Flake Requests FBI Investigation, Throwing Kavanaugh Confirmation Back in Doubt
*By Carlo Versano*
The confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, which seemed increasingly likely on Friday morning, was thrown back into doubt after key swing vote Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) requested a one-week delay on a floor vote so the FBI could complete a background investigation. With that caveat, the Senate Judiciary Committee, on a straight party line, voted to approve, 11-10.
President Trump, reacting practically in real time, said he has not thought "even a little bit" about a replacement for Kavanaugh. As for an FBI investigation, Trump said, "I'm going to let the Senate handle that."
Protesters flanked the Dirksen U.S. Senate Building Friday morning, adding another layer of drama and tension after Thursday's fiery hearings featuring Kavanaugh and one of his accusers, Prof. Christine Blasey Ford.
After huddling with Democrats ー and being confronted by demonstrators ー Flake, who had just hours earlier indicated he was a "yes," said that while he supported the nomination, it was under the condition that there be a one-week delay for a full investigation. "We owe them due diligence," Flake said of Kavanaugh's named accusers, three women in total.
The implication, though not explicit, was that Flake's statement had the support of Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME). Without the three of them, the floor vote would fail. Murkowski later said she would support the delay.
As of Friday afternoon, the Committee does not have enough "yes" votes to confirm Kavanaugh.
The stunning removal of Kevin McCarthy as speaker has left the House adrift as Republicans struggle to bring order to their fractured majority and begin the difficult and potentially prolonged process of uniting around a new leader.
New York City is challenging a unique legal agreement that requires it to provide emergency housing to anyone who asks for it, as the city's shelter system strains under a large influx of international migrants who have arrived since last year.
Warned to mind his out-of-court comments, former President Donald Trump returned to his New York civil fraud trial Wednesday as lawyers on both sides closely questioned an accountant who prepared financial statements at the heart of the case.
The third day of former president Donald Trump's civil fraud trial kicked off earlier Wednesday in New York, a day after a judge imposed a limited gag order on Trump.
The National Zoo's three giant pandas — Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and their cub Xiao Qi Ji — are set to return to China in early December with no public signs that the 50-year-old exchange agreement struck by President Richard Nixon will continue.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy plans to force a vote Tuesday on the far-right effort to oust him from his leadership position and insists he will not cut a deal with Democrats to remain in power, setting the stage for an extraordinary and unpredictable showdown on the House floor.
