GOP advances Kavanaugh after Flake calls for FBI probe
WASHINGTON — After a flurry of last-minute negotiations, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination for the Supreme Court Friday after agreeing to a late call from Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona for a one week investigation into sexual assault allegations against the high court nominee.
However, it was unclear whether Republican leaders, who have pushed for fast confirmation of Kavanaugh, would back Flake’s call for an investigation or instead would press forward with a full Senate vote on the nomination. President Donald Trump, who has accused the Democrats of obstruction and delay and has opposed the FBI probing the allegations against his nominee, said merely that he would “let the Senate handle that.”
The dramatic scene unfolded a day after Kavanaugh and his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, testified in an emotional, hours-long hearing. Kavanaugh angrily denied the allegations that he assaulted Ford while they were both in high school, while she said she was “100 per cent” certain he was her attacker.
Flake, a key moderate Republican, was at the centre of the drama and uncertainty. On Friday morning, he announced that he would support Kavanaugh’s nomination. Shortly after, he was confronted in an elevator by two women who, through tears, implored him to change his mind.