. tonight on qe newsroom, the countdown t a supreme court vote. plus federal investigators uncover widespread health and safety issues in a california immigration facility and the man behind "the onion," takes onig tech and elon musk in hisew book. we begin with the showdown over. the supreme cou theed the senate moved to clear the l proceedural hurdlere be final vote on kavanaugh to the supreme court. that vote will come saturday, despite the sexual assa t

allegations fbi investigation s said to be noth. thoro after pressure from arizona, gop center jeff flake, the white house relented to a lmited fbi probe. the fbi wrapped up the five day investigation earlier this week. they're discuss it and what lies ahead for judge kavanaugh, i'm joined by eric swallwell, nice have you back. >> it's nice to be back. >> three key senators, all said they were goingdg to support j kavanaugh, when the final vote takes place this week now it appears that he has enough votes to be confirmed, whats your reaction to that? >> well, i'm concerned about the future of the court for its integty, and for the precedent of important cases like roe v. ade that it could be

overturned. it's not one senator who did it, and i think senator collins is unfairly being targeted. she is one of 51 who i thi have voted in the wrong direction and i hope people remember that as they evaluate, you know, what the decision means to them. in the house, you know, we ar not helpless, and what i think we can do, in a democratic majority house is to first demand that the fbi reports are made public. so we can see if it's a thorough investigation. >> that is if you win the house in the november. >> yes, and if there's gaps, and witnesses not contacted and victims who came forward and could not reach the fbi or did not have phone calls returned, we should decide if we want to inteview and investigate the to see if kavanaugh didt com perjury. we cannot have question marks around any justice sitting on the court. >> and he is saying he will call

for an investigation of sexual misconduct and perjury allegations, how do you interview brett kavanaugh th, ie is sitting on the u.s. supreme court. >> you have to interview the 40 wi that said they tried to contact the fbi and were not heard because there was a loosh on t -- leash on the inervestigatio. was questions if kavanaugh was being truthful as he was describingheir drinking. ually not relevant what people do in higschool, and in college. but the fact that he was saying he was always aware of hi surroundings. we wanto see if that can be contradicted. >> the process has divided the nation. a lot of people contacted their congress members over this. what have you been hearing from your constituents? >> it's very emotional. and i will just say that i have

in back and forths with very good friends o mine. and you know, have regretted some of the things that i haver said andd to take a step back to not make it personal. you know, the stak are so high, and the allegation is serious. i was a prosecutor f about seven years now in alameda county, and working with sexual assault cases, i saw that every sexual assault victim comes forward in a different way. they are not given a manuel on how to be a surivor and what you are supposed to remember at the time, you may have to recount it later. i heard different rings of truth from dr. ford as she when i hear people say, it was not kracorroborate ratd, she isy piece of evidence. a lot of times crimes occur when there's one victim and one perpetr etor. and no oe around.

>> democrats are saing th inini investigation was a sham. how does it reflect to legitimacy of theprocess? >> the original sin was the failure to give merit garland a hearing years ago when mitch mcconnell did that, he made the process of having a eme court nominee go through a confirmation very, very partisan, and i deinvolved since then so where we are now. where a full and thorough investigation was not conducted or it feelsike it was just rushed through to meet a deadline. i fear what that can mean for the future. >> republicans also, accused democrats of playing dirt politics in all of this, right? that you wanted an fbi investigation and you got one and now that the result is not what you wanted, you are attacking the fbi investigation. >> yeah, what we wanted, was an fbi investigation. and we wanted them to pursue ald . and to hear that people called an fbi tip ne -- again, it's

so dappointing that this president has gone after the fbi over and over and over, these past two years. particularly for what they did, now, he puts them right in the box, a couple of weeks before another election. that hurt hads tsed credibility ell. >> if democrats win the house, will you call for an investigation of president t trump'sxes in light of the new york times investigation that says, he g the bulk of his money from his father, fred trump, and that he engaged in tax fraud. >> to me , this is about credibility. and the american people should know if their president, is a tax cheat and the new york times went to great length in a years long investigation, eight pageso laid in the newspaper, to detail the president's fraud. andum ther of different ways that he sought to avoid paying taxes like the rest of >> would you call for an

investigation? >> yes, we will call for his taxes. which he has refused to release, despite promising it and also, yes, an investigation in to whether anyoney is owed to the u.s. government. it looks like new york is pursuing their own investigation as to whether any money is owed to the nework government. there's a lot of investigations that the republicans never sonducted. whether it wn russia, taxes, the president cashing in on the oval office and it musting conducted in a way that -- and it must be conducted in a way that is fair to everyone. no one is above the law. >> you serve on the house internet subcommittee, and facebook is based here in th bay area, the company recently revealed that there was a hack. and it affected 50 million users, plus the stolen information could be used to gain access to many other sites where people use their facebook log-in credentials to access those sites. do you think that, that tech

companies, like facebook, have grown so big,hat there needs to be legislation to reign them in? >> i do. and i think a key piece of legislation that we need to pass is congress is to have a national breech notification law. right now,ompanies tend to follow the state laws. there's 49 different laws on how you notify consumers of a breech. think because facebook, you know, they know no state lines, there should be national standards for when it's equifax or target or facebook, different companies that had brooeceaches. there's a standard. so people can defend their own identity ainst other invasions that could occur. >> all right, congressman, always a pleasure to have you, thank you for taking the time. >> thank you. moving on to immigration, a new federal report has uncovered dangerous and disturbing conditions at an immigration detention center this southern california.

the facity is run by the geo group, a private company under a contract with u.s immigration and customs enforcement or i.c.e. and inspectors with the office of the inspector general p surprise visit there and found nooses made from bed sheets in 15 cells anda dees were being denied from timely adequateedical and dental care. the trump administration was blocked from ending a program that gave protected status to hundreds of thousands of imoigrants. ng me now to discuss it is our news reporter. and michael kaufmann, a aclu taff attorney. let's start with the ruli that f blocks trum denying protected status to immigrants. what happens now, are they still

subject to deportation? >> well the trump administration decided to end the protected status for immigrants from the four countries that you mngz mentioned. so thro first batch of them sudan were set to lose the permit to live and work in the u.s. in november. so it halts the deprotection from them. >> these are people who have en in the country for deckades. they have families and businesses here. >> and most of the people were from he wiel salvador. many have lived here for over 20 years. they own homes. they have u.s. citizen children, so, yes, a long time in the states. >> are they still subject to deportation in the future though? >> well, what the judgewa di a preliminary injunction, so the hold on the end of temporary

protective status stays for as he g as the judge decides case. >> okay. and michael, one of your colleagues at the ac represented the plaintiffs in this case. and in judge' ruling, he pointed to disparaging comments thatde pre trump made against immigrantsi. why did the judge think those comments were relevant in making his decisions? >> one of the claims we bght in the case is that the rescissionf this protection by the trump administration was motivated against the animous goodnig against brown and black people. along with other statements from other offhaials made clear the administration's efforts here were motivated in part b the rational imus, and clause.s the protection >> the trump administration has

not said they will appeal the decision as i understand it. let's move to the inspector general's report on the immigration facility. and that report contains a hos of alarming findings. what were the key problems that noted? >> well, inspectors with the department of homeland which oversees immigration authorities found serious violations to i.c.e.'s own standards for detention. they found a di ibled man a wheelchair who had been confined to his wheelchair for nine days being a i withou believe to sleep in a bed. -- without being able to sleep in a bed. and a blind manith limited english proficiency inolitary confinement and people having to wait weeks and months to see a doctor and longer s to a dentist. over a year. >> and nooses in cells? >> and nooses in cells. these are made from bed sheets

hanging from vents in the catls hey visited and that particularly alarming to the ct insprs, this is a facility that has a track record of seven ople would have tried to commit suicide there, since 2015. and one person who actually died because he hung hchself. >> el, you have mentioned the facility dozens of times going over the past three years. what did you hear from the detaai deees that you spoke with? >> the documents on this facility has been around a long time. there's been reports of seriodi l care, routinely denied necessary treatments and care, or having them delayed to th point that the conditions were sn significantly worsened. >> when you saw the inspector general's report, what was your reaction, michael? >> well, look, we have known about the problems for a long time, but i have to adt, i had my breath taken away by some of the allegations in the report. some of thero comments

officials at the facility disregardte a complete for detainees well being. fficial that an referred to people who attempted alicide as suicide failures. >> and there wao apparently remarks for people that needed floss, that we don't hav floss, so just use the string from your socks? that was a comment from dentists, referring to the fact that the deataidetainees did no the things to take care of themselves. the disregard of saying hey, use the string from your socks,m shows f top to bottom at the facility, they do not care about their health and well being. >> other reports in the past haveut pointed deficiencies, a has the aclu orthny organizations challenged the federal government on the systemic issues, michael? >> well, back in 2015, we along

with number otr advocacy groups filed a written complaint with i.c.e., outlining the concerns about subd stand medical care at the facility that led to tragic consequences, ere's been a number of deaths at the facility, as the oag u noted, red in part, due to sub standard care in the facility and after weid the complaint, other congressional members followed up with i.c.e. for more concerns. despite the problems, i.c.e. had taken no meaningful steps to address the medical care and the dental care at the facility. >> and geo is the company, the private company that operates e facility. you spoke with them, you contacted them. what did they have to say about findings? >> they say they take the findingshe seriously andare already taking steps to correct them. they areoing to comply with the full review that i.c.e. said will do of the facility, due to the report by the office of the

>> do you think that, that this will lead to any changes? because there have been other reports pointing out other reports in the past? >> that's right, it remains to be seen. and geo runs more than 100 facilities throughout the country. and we have heard from immigration attorneys, and others that there's problems at other facilities in california, antr throughout the co as well. >> and michael, there aref hundreds these detention centers in the u.s. what is going on at those facilities and how is the detention now different than from previous administrations because president obama, hisi astration also detained immigrants? >> absolutely. and a lot of theroblems date back, you know, five, six years and they are nothing new. we have seen conditions worsening under the trump admokistration. it's an administration that made it clear they will

make it as painfule as possi for people to go through the immigration system. they aree detaining m people than ever before, and in conditions like this that we have found. they are tearing families apart an separating children and parents and changing the rules to make it as difficult as p possible fople to fight their deportation cases. so, from top to bottom, the ministration is going to try to make detainees and immigrant lives as painful as possible. >> and who is held at this facility? are they political asylum applicants or people caught during i.c.e. raids? >> yeah, i think that is important to remember about all this. that most of the people held at the facilities like these, they are fighting their immigration, they are there, their immigration case is ongoing. it could be asylum seekers. it could be people fighting deportation. many many people do not have a criminal record and they are not suppose to be held in very n

punative ditions, but the report makes it, gives us a very detailed inside look at what may be going on in there. >> andmi ael, you have met with some undocumented immigrants who gave up their cases to live legally in the u.s. even some with strong cases, why did that >> absolutely. i have had clients who have told me that they can't beardo stay iention for the months and years itakes to fight their cases, and give up winnable cases because of the terrible circumstances under which they are detained. and a bigger question we should be asking, why are we detaing the people in places like this. this is a civil detention system. eople are not being held because they are being punished for something they did wrong. they are simply being held so that they will b show up for their immigration court hearings. and yet, with he know the federal government has available

to it, other mechanisms in ensuring that they show up, by lacing them on supervise or putting them on ankle bracelets or other conditions of release, and so, why are we keeping people lobbed up when the government is -- people locked up when the government has equally good ways to ensure their court appearance. >> thank you very much and also, thanks to our. reporter >> thank you. >> thank you. >> turning now to something lighter scott dicdickers is the founder of "the onion," it has never shied t away fromking jabs at public figures. and now, he is aiming his wit at elon musk,n a new book, "welcome to the future, which is mine,no musk is k to be the out spoken ceo of a tesla space-x, now scott is with us in the studio, nice to have you. >> nice to be here. >> there's a lot of tech giants

you could have chosen for the k. bo why elon musk? >> he is the funniest and the weirdest and the mst postpone ima -- the most public image. a lot of them hide in their billion dollar lairs. he is out there, he is tweeting and doing stuff. figure, you know, if you are the public sphere, you will get mocked a but.n >>our book, you include a number of what you call inspirational quotes from elon usk, and one of them is, the key to yourself, what is the most ludicro ludicrous, most futile thing i can do and make it happen. you don't like any of his ideas? >> oh, no, i thinkasis idre cool. on some level, you have know that you satyri, and youave to find them ridiculous. ift's too mean spirited, it's not funny. >> have you heard from hi

>> no, but he has been poaching writers from the oni to create a secret comedy enterprise or something. i know a lot of the people who he has poached. and i can see, like the project, what is going on?nc radio sil. >> he is writing a book about you. everyone knows about me. he is shovelinghem to his private island, and he will hunt them for sport. >> first, he will shoot them there in a -- >> or maybe he will take them to a private planet and human hunting -- a human hunting ground there. where he and other billionaire li trump sons for example, can hunt the most dangerous game. >> i think you have a sequel in the making,ou poke fun at mark uckerberg, you book has a foreword for him. if you par take in the book, you must quote, give me all of your personal information. it's kind of a funny line, until you think knabout, you, the

day that breach they had, affecting 50 million users. sdpr yea sd >> yeah, so many times you think it's absurd and then something in realife happens and it's not as absurd after all. it's app greattunity to make fun of elon musk and all of the tech billionaire scelebrity is what they have become. we made fun of basos, and richard branson gets a couple of hits. it's fun. >> do you think big tech is a big mono culturenow? >> i don't know much about it. i don't live here and i don't know, y know, anymore than, a common width westerner would knowt about -- common midwesterner would know about it. it strikes me as amusing and people living on the cusp of the future and wanting to make the future basically, with their inventions and with their money and that is just fascinating. to >> and aside from tech, we live

int politically turbul times right now, does it make it easier? you have noa shoe of targets now days. >> that is a hard question. you are questioning me more than the fbi questioned brett kavanaugh. i like beer. i just like beer. let's be fair. just treat me fairly. i like rubbing up against people. so, no. its easy. always. because there's always terrible people. there's always awful things going in the trld. a point is to point it out with humor. and sometimes it seems like things are more crazy and absurd, i think that is just y, real surface like a, you no, underneath humans are going to be pretty awful to each

other, so there's going to be plenty to talk about. and you sknow, what i worse, is when things are so absurd that what you write just comes true all the time. you think you ame writing ing crazy and absurd, and then it comes true in real life. i don't know, it's the gold standard for me when it happens. >> you have always written that good satyr afflicts the comfortable and comforts the afflicted. how do you decide who or wha to target? >> if you go after an oppressed group or someone down and out, it's not funny. nobody wants to see that. if you go after authority figures orionaires or whatever. everyone wants to see them brought down a peg. yeah, it's pretty simple and a lot of times stuff i have done, especially stuff for "the onion" has been perceived as edgy and inappropriate or whatever. and that is when, you kn, you may get close to seeming like you are making fun of the wrong whtarget or tever. but the sub text is always going after the right target

hopefully, like if you do it right. >> something where there's a true injustice and something is legitimately wrong. >> i'm a good guy. >> are you? >> no. i'm terrible. >> well, what is the difference between humor and satyr? >> another great questi. , humor is just funny. like, try ght to l videos, aunt slipping and falling in the backyard, everyone loves that or a funny piece by dave berry about how i cannot believe i'm 50. i hate taking out of the trash. that's humor. it's fun. you know, it's odod and it's jokes. satyr is when you find something wrong wh humanity or the world, some kind of injustice and youoint it outhrough humor. there's a secret nugget. nobody wants to be preached nobody wants to be told what is wrong with them.

but they all want jokes. so the jokes are the ho the spoon and the satyr, is the sub text and it'sin the med they are getting with the honey. >> is your goal to create something that is more enrich are and lasting, when the injustice i so horrible, something that may be potentially healed? >> that's thether thing abo humor, it's an underrated coping chanism in times of tragedy. it's the thing that reminds us that we are human. when there's a tragic, we coert to lizard brain or whatever. so, yeah, i think it's super valuable. quickly, only thursday seconds left can -- only 30 seconds was there a moment or event thats was so dark you could not buildsatyr from it? >> no, there's almost a good target. that whole too soon thinur if arget is right, it's never too soon. when you are in a funeral and you start laughing and it feels inappropriate. again, it's like a natural healing mechanism that we all

have. so, i love pushing that boundary and trying to g that laugh out as soon asib po. >>h thanks so m for being here. >> you are welcome, great possible here. -- gre to be here. >> that will do it for us. thank you for joining us. ♪

♪[music] >> saving kavanaugh. senator susan dis throws her decisive vote behind president trump's supreme court i'm robert costa. welcome to "washington week." >> i will vote to confirm judge kavanaugh. >> a heated week in washington. the precarious supre court nomination of brett k tanaugh movedoward a final vote as the f.b.i. investigated allegations of sexual assault and misconduct, sparking a wider debate over power, politics, and gender. >> for goodness sakes! this is the united states of america! nobody ispo sd to be guilty until proven innocent. >> let them look back on this chapter as the shameful culmination of the scorched earth politics practiced by the hard right in america.

>> for democrats,