Flake casts key vote but asks for Federal Bureau of Investigation inquiry

Flake then said that he would only vote to confirm Kavanaugh in the full Senate if the FBI conducted a week-long investigation into the accuser’s claim.

“I will be voting no on Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination”.

Flake – who forced the committee to agree to the investigation after telling Republican colleagues that it is the only way he will vote for Kavanaugh’s confirmation – suggested to NPR on Friday that the decision of which allegations to investigate will be left to the FBI. Trump was forced to order the investigation on Friday afternoon as a result. Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.) worked on a deal to allow one week for the FBI to investigate the claims against Kavanaugh, which he has vehemently denied. The battle has thrown Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination into turmoil and become another landmark in the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct.

“I don’t know if this is going to continue onward or are we going to get a vote”, Trump said in a photo opportunity at the White House.

Minutes after Coons spoke, Flake walked over to him behind the dais in the committee room and knelt to talk to him.

Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, the senior Democrat on the committee, has said he believes Ford’s allegations are true and that there should be an FBI investigation prior to a vote. The background investigation has been based out of the FBI Washington office.

Kavanaugh has adamantly denied all of the accusations. It is in fact a real test for the United States Senate and for our country, to see how we treat women, especially women who are survivors of sexual assault. The Senate Judiciary Committee said the probe should be limited to “current credible allegations against the nominee” and be finished by October 5.

Christine Blasey Ford, the 51-year-old psychology professor at Palo Alto University was the first woman to come forward and accuse Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her in the 1980s as teenagers.

That leads to the third important point in all the discussion about an FBI investigation: Democrats and outside groups want whatever the Judiciary Committee or the Senate considers to have the imprimatur of the world’s premier law enforcement agency.

“And two of my daughters have told me stories that I had never heard before about things that happened to them in high school and hadn’t told their parents”, he added.

“I thought her testimony was very compelling, and she looks like a very fine woman to me”.

The committee’s staffers and investigators have been dealing with other allegations, according to transcripts released by the Judiciary panel, including ones they and Kavanaugh have concluded were false.

Republicans hold a one-vote majority on the powerful committee, where Flake announced early Friday morning that he will vote with the majority to pass Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Senate with a recommendation for confirmation.

After talking with Democrats, Flake later expressed support for delaying floor proceedings for up to one week to allow for a deeper probe of the allegations. “They have to be comfortable with themselves”, Trump said.