Flake Demands &Trump Agrees to Open ‘Limited’ One Week F.B.I. Investigation Into Accusations Against Kavanaugh.
Without the votes to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, the Senate and the White House had little choice but to agree on the investigation.
The developments capped an extraordinary day, which began with a sense of momentum for Kavanaugh but left him in renewed jeopardy when Sen. Jeff Flake, who at first endorsed him, called for a renewed inquiry into misconduct allegations.The retiring Arizona senator was again in the position of spoiler and grandstander — defying the president and conservatives, sowing distrust among many Democrats and still unclear where he intends to land.
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Archila and Maria Gallagher blocked the doors of an elevator on Capitol Hill, making impassioned pleas for the Republican senator to reconsider his support for Brett M. Kavanaugh.
“What you are doing is allowing someone who actually violated a woman to sit in the Supreme Court,” one woman, who said she had been sexually assaulted, shouted during a live CNN broadcast as Flake was making his way to a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting. The Center for Popular Democracy, a left-leaning advocacy organization, later identified her as the group’s co-executive director, Ana Maria Archila.
“This is horrible,” she told Flake. “You have children in your family. Think about them.”
Another woman then chimed in, telling the senator that she had also been sexually assaulted and that no one believed her story.
“You’re telling all women that they don’t matter — that they should just stay quiet because if they tell you what happened to them, you’re going to ignore them,” she said as the TV cameras rolled.
“You’re just going to help that man to power anyway,” she added, weeping. “That’s what you’re telling all of these women. That’s what you’re telling me right now.
“Look at me when I’m talking to you! You’re telling me that my assault doesn’t matter, that what happened to me doesn’t matter and that you’re going to let people who do these things into power! That’s what you’re telling me when you vote for him! Don’t look away from me! Look at me and tell me that it doesn’t matter what happened to me — that you’ll let people like that go into the highest court in the land!”
Flake listened quietly, then told the women: “Thank you.”
“Saying ‘thank you’ is not an answer,” Archila responded. “This is about the future of our country, sir.”
A tweet from immigrant rights group Make the Road Action identified the second woman who confronted Flake as Maria Gallagher and showed a photo of her standing with Archila. A woman claiming to be Gallagher later published a tweet with the same image.
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At 9.30am Flake announced he would vote for Kavanaugh - then a minute later walked into a Senate elevator and was confronted by two protesters who told him they were sex abuse victims. They passionately pleaded with him to vote 'no'.
At 1.30pm Senate Judiciary Committee vote was delayed as Flake spent time with Democrats - and then a dramatic deal unfolded.
Flake voted Kavanaugh through the Senate Judiciary Committee in return for asking for the probe.
'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,' according to the committee.
“We ought to do what we can to make sure we do all due diligence with a nomination this important,” Mr. Flake told his colleagues on the Judiciary Committee after extracting a promise from Republican leaders to delay the final vote on the nomination until after the F.B.I. investigation. “This country is being ripped apart here.”
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| Senators on the Judiciary Committee gathered Friday to discuss Judge Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination. Erin Schaff for The New York Times |
HOW JEFF FLAKE ROCKED THE SENATE
Here is how Jeff Flake's day of drama unfolded:
9.30a.m.: Jeff Flake's office releases a statement announcing he will 'vote to confirm' Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court
9.31 a.m.: Cameras capture Flake cornered in an elevator as two female protesters urges him to vote 'no' and tell him they are sex abuse victims. Ana Maria Anchilla tells him: 'You have children in your family. Think about them.' The lengthy confrontation goes on with the other woman, recent college graduate Maria Gallagher telling him: 'I was sexually assaulted and nobody believed me. You're telling all women that they don't matter.'
9.50 a.m.: As senators gather, Flake appears downcast.
10 a.m.: Four Democratic senators walk out in protest when a motion to subpoena Mark Judge is voted down.
12.16 p.m.: Flake - who turned down the chance to speak - walks out of the committee room with Chris Coons, the Delaware Democrat with whom he is close friend.
1.30 p.m.: The time of the scheduled vote, but it is clear something is happening behind the scenes, with Flake and most of the Democrats not present.
1.49 p.m.: The committee is seated in full.
1.51 p.m.: Committee chairman Charles Grassley says he will let Flake speak. Flake says he will vote yes, if there is to be an FBI investigation.
1.53 p.m.: The committee votes 11-10 to send Kavanaugh to the floor for a full investigation.
2.10 p.m.: At the White House Trump says he will do whatever the Senate decide to do.
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And Mark Judge, Kavanaugh's high school friend who Ford alleges took part in the attack, said that he would co-operate with any law enforcement agency that investigates 'confidentially.'
He had claimed this week that he had depression and anxiety so did not want to testify in public, and was then Friday morning revealed to be available for public speaking engagements, in one of the more farcical turns of the Kavanaugh saga.
The FBI will not conduct a criminal investigation because the charges against Kavanaugh do not relate to any federal crimes. Because of this, the bureau will not make a determination on Kavanaugh’s guilt or innocence. The FBI will submit a report to the White House and the Senate Judiciary Committee when the examination is complete. Although the FBI will have just a week to investigate the allegations, this time frame is not out of step with prior similar investigations.