:00 PM: Judiciary Committee will request FBI investigation:
3:30 PM:
3:27 PM:
3:25 PM:
3:20 PM: Spartacus statement:
3:17 PM:
3:15 PM: Manchin with Flake as well:
2:40 PM: Murkowski with Flake:
2:35 PM: Coons also said he thinks the FBI should investigate “other allegations” if they come forward in the next week.
2:33 PM: Manchin update:
2:30 PM:
2:15 PM: Even Kamala Harris stunned:
1:55 PM: Senate Judiciary Committee votes Kavanaugh nomination out of committee (11-10). Flake says he will be only comfortable moving on the floor with the one-week investigation/due diligence. Grassley and Graham note that they don’t control what happens on the floor.
1:51 PM: Grassley, citing point of personal privilege, calls on Flake to speak before the vote. Flake says he thinks it would be proper to delay the floor vote for up to one week to enable the FBI to do an investigation, limited to time and scope to no more than one week. He says he will vote to advance the vote to the floor with that understanding.
1:30 PM: Manchin undecided:
1:07 PM: Blumenthal talks about how Kavanaugh was “filled with anger” and walks out after his speech. (He walked out with Harris/Hirono at the start only to come back to get some camera time.)
12:49 PM: Sen. Kennedy calls the confirmation hearings an “intergalactic freak show” and says Congress has hit “rock bottom.” He says there were no winners in the room yesterday. There were just two human beings in pain. He blasts the “cynical games” that have damaged Ford, Kavanaugh, and their families irreparably. He says this is no country for creepy old men, or young men, or middle-aged men. But he also says he doesn’t want to live in a country without due process where the accuser and accused are not entitled to respect, fairness, and due process. He says the people who betrayed Ford’s trust and did not tell her she could testify in California should bow their heads in shame and hide their heads in bags for the rest of their lives. He also quotes Matthew 16:26 to close his remarks: “For what is a person profited if he gains the whole world and he loses his soul?”
12:48 PM: Drama Queen Booker now dramatically announces that he is going to leave the hearing because he cannot participate in something that history will not judge favorably.
12:41 PM: Harris rallying the Resistance.
12: 40 PM: Dems. meeting with Flake?
12:31 PM: Harris insisting on a “pause.”
12:28 PM: Heitkamp undecided.
12:25 PM: Sen. Spartacus (D-“T-Bone”) now speaking about how he has always wanted to be on the Judiciary Committee and how he fought to get on Judiciary Committee. Booker, who has written about groping a woman in high school, says the process has been a “sham.” He proudly talks about how he “willfully” and “knowingly” violated the rules re: “releasing documents” (publicity stunt). Booker “resents” that Republicans accused Ford of “partisanship.” He says it shifted the debate from “raw partisanship” to “something deeper.” Booker praises Grassley for being genuinely concerned about Ford’s humanity behind closed doors even when the klieg lights were off. Grassley says Booker has spoken for 17 minutes already and wonders if he will let anyone else speak. Booker speaking about “dark corners” in American society and says the Supreme Court is not an entitlement.
12:24 PM: Tester a “No.”
12:21 PM: Chairman Grassley doing excellent job–succinctly pointing out when Democrats are wrong and moving the hearing along. He may realize some Republicans may not be doing Kavanaugh any favors by bloviating and asks Republicans to keep their statements brief.
(I personally love Grassley’s OG Tweeting style. It’s how Twitter was originally envisioned to be used.)
12:20 PM: Pressure on Collins:
12:15 PM: Coons says he was against Kavanaugh after he first testified because of Kavanaugh’s expansive view of executive power. He asks for a one-week delay and says “not recalling is not the same as refuting” when talking about the various named parties who have sent in statements to the Judiciary Committee about the gathering in question.
12:10 PM: Indiana’s Mike Braun (GOP Senate challenger) after Dem. Donnelly announces “no” vote on Kavanaugh:
This entire process has been an embarrassment to our democracy as Hoosiers watched firsthand how Senator Donnelly’s liberal colleagues used uncorroborated allegations to create a media circus designed to smear and destroy Judge Kavanaugh’s reputation. Donnelly’s decision to oppose President Trump’s highly qualified nominee is a grave mistake, but proves he is more concerned with standing with his liberal Democrat leaders than standing for Hoosiers. I continue to strongly support Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court.
12:05 PM: House Democrats now saying Kavanaugh “should be prosecuted to full extent of the law.” Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) is the House Judiciary Committee’s Ranking Member.
11:55 AM: Cruz lamenting today’s tribalism and says Kavanaugh may never be able to coach girl’s basketball again–he says could be a “real consequence” of the hearings. He also says that Kavanaugh doesn’t have a “pattern” of sexual assault like many other disgraced executives/journalists who have been exposed. He says Kavanaugh’s reputation “for a long time” has been that of a “boring boy scout.”
11:45 AM: Collins still undecided.
11: 40 AM: Donnelly (D-IN), who voted for Gorsuch, voting “no.”
11:34 AM: Dems more about grandstanding than attending committee hearing:
11:31 AM: Klobuchar says there was “a lot of chest beating” that went on on the other side and says she doesn’t think the “innocent” was protected yesterday. She doesn’t want to hear about Republicans “respecting” Ford if they are not going to support an FBI investigation. Klobuchar says Kavanaugh was “sanctimonious” and nobody is “entitled” to be on the Supreme Court.
11:24 AM: Grassley immediately points out that Kavanaugh’s calendar has six boys listed and Dr. Ford said there were four boys at the gathering in question. Grassley says Whitehouse’s allegations about FBI investigations are false.
11:17 AM: Whitehouse claiming July 1 entry on Kavanaugh’s calendar could be “corroborating evidence.” Whitehouse says Mark Judge’s letter is “ridiculous” and “investigator Kavanaugh” would not have tolerated letters like this from the “third person in the room” had there been one with Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky.
11:15 AM: Whitehouse doesn’t buy Kavanaugh’s explanations about boofing and Devil’s Triangle. People around the world must have been confused by all of this slang brought up in yesterday’s hearing.
11:05 AM: Cornyn blasts the indecency of the process and blames Democrats for the indecency.
10:57 AM: Grassley says the American Bar Association (ABA) is not going to dictate what the Committee does. He says the letter was just from the ABA president.
10:45 AM: Dems. using hearing to rally midterm voters:
10:35 AM: Graham says he’s not going to shut up. He urges Democrats to listen to Joe Biden. He says based on evidence, “this would not get out of the batter’s box. He says FBI investigation will not do anything.
Left upset:
10:30 AM: While the hearing is taking place, Harris, Hirono, Blumenthal holding press conferences:
10:20 AM: Leahy claims this is not about delaying the vote until after the election. He says historians will view this moment as a “turning point.” Leahy accuses Kavanaugh of lying every time he has come before the Judiciary Committee and says the only person who has denied the alleged assault did not happen is Kavanaugh. Leahy says the others have said they simply do not recall the incident in question. He says he does not have the “veracity” or the “temperament” to be a Justice.
10:17 AM: Hatch says it’s time to “end the circus” and “it’s time to vote.”
10:06 AM: Harris: “This hearing is a sham…” Dems who walked out are holding a press conference while the hearing is going on…
10:01 AM:
9:56 AM: Feinstein blasts Kavanaugh for “yelling at Democrats” on Thursday and accusing them of using Ford as a political weapon. She says she has never seen a nominee behave like Kavanaugh.
9:53 AM: Harris leaves hearing in protest with other Senate Democrats:
9:51 AM: Grassley says he found both Ford and Kavanaugh credible and there is no reason to deny Kavanaugh a seat based on the evidence presented to date.
9:50 AM: Panel votes, 11-8, to schedule 1:30 PM ET vote. Sens. Harris (D-CA) and Booker (D-NJ) do not vote to protest.
9:41 AM: Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) moves to subpoena Mark Judge.
“He has never been questioned by any member of our committee,” he says. “He has never submitted a detailed account of what he knows.”
Grassley reads Judge’s letters submitted to the committee last night.
Left enraged at Flake:
Flake confronted by rape victim:
9:40 AM: Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) begins the proceedings.
9:35 AM: Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) will vote for Kavanaugh:
After hearing more than 30 hours of testimony from Judge Kavanaugh earlier this month, I was prepared to support his nomination based on his view of the law and his record as a judge. In fact, I commented at the time that had he been nominated in another era, he would have likely received 90+ votes.
When Dr. Ford’s allegations against Judge Kavanaugh surfaced two weeks ago, I insisted that she be allowed to testify before the committee moved to a vote. Yesterday, we heard compelling testimony from Dr. Ford, as well as a persuasive response from Judge Kavanaugh. I wish that I could express the confidence that some of my colleagues have conveyed about what either did or did not happen in the early 1980s, but I left the hearing yesterday with as much doubt as certainty.
What I do know is that our system of justice affords a presumption of innocence to the accused, absent corroborating evidence. That is what binds us to the rule of law. While some may argue that a different standard should apply regarding the Senate’s advice and consent responsibilities, I believe that the constitution’s provisions of fairness and due process apply here as well.
I will vote to confirm Judge Kavanaugh.