Brett Kavanaugh nomination faces delay

One of Friday morning’s most memorable moments came when two protesters who say they are sexual assault survivors confronted Sen. Jeff Flake in an elevator after he said he’d vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh.

Hours later, Flake called for a vote delay and FBI investigation.

In response, one of the two women, Maria Gallagher, posted a celebratory image of her hugging the second woman, Ana Maria Archila.

“I feel relieved that (Flake) seems to have heard my and (Archil’s) voices in the Senate elevator today,” she wrote.

Mark Judge has sent a letter dated today to Sens. Chuck Grassley and Dianne Feinstein specifically denying Julie Swetnick’s allegations, saying they are “so bizarre that, even while suffering from my addiction, I would remember actions so outlandish. I categorically deny them.”

Swetnick was the third woman to come forward with allegations against Brett Kavanaugh.

Judge also writes that he will “cooperate with any law enforcement agency that is assigned to confidentially investigate these allegations.”

“I am submitting this letter under penalty of felony,” Judge writes before signing it. 

The Senate Judiciary Committee will ask the White House to conduct the investigation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh with the provision it ends no later than Friday, October 5.

In a statement, the committee said:

Here’s the full statement:

In response to a question about Sen. Jeff Flake’s request for a one-week investigation, Sen. Lindsey Graham insisted that Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination would go forward, while praising Flake as “a really good guy.”

“I think what Jeff is trying to do is end this the best he possibly can, to accommodate some people on the other side, and to bring the committee together if possible,” Graham said to reporters. “This is democracy.”

When pushed again on why Flake seemed to change his mind, Graham repeated, “This is called democracy … Jeff’s a really good guy. I wouldn’t have done it. Jeff is trying to be fair.”

However, Graham insisted that both he and Flake felt confident in Kavanaugh’s nomination, and that the process would push forward.

“A week is enough time for (Flake), maybe less … We’re not playing this game of opening this up and it goes on forever.”

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Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn says there will still be a motion to proceed vote in the Senate tomorrow, with an agreement for a supplemental background check for no longer than one week.

Sen. John Kennedy says there will be a statement issued soon, presumably by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, about the path forward with the nomination.  

Kennedy said this as he departed the meeting in McConnell’s office with GOP leadership and some Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Barbara Van Gelder, attorney for Mark Judge, says: “Mr. Judge asked not testify publicly. If the FBI or any law enforcement agency requests Mr. Judge’s cooperation, he will answer any and all questions posed to him.”

Christine Blasey Ford said Mark Judge was also in the room when she was allegedly assaulted by Brett Kavanaugh.

Sen. Jeff Flake.

On Friday morning, Sen. Jeff Flake announced he was “prepared to support (Kavanaugh’s) nomination.” Then, he disappeared from the hearing room for almost an hour and reemerged asking for an FBI investigation.

We’re not sure what happened behind closed doors, but there was a stand-out live-on-air moment this morning. Minutes after Flake announced his support, he was confronted in a Senate office building elevator by two women who say they are sexual assault survivors.

“I was sexually assaulted and nobody believed me,” the second woman, Maria Gallagher, told Flake. “I didn’t tell anyone and 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 are going to ignore them. 

Archila, the co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy, later told CNN that she was sexually assaulted when she was 5 years old. She said she was “profoundly disappointed” in Flake. “I thought that he was someone who was willing to take a stand, that was on the side of justice, and I thought of him as someone who was able to recognize the humanity across political lines,” Archila told CNN.

The second woman, Maria Gallagher, a recent college graduate, told CNN she felt “nauseous” and “upset” upon hearing of Flake’s decision.

This was the first time she’s related her story out loud or publicly, Gallagher said.

“It’s not something that I ever want to or like to share with people,” she said, adding, “But I thought it was important that he knows, and that promoting Brett Kavanaugh is telling victims of sexual assault that no one wants to hear you.”

Sen. Jeff Flake was at the center of today’s drama over Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

The Arizona Republican started his day with a statement saying he’d vote yes, but then ended a committee meeting by saying he’d vote to move the nominee to the Senate floor – only if the main vote is delayed for an FBI investigation.

Between then, he was confronted by protesters, huddled privately with one of his Democratic friends and went missing for a committee meeting for more than an hour.

Here’s the play-by-play of how Flake’s day unfolded:

Key moderate Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin says he supports Sen. Jeff Flake’s call for a delay.