*By Christian Smith*
In 1991, Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) was among the seven female Democratic congresswomen who convinced Senate Democrats to allow Anita Hill to testify about her sexual assault allegations against then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas.
And now, given Prof. Christine Blasey Ford's searing testimony on Thursday, Lowey thinks Brett Kavanaugh should not be confirmed to the Supreme Court.
"You have to look at the whole person, and from what I hear from Dr. Ford, I would not want to see Judge Kavanaugh on the highest court of the land," she said.
To Lowey, the Court is sacred ー and its justices should follow suit in their personal conduct, not just in their careers.
"We know that an appointment to the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court of the United States of America, is more than intelligence and an Ivy League school. His credibility, and his character, has to be evaluated," she said.
In a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday, Ford answered questions for over three hours about her claims that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when the two were in high school ー accusations that Lowey said seem credible.
"She seemed, certainly to me, to present an honest, honest perspective," Lowey said.
Her convictions about Ford aside, Lowey noted that the accusations against Kavanaugh should still be investigated thoroughly by the proper authorities.
"We should take our time, and he should be subject to an FBI investigation," Rep. Lowey said. She acknowledged, though, that Kavanaugh should still get a confirmation vote.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/congresswoman-nita-lowey-d-ny-calls-on-senate-to-allow-fbi-investigation-of-kavanaugh-accusers-claims).
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2019.
There's a dearth of research to back up the abundance of miraculous health claims tied to CBD ー but that won't stop celebrities from endorsing it. CBD, or cannabidiol, is a component of cannabis or hemp with little to no psychotropic effects. It is purported to have an array of applications to treat everything from epilepsy to anxiety, pain, depression, and sleeplessness. When Congress and President Trump signed the latest version of the Farm Bill into effect, they also legalized hemp, and thereby CBD derived from hemp.
President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are reportedly considering a meeting at Trump's Mar-a-Lago Resort in March to resume trade talks. But whether or not any major developments will result is a toss-up, former State Department Senior Advisor Christian Whiton told Cheddar.
As a member of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Mike Quigley, a Democrat representing Illinois' 5th district ー who worked as a criminal defense attorney before his election to Congress ー said he's focused on the president's finances and foreign investments, like the Trump Tower Moscow project, and how that may have influenced the Trump campaign in 2016.
New York City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer is owning his status as one of the so-called "job killers" trying to chase Amazon out of Queens. "We should fight for jobs, but we should fight for jobs on our terms, consistent with our values," said Van Bramer, who represents New York's 26th district, which includes the Queens neighborhoods of Long Island City, Astoria, Sunnyside, and Woodside.
Sen. Kamala Harris, weeks into her campaign for president, not only acknowledged that she has smoked pot, but said she isn't opposed to federal legalization of marijuana. "I think it gives a lot of people joy and we need more joy," Harris said, laughing, during an interview on the influential hip-hop radio show The Breakfast Club Monday morning.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Monday, Feb. 11, 2019.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
Amazon is reportedly having second thoughts about setting up in New York, after growing backlash from local politicians. "They haven't changed their mind, but they are thinking of at least holding open the possibility that they might pull out and basically put the jobs somewhere else," Robert McCartney, senior regional correspondent at The Washington Post, told Cheddar Friday.
Gavin de Becker has been operating in elite, high-profile circles for nearly four decades, but very few knew his name before Jeff Bezos mentioned it on Thursday in his explosive allegations that a tabloid publisher attempted to blackmail him over explicit photos. De Becker, Bezos' longtime private security consigliere, has a star-studded pedigree that spans 40 years.
