*By Conor White*
After allegations of sexual assault against Brett Kavanaugh surfaced just days ago, the stakes for the Supreme Court nominee and his fellow Republicans are high ー and highly political.
"This is a political knife fight," The Washington Examiner's Phil Wegmann said Tuesday in an interview on Cheddar.
Christine Blasey Ford, the accuser, will testify next Monday alongside Kavanaugh before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which throws the judge's chance of sitting on the highest court in the land into serious peril. Blasey Ford has said Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her during a high school party more than three decades ago, claims Kavanaugh has vigorously denied.
While many of Blasey Ford's high school classmates ー including Emmy-winning actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus ー [signed and published a letter](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/christine-blasey-ford-holton-arms-brett-kavanaugh_us_5b9fb3c2e4b04d32ebfabbc6) Monday, affirming their support of her.
But Wegmann admitted that given the chronology, it will be difficult to untangle the story.
"I don't even know how you can come to the truth about something that happened 35 years ago ー with minors, and with minors possibly under the influence of alcohol," he said.
Still, the latest developments have thrown a wrench in what ー despite [protests](https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/405500-212-protesters-total-arrested-during-kavanaugh-hearings) ー was initially expected to be a guaranteed confirmation.
"Seventy-two hours ago I would've said that this was a slam dunk," Wegmann said. "At this point, I think it's more of a jump shot in traffic."
"Any chance of Senate Democrats crossing the aisle to vote for Kavanaugh ー I think that's evaporated," he added.
Wegmann said that since Monday's hearing will be televised, both Democrats and Republicans should ready themselves for media fireworks.
"It's a major TV moment," he said. "Not necessarily a moment made to adjudicate the truth."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/kavanaugh-confirmation-thrown-into-question).
A new analysis reveals that for more than two decades, the West has been the driest it has ever been since 800 A.D. The drought which began in 2000 has brought more devastating wildfires and draining water reserves well below healthy levels. Climate Scientists and Adjunct Associate Research Scientist at Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University,Benjamin Cook, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
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For black history month, Cheddar is highlighting black business leaders who are driving the need for representation forward. On February 10, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce hosted an event called 'Developing the Black-Owned Business Ecosystem.' The virtual event was organized under the lobbying group's two initiatives -- the Equality of Opportunity Initiative, and the Coalition to Back Black Businesses. The event highlighted the developments needed to develop more black-owned businesses in the U.S. Dr. Anthony Wilbon, Dean of the School of Business at Howard University, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss his experience as a speaker at the event.
A newly declassified letter by senators Ron Wyden and Martin Heinrich claimed the CIA. has been conducting a Secret Surveillance Program which has been collecting a bulk of data from American citizens. The letter which was written in April of 2021 urges the CIA to come clean about the kind of data it collects and how many Americans have been impacted. According to these two senators, the program did not have the safeguards of congressional oversight.
Art Hogan, Chief Market Strategist at National Securities, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says investors are taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to the situation between Russia and the Ukraine and elaborates on the impact higher oil prices stemming from the conflict would have on the market.
Last week, Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee, wrote a a letter airing concerns that the CIA is collecting the data of American citizens without their consent. The lawmakers fear that the program might be exploiting private data. Morgan Wright, the chief security advisor at cybersecurity firm SentinelOne, joined Cheddar News to discuss the ramifications of the letter. "We don't have all the dots in one place to connect them," said Wright, cautioning against jumping to conclusions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that diplomacy is still possible, while U.S. officials warn that an attack on Ukraine is imminent. Cheddar News speaks with James Astill, Washington bureau chief of The Economist on the latest developments in Eastern Europe.
As the number of Russian troops rose to 130,000 along its Ukrainian border, hopes for a diplomatic solution remain among world leaders. Jason McMann, head of geopolitical risk analysis at Morning Consult, joined Cheddar News to break down the fluid situation. "We saw signs pointing towards an increase in tensions between Ukraine and Russia, whereas today we're seeing some signs that the Russian government may be willing to continue down a path of diplomatic negotiations to try and find some sort of non-military solution," he said.
