Senator Jeff Flake said Friday he would vote to confirm Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh despite “compelling testimony” before the Judiciary Committee Thursday from Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her in 1982.
“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,” Flake said in a statement. “Yesterday, we heard compelling testimony from Dr. Ford, as well as a persuasive response from Judge Kavanaugh. … I left the hearing yesterday with as much doubt as certainty.”
“What I do know,” Flake added, “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.”
Flake’s support ensures Judiciary Committee Republicans have the votes to recommend Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Senate. A motion to schedule that vote for 1:30 p.m. passed in committee 11-8, with two Democrats, Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, abstaining from voting out in protest.
The vote comes less than two weeks after late-breaking allegations of sexual assault against the nominee threw the confirmation proceedings into chaos.
On Thursday, the Judiciary Committee sat through nine grueling hours of testimony from both Kavanaugh and his first accuser, Christine Blasey Ford. Both witnesses were emotional, at times on the verge of tears. In the morning, Ford went over the accusation she made in a letter to her congresswoman and later repeated to the Washington Post: that at a high school house party in 1982, she was grabbed from behind and forced into a bedroom, where Kavanaugh, desperately drunk and egged on by a friend, pinned her to a bed, groped her, and fumbled with her clothing, putting a hand forcefully over her mouth to prevent her from screaming.
“Indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter, the uproarious laughter between the two, and their having fun at my expense,” Ford testified.
In the afternoon, Kavanaugh defended himself fiercely and, at times, angrily: He refused to attack Ford or her motivations in bringing the accusation forward, but swore to his innocence, brought forward corroborating evidence, and laid into Senate Democrats for turning the occasion into a media circus by bringing the accusation forward publicly just days before a scheduled vote.
“I swear today under oath, before the Senate and the nation, before my family and God, I am innocent of this charge,” Kavanaugh said.
Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley said that, while both witnesses provided credible testimony, Ford had not been able to provide enough evidence to meet a reasonable burden of proof for her accusation.
“I found Dr. Ford’s testimony credible, and believe she is sincere in her version of the facts,” Grassley said. “But I also found Judge Kavanaugh’s testimony credible and sincere. Ultimately, the existing evidence, including the statement of three alleged eyewitnesses named by Dr. Ford, refutes Dr. Ford’s version of the facts. There is simply no reason to deny Judge Kavanaugh a seat on the Supreme Court on the basis of evidence presented to us.”
Before Friday’s confirmation vote, the Committee defeated a Democrat-proposed motion to subpoena Kavanaugh’s longtime friend Mark Judge for an interview, 11-10. Judge is the friend Ford alleges was in the room with Kavanaugh.
“We heard yesterday from an extraordinarily courageous, strong survivor, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who proposed the motion. “I think every one of us were riveted and powerfully impressed by her truth. We heard her provide details in that story that can be corroborated and other facts that can be uncovered if we hear from other witnesses, who have very relevant, important knowledge about what happened to her on that evening in that room.”
Kavanaugh’s nomination now proceeds to a full vote on the Senate floor, where Republicans are unsure whether they have the votes to confirm him. Prior to Friday’s committee vote, four senators were seen as swing votes: Jeff Flake, Lisa Murkowski, and Susan Collins, all Republicans, and Joe Manchin, a Democrat from deeply red West Virginia. Flake’s yea vote means Republicans will need only two of the other three to pass. In the event of a 50-50 tie, Vice President Mike Pence would cast a tie-breaking vote to confirm Kavanaugh. That vote is expected to take place as early as Monday.
