>> i will nominate judge brett kavanaugh... >> narrator: a supreme court face-off 30 years in the making... it is a system that has become toxic...c. >> when bork got taken down ty promised never to forget. >> it s raw politics. and it was war. >> narrator: and behind the scenes one powerful republrean senator. >> mitch mcconnell is a tactical genius. >> ...not giving a lifetime appointment, to this pnt, on the way out the door... >> unprecedented. >> democrats are outraged... >> narrator: tonight on frontline... >> we're living in the era of thmcconnell court. >> narrator: "supreme revenge." >> front is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. d by the corporation for

public broadcasting. major support is provided by thd joand cathine t. macarthur foundation, committed to buitoing a more just, verda anpeaceful world. more informaon at macfound.org. the ford foundation: working with visionaries on the frontlines of soal change worldwide. at foroundation.org. additional support is providedfo by the aamdation, commitd to excellence in n,urnalism. the park foundat dedicated to heighteni publicub awareness of critical issues. the john and helen glessner family trust. fopporting trustworthy journalism that s an inspires.rm and by the frontline journalism fun with major support from jon and jo ann hagler. ♪ >> iis my honor and privilege to annoue that i will nominate

judge brett kavanaugh to the united states supre court. (applause) >> supreme court showdown as democrats are promis fight president trump... >> theattle is on-- supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh made the rounds... >> democrats have already come ouin total opposition .. >> you don't belong in this building as a justice. >> pay attenon to this, guys. pay attention. >> if he's confirmed, he'll be on the court for 25 to 30 years. that's six presidential tes. ♪ >> people on both sides of theck aisle very qui tookud positions on jge kavanaugh before they knew anything about him.m. (cameras clicking) >> i tell you, it was big drama. that room, there were more cameras, youould barely hearel for the clicking whenever the judge would turn his head or, or make a motion that they wanted to capture. (cameras clicking)

>> good morning. i welcome everyone to this confirmation hearing othe nomination of judge... >> ...brett kavanaugh... >> mr. char.man. >> ...to serve as associate justice... >> mr. chairman... >> grassley is, like, 13 words into his remarks when they start badging him. >> you are out... you are out of order, i'll proceed. >> we cannot possibly movefo ard, mr. chairman, wh this hearing... >> i extend a very warm welcome... w have not been given an... >> the democrats had agreed that weekend that they should do this. >> mr. chairman, i appeal to fe chair to recognize mys or one of my colleagues... (gavel banging) >> you're t of order. >> mr. chairman, i, i appeal to be recognized on your sense of deccy and integrity... >> mr. chairman, if, if we cannot be recognized, i move to adjourn. >> the american people... >> mr. chairman, i move toad urn. (protesters shouting) >> ... travesty of jusce. we will not go back.justice. canc brett kavanaugh, adjourn the hearing. >> we're here to say to be a

hero! be a hero... (inaudible)st (pros continue shouting) >> that's no way to conduct a hearing. i think that t process was not becoming of the united states senate. >> but this is the first confirmation hearing for a supreme court juste i've seen basically according to mob rule. >> this is shaping up to be the pocrisy hearing, and that's hard to do in the senate. (protesters shouting) >> narrator: it was only the first day of the kavanaugh hearings. >> it was the epitome of a totally broken system. if kennedyad been alive, or heflin, or specter h bn watching the kavanaugh hearings, we would have puked. >> a circus of protesters welcomed into the hearing room by the democratic party... >> narrator: it oked like a product of the deep divisions in washington today. >> destroying civility andviha

sowing... >> narrator: but it had been decades in the making. >> senators who disrupt supreme court hearings? they might as well be di the ence with the protesters. e>> narrator: and behind scenes, one powerful republican senator, majority leader mitch mcconnell. >> mcconnell knows the game plan. one of the reasons he's as good at his job as it is is becauseau he can play his own hand at cards and he can also play his opponent's hand at catds. he knows exactly what they're trying to do. >> narrator: out-maneuvering democrats, confirming conservative judges we mcconnl's specialties. brett kavanaugh would be h crowning achievement. (camera clicks) >> it's moving the court to a really very, very conservative court. that's mcconne's dream drom h the tiwas first in the senate, and maybe his dream when he went into litics. >> this is going to be a rough battle on catol hill... >> narrator: mitch mcconnell's determination to transform the supreme court had been his life's work. >> ...the dismay of several

senatorsnau.s. supreme courtup nominee clarence thomas managed to... >> potentially ensuring a conservative majority fory decadefo.. hr >> narrator:gh bruising confirmation battles... >> ...democrats to keep an open mind about kavanaugh... uggle overr: a s ideology and power... >> ...white house has been packaging clarence thomas like a political candidate... >> ...expected to be one of the most contentious confirmation hearings in memory... narrator: ignited by a devastating defeat... >> ...rejecting the nomination of judge bork... >> ...judge bork, the long pblic ordeal... >> narrator: andmise to retaliate. >> the administration is marshaling all its resources for what may be the lastreat idlogical battle of the reagan presidency... >> ...of what could be one the great supreme court nomination fights of the century...ra >> nr: it started at the reagan white house. >> ...conservative judge rober bork...>> ome friends of mine from the white house counsel's officeca lled me and said, "it's happening now." so i jumped in a cab and came running over and managed to get through security and into ae white house. it's very exciting, it wasl, wonder was, uh, uh... very pud of him. to see that.of, kind of moving

>> it is with great pleasure and deep respect f his extraordinary abilities that i today announce my intention to nominate united states court of appealjudge robert h. rk to be an associate justice of the sup sme court >> i thought, "well, this man is an ideal person to be on the supreme court." >> judge bork, widely regarded as t most prominent and intellectually powerful advocate of judicial restraint... >> bork was sort of the hallmara of uonservative legal thought. this was going to dramatically chan the crt it was going to change it in a far more conservative direction. >> narrator: reagan had already successfully appointed conservatives to a court he considered tooiberal: sandra day o'connor, william rehnquist elevated to chief justice, antonin scalia. and now, wh the retirement of lewis powell, reagan could secure conservative control of the court. >> so this was an opportunity to reotly change the direction, just for the next four years,

but republicans were hoping for the next 40 years. >> narrator: reagan's attorney general made a phone call to he wanted to alert one powerful democratic senator. s >> senator kennedy got a note that attorney general meese was calling for him. and he stepped out of the hearing into a phone booth and took the cal and, and meese told him that it was going to be bork. >> narrator: kennedy headed for the senate chamber. to the libal senator from massachusetts, bork was a dire threat. >> everything that bork hadatwr ten and stood for meant that the cie l rights and affirmative ngtion push of the cheil rights movement was in . >> ...and the senator from massachusetts is recognid... >> narrator: it had only been a' hourince rea announcement. kennedy let the president and bork know they were in for a fight. >> mr. president, i oppose the

umination of robert bork to the supreme court, ande the senate ttereject it. >> a our staff said, "hey, g hear what kennedy is saying." so i went over. >> robert bork's america is a land in which women would be forced into back-alley abortions, blacks would sit at segregated lunch counters, rogue policeould break down citizens' doors in midnight raids. >> whoa, this sods a little er the top. i knew robert bork, he'd been a profsor of mine, and i liked the guy, but certainly my journalistic instinct was, "okay, the fight's on, the fat's in the fire. this is really goingal somethg." than this injustice. better i yield back the balance of myce time. >> when he finished, there wasju silence. i said, "what is all this (bleep)?ou what, what areoing?" he said, "just know that we'll

have to destroy him." >> and we we watchinatthis on tv as we were drking champagne in the counsel's office. add i said, "are you guys for this?" and they said, "oh, yeah, don't rrry about it." well, they werendy. nobody was ready. i don't thk they had any clue what was coming. (protesters shouting) >> narrator: what was coming was a full-on political assault led by liberal demrats, with protests, phone banks, and attack ads. >> so you're using every technique and every tool at your disposal. and we'd never seen that before. >> this is gregory pec please, urge your senators to vote against the bork nomination, because if robertse bork wins a on the supreme will be for life-- his life and yours. >> it was the first moment that you saw all-out war over a supre court nominee. it was the first example of the

modern era. destruction of the >> the name and future of robert bork tops the agenda in washington this morning.prs ident reagan's... >> and nowhere is the debate hotter than at the cfirmation hearings for supreme court nominee robert bork... >> this is a nbc news special report... >> nrator: the judiciarymm tee hearings, led by the democrats, were broadcast on national television. >> it is a momentous day in washington d.c.... >> judge robert bork began his battle for confirmation to thehe supreme courtoday. >> it was kind of tense. it was tense, it was tv lights-- very hot tv lights. there's a certain sense, when you're theamily member, that there's absolutely nothing you can do. >> narrator: it was a cast designed for classic television drama-- the attackers: biden, heflin, metzenbaum, leahy, and kennedy. >> judge bork looks at senatorna kennedy and r kennedy now recognizes him. >> i was glued to the television

like everybody else. i was as smitten by all the television tatrical drama that, that everybody else was. >> narrator: and there were thes defenders-- covative republicans simpson and grassley.ti >> so the qu was, "okay, how is this guy going to present himself? what'soing to be the drill?" >> ...many controversial statements he has made as a ofessor and a dge i've compiled... >> narrator: for five days they clashecl >> can you derive a right to an abortion from the constituti? >> narrator: they allenged bork's views on controversial issues. >> yesterday you said women ands blho know your record do fear you. >> it was epic.e i mean, they wscussing very serious things. >> do we have a constitutional right to speak reckl >> busing and... >> ...were made in busing...or >>..law and der, privacy... >> would we allothe police to search the sacred presancts of... >> ...abortion rights... >> .the human rights bill, which would haic changed roe against wade... >> .rights to determine all kinds of personal aunomyto >> you do t believe that there

is general right of privacy that is inhe constitution? >> not one derived in that... >> narrator: bors advisers told him to be succinct, not lecture thsenators. >> i'll be hap to answer the i committee's questions. >> narrator: he dinot follow their instructions. >> o no, oh, no, senator. >> well, let me, let me pick. that strain >> all right, but i... but i'd li to get on the record right now that i don'tfe very free to disregard what congress decided, that the mere fact that a law is outrageous is not enough to make it unconstitutional. >> i didn't think it was going well. i just thought it was torture. you want to tap your dad on the it thiitway."say, "i would say um, can't do that. >> they have been hammering youh with thag for five days. >> narrator: near the end, in an effort to ve him, bork supporter wyoming senator alan simpson asked him one last question. >> why do you want to be an associate stice of the united states supreme court? >> narrator: many bebork's answer was the death knell of his nomination.

>> think it would be an intellectual feast.ea>> ome more bad news for supreme court nominee judge rort bork... >> ...by telling the sators the first attraction of the supreme court is the intellectual pleasure it. >> that seemed to be a big thing, "oh, intellectual fst." oh, well, what the hl, you know, but that's washington. >> and instead of saying, "i want to do jtice and show mercy and protect thrights of individuals," he says, "it'll be an iellectual feast." and most people said, "who the dinner?" huckles) >> regular order will be followed. the clerk will continue calling the roll. >> mr. bumpers, no. . burdick. >> narrator: bork's candor had become a liability...ff >> mr. c. >> narrator: ...for democrats and even some liberal republicans. it was a resounding defeat for bork and the conservative republicans, 42 to 58. >> mr. cranston, no. mr. kenny.

mr. kennedy, no. w >> the j to cut this guy down. get bork. it's now in the dictionaries of the united states and, and the world, it's called "getting borked." >> ...senator from kentucky. >> narrator: it was a searing exrience for first-term senator mitch mcconnell. enraged,e took to the senate floor. >> and so to rert bork, you happened to be the one who set the new senate standard that will be applied, in my judgment, by a majority of the senate prospectely. unfortunately, it got set over d yod body, so to speak, politically. >> narrator: mcconnell threatened that he and his republican colleagues would use mattered.tactics when it >> we're going to do it when we want to. and when we want to is going toi

be when the president, whoever he may be, sends up somebodyboe don't like. >> he'll be darned if he's going to allow them to just get away with taking sobody out without paying a price for it later on down the road. >> and if weon't like the philosophical lel ing of the nominee... >> narrator: it s a prise of revenge, a warning of what could happen if republicans took control. >> the danger ge that approachprof course... ♪ (crowd cheering and applauding) the sustained applause is from members of a new conservative legal group, the federalist society. it is r their hero, robert bork. >> when rk got taken down,ou know, their attitude, i think, became "never again." and this was something that they promisedever to forget, never

to forgive.so tely energizing. >> have known lessdly gatherings.. (audience laughs) >> the forces for bork who suffered that very painful defeat didn't giveidp, didn't go home to sulk. they went underground and built an infrastructure to create aal new y for our judicial politics. >> the battle's not over.be i intendn it, and i know you do, too. thank you. udience applauds) >> narrator: the federalist society was started as a student group in 1981, with bork at yale and antonin scalia at the unersity of chicago as the faculty adsers. ted olson spoke at thest convention. >> these were students that had been unhappy with the fact that they felt that their law school education was tilted so strongly to the left, that they were not

hearing oppong vws. >> narrator: abortion. busing. protections for criminals. gay rights. the federalist society founders ought the courts had gone too far to the left. >> for years, for decades, the left, as we call them, progressivesa lot in the democrat party, were getting a lot of their agenda passed through the courts. >> narrator: what began as a student group quickly grew, a job network, then a pool of prospective judges, s.pported by powerful conservative don >> the olin foundation in particular, the brad foundation. there's this handful, thiste clof far-right foundations th tons on o money in them. and they start to nurture the fedelist society. >> ...many members of the federalist society... n >>rator: during reagan's presidency, more than half the political appointees of the justice department had ties tome the federalist society, as did

all 12 assistant attorney generals. >> i have an acronym that i use when i think about the federalist society. what's the main idea, m-a-i-n,i- right? money, access, ideasand network. and they were very successful on all those fronts. (fife and drum music pd ying) >> narrator: within ten years, they had built 120 chapters, 3,000 members with a budget of $700,000. (music continues) >> thurgoomarshall, a man who ayedpl pivotal role in the redefinition of justice in >> narrator: when the nation's first african-ameran justice, thurgood marshall, retired, it was a pivotal moment for senator mitch mcconnl and the federalist socie, de opportunity to replace a liberac justice withservative. >> ...washington rumor mill has gone into overdrive this

morning...em >> narrator:rs of the federalist siety had gone to work searching for aominee, scouring lts of conservative lawyers, judges... one name stood out: clarence thomas, an african-american appeals court dge. >>ge..that i will nominate j clarence thomas to serve as associate justice of the united states supreme court. >> narrator: the white house was determined that clarence thomas was not going to be borked. >> the individualsn the georgege h.w. bush administrationstnew what was coming. they remembered vividly what had happened with robert work. >> clarencthomas could not have beeprepared for the mobof still photographers... ns narrator: the republi built a war room. they prepped thomas. >> senate heargs began bn the supreme court nomination of... >> narrator: they warned him it could get ug. >> clarence thomas, a black conservative oginally from... >> narrator: once again, the proceedings would be a television event, here in the t room whe bork hearings

captivated americans. >> ...see judge thomas now with the chairman of the judiciaryte commit.. >> narrator: the cast was famili-- biden, kennedy, simpson, metzenbaum, heflin. >> but we don't know howe's meing to comport himself... >> narrar: thi, the republicans had an advantage. it would be hard for the democrats toorcefully take on an african-american nominee. >> politically, they were in a very difficult position. it's very difficult to attack an african-american judge, and they wanted to befriend him, not attack him. (gavel banging) >> the hearing will come to order. good morning, judge. welcome to the bliing lights. it's a pleasure to, to have youo here. >> polls initially showed at most americans wanted clarence thomas on the supreme which caused some of the senatorspaicularly the democrats, to try to go easy

initially. >> heck, you're six, sen years younger than... i'm 48. how old are you, judge, 42, 43? >> well, i've aged over the last ten weeks, but, uh...s, (ae laughing) i'm 43m >> 43 years old. >> narrator: thomas' white house handlers, sitting behind him,wa ed for the democrats' questions. >> he >>s advised-- i know this to be very careful, to fues very m they're going to ask you about every controversial issue that has ever come before the supreme court. >> ...in the area of civil >> narrator: unlik, thomasto wouldn't be so candid. >> ...i don't remember or recall participating... >> he was like a steadk wall.ic he just wasn't going to answer anything, and, and he didn't. >> i think thato take a position would undermine my ability toe impal. >> say as little as possible. disavow any idea that you ever had. presenyourself as a blank slate, and that's the only way

to win. >>hat i am trying to do, senator, is to respond to your question and at e same time not offer a particular view on thisifficult issue of aborti... >> it was going to work. he was squeaking through. >> presidesi breh said he has no doubt clarence tmas will be confirmed... >> confirmation heings contin this morning in washington for clarence thomas... >> narrator: it had been eight days of hearings. the committee would soon vote. >> if arence thomas is confirmed to the supreme court, his nomination is certainly the most controversial since robert bo's... >> narrator: but national public radio reporter nina totenberg heard someing unusual. >> biden says something about, "people have tried to smear you with personal allegations." >> believe there are certa things that are not at issue at and that is his character, or characterization of his character. >> nrator: totenberg was surprised. no issues of character had beenr raisedg the hearings. >> and so i just started kickinm

tires, andaged to get uff. >> narrator: she discovered a secret-- allegations of sexual harassment by clarencearhomas. >> and pretty soon, i d anita hill's name, and i called her h. >> narrator: anil had worked with thomas at the equal employment oortunity commission. >> according to hill's affidavit, thomas talked about pornographic materials depicting individuals with large penises or brets involved in various sex acts. >>ere is a person who is in charge of protecting rights of women.wo he is also really violating the ws that he'shehere to enforce. >> it wajust a giant explosion. i, i... (laughs) i mean, i waed up to capitol hill... (makes explosion sound)h it was like ikom cloud. >> good evening.en ti begin tonight with the potential for pol explosion on capitol hl.

>> clarence thomas ran into trouble toy... >> questions are growing over charges of sexual harassment against thomas... >> narrator: as the story brokec senator mcconnell rushed to the senate floor. >> as soon as the president announced his choice, the spupial interest groups line their firing squad and vowed to bork him and to kill him politicall the process is being hijacked... >> narrator: mcconnell saw the legations against thom as yet another liberal takedown. >> mcconnell understands implication and coanequence better than any united states nator. when you vote on legislation in the house and sete, you're playing for the next election. wh you put in a judge, you're playing for the next generation. >> the sexual harassnt storm around clarence thomas is i intensifying. w>> narrator: now mcconneld watch as anita hill threatened to derl thomas' nomination.e >> tom, age is set for what everyone anticipates will be a brutal hearing. (gavel banging) >> professor, do you swear tole

tell the whoruth and noing but the truth, so help you god? >> do. >> thank you. >> it was incredibly compelling television. you know, she was gorgeous, composed, obviously projecting sincerity. >> on other ocsions, he referred to e size of os own penis as being largenithan normal and he also spoke on some occasions of the pleasures he had given to women... with oral sex. you could not take your eyes off this thing. you couldn't believe that people were accusing each other of these things. and, and the senathad probably never heard language like this before. >> narrator: the republicans had watched bork attacked for his ideology. now it was thomas's character u that wer assault, and they would go all out to defend their nominee. >> my purpose is to find outy orat happened. >> narrator: senrlen

specter led the charge. >> i find the references to the alleged sexual harassment not only unbievable, but preposterous. >> narrator: he cast doubt on her memory. >> how reliable is your testimsty on events thatrr oc eight, ten years ago... >> narr: he suggested she >> you took it to mean that judge thomas wanted to hdge sex with you, but in fact, he never did ask you to have sex, correct? >> no, he did noask me to have sex. >> but hat was an inference that you drew? >> yes, yes. >>he sod between clarence thomas andhe supreme court. they had to destroy her in order to get him con. if what she was saying was true, head lied under oath. >> without objection, it wilbe placed in the record.rd again, i thank your family, thank you. adjourned until 9:00.) (gavel ban >> all america had its television sets tuned to the u.s. senate... >> nothi>> like what happened today has ever happened

before... >> washington, dc, a city disgusted by the gutter politics played out on capitol hill.to >> but it wasn't over. inside the senate offices, clarence thomas prepared to answer anita hill's alilgatis.il senator alan simpson was in the room. >> we, we sat with thoma and i told him my theory of political life: an attack unanswered is anttack believed.ly not ha but agreed to. and he was teary. but i said, "you must have something to say." he said, "i do." he said, "i real s do have something to say." >> this is a circus. it's a national disgrace. and as far as i'm concerned, it is a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks who in any way deign to thi for themselves, to do for themselves, to haveen diffideas. >> i remember sitting behind a

senator and hearing that and just feeling like a bomb had gone off in the room. and it suckeall the oxygen out of the room. >> and it is a message thatou unlessowtow to an old order, this is what will happen to you. you will be lynched, destroyed, caricatured by a committee of the u.s., u.s. senate rather than hunfrom a tree. >> the question is on the of clarence thomasorgia.nation the clerk will call the roll. >> up to robert bork, there was a sense of civility to ts, that you could disagree withouti dest. robert bk chbeged that, and clarence thomas confirmed it. d wi the clarence thomas nomition, everybody was watching >> this vote, thas are 52 and the nays are 48.

the nomination of clence thomas of georgia is hereby confirmed. 43 years old.clarence thomas was he vowed to stay on the court for 43 more years. ♪ in the years after thomas' confirmation, mcconnell watcnntc as democratic and republican presidents tried to tip the balance of the court. >> president clintonod nominated ruth bader ginsburg... >> narrator: with republicans in the minority, bill clinton placed rh bader ginsnd stephen breyer on the bench. >> ...the president sent congress the name of his nominee >> narrato george w. bush, with a republican senate, put john roberts and samuel alito on the court. >> barack obama is projected to be e next... >> narrator: with democrats ck in control, barack obama appointed sonia sotomayor and elena kagan. >> still, many republicans aresh asking is the right person for the job... >> narrator: throught all, mcconnell had been cing to

por inside the senate. majority whip. republican leader. and nally, majority leader. wh >> there's nobods more focused on political conquest than he is. there may not have been anybody who has spent his entire life calculatin he knows more than everybody else. it was how much he could win and how much power he could achieve. >> narrator: mcconnell had real power, and still holding on toat rievance aut what happened to robert bork, he waited forhe right moment to use it. >> this is cnn breaking news... >> breaking news just in tus em at cnn. united states sucourt justice antonin scalia has died. >> scalia is found dead in s, in his bed one day. and what to do in this... in this moment of crisis becomes probably the defining moment of, of mitch mcconnell's career. >> ...and breaking news, u.s.ne supreme court justice antonin... narrato mcconnell immediately understoodtohe political implications of scalia's death d ar

>> the stakeenormous, because if you replace scalia. with a obama appointee, then you probably have five justices on thcourt that are going to move the court in a muchore progressive directio >> wit wthat vacancy, the quesquon is, will a republicanontrolled senate... >> narrator: president barack obama's replacement would give democrats a five-jus majority on the court. >> mitch mcconnell doesn't even wait for the day to end after antonin scalia dieto put out a statement saying, in effect, "we're not going to let president obama replace him." >> majority leader mitch mcconnell just releasing a statement. >> .this vacancy should not filled until we have a newha ident. >> "it doesn't matter if you name anybody or t, i'm... we're not considering anybody because it's too close to the election."." how shocking was that t yo >> it was amazing to me. i mean, they can say, "oh there's precedent." this was unprecedented.

>> four-and-a-half weeks after justice scalia died, today president obama... >> friendly crowd in the rose garden there as presidenobama nominates merrick garland... >> narrator: undeterard by ouconnell, president obama forge ahearg >> today, i am nominating chief judge merrick brian garland to join the supreme court.ud nce applauds) >> president obama was trying to nominate somebody who waomgoinge to be conf i thought, you know, how could members of the senate, with their bare faces hanging out, stop this very appealing nominee about whom, really, not >> thank youmr. presidprt. this is the greatest honor of my life... (voice breaking): her than lynn agreeing to marry me 28 years ago. distinguished education, distinguished background. this is the kind of pehat should be on the supreme court. and if it's obamd who's president, i was thrilled that

he was appointing someone like rrick garland. >> five republican senators have agreed to talk... >> a handful of republicans to break ranks, including some facing tough re-election bids... >> narrator: mcconnell had a mini-revolt on his hands. >> i met with merrick garland.ic i liked him.er he's an who would haved gotten 98 votes or 100 votes in the 1990s, just a few years before. >> ...blasting his party's leadership for stonewathe nomination process... >> to not even allow the judiciary committee to holita hearheg on his nomination just did not sit right with me. from capitol hill. joins us now senator, thanks for being heg . >> narrator: he fouge back, hitting the airwaves.in >> the right-of-center world do not want this vacancy filled by this president. we're not giving a lifetime tpointment to this presid on the way out the door, to change the supreme court for the xt 25 or 30 years. >> senator moran from kansas said he thought maybe therein should be a he and mcconnell just said to him,

"you keep talking like that, and i'm i'nning a primary opponentd against you," ran backed off. mcconnell was ruthless and brilliant. >> narrator: mcconnell kept the republicans in line. there would be no hearings, no votes, no consideration of judge garland. >> the one thing that i've learned about mitch is, if he says this is thway it is, that's the way it is. >> (chuces)i n't ever question mcconnell. i mean, i worked with him-- you don't want to mess with mcconnell. ra >> dem ats outraged by senate majory leader... >> narrator: mitch mcconnell han done what had never been done-- he'd blocked any consideration of a supreme cou nominee. >> ...said he didn't want torl waste d's time, quote, with unnecessary political routines... >> arrato in the yearsince bork, mcconnell's ally, the federalist society, had become one of the most porful forces in washington.

>> the scale and scope was fantastic. they get into more and more law schools until they have a chapter invery law school in the country. they have a lawyers' chapter in all the major cities. they're vetting all the nominees forederal judgeships. >> narrar: their revenue had grown to more than $26 million. there re now over 60,000 members. >> the numbers a enormous. the money is enormous. and every important conservative jurist is a member, all the conservative members of the supremcourt and the re he courts on down thron h america. >> narrator: but in 2016, as mcconnell blocked merrick garland, the federalist society and the republicans had a problem. >> w>>are led by very, very stupid people. >> narrator: they were worried about the republican presidential nominee, donald trum >> drain the swamp! drain the swamp! tr >> but donalp came out of

nowhere to win t primary. he beat me and everybody else. but he was not a r aublican in the sense that most of us understand the word to be. bottom line, his judicial philosophy, what he saw to be a conservative judge, was unknown. >> narrator: mccnell had a plan. he knew a lawyer, don mcgahn, who was inwhhe federalistci y and worked for the trump campaign.ai yes.e's known don r and they had a mutual trust. they understand where each other are on issues that they are extremely concerned about. >> narrator: they told trump that pmising to appoint federast judges would help him win over conservatives. leader mcconnell asked the president at that point, and i think don mcgahn was part of those nversations, to begin tting out a list that he would make public. (horn honks)>> narrator: candidate trump liked the idea of a st. he attended a meetg with the ads of the federalist society and the conservative herite foundation.

>> he was very open about wh he wanted to do. anhe sd he wanted a list. he said, "can anyone get one?"se and just rmy hand. "yes, sir."d aid, "can you have it by thursday?" we got the president a list of's judges, and thhe federalist society's business.oc >> he outsourced this, essentially, to these two organization he had no un hrstanding of who these people were. but when presented with it and help you politically, this willl shore up your base," he said,e "we got to do it." >> a lot of peop are, like, a little bit borried about which judges. justices of the unt a list of states supreme court that i will appoint from the list. >> that tst, that was a massive seller, which is, hey, you may haterump, you may not trust him, but it's got to be this n. and i don't think he'd be presidt without that list. >> narrator: mcconnell had helped trump get elected and he'd held open scalia's seat,

paving theayor the nomination of federalist society favorite neil gorsrih. opportunity. later, another >> ...monumental moment...nu >> narrator: veteran justice anthony kennedy unexpe regned. >> kennedy really was the middle of the court. so it's, it's a really serious moment, the st serious mom mt really, since even befe bork. >> narrato mitch mcconnellta understood thes. kennedy's replacement could lock up conservative control of the court. >> president trump's pick is in for the next supreme court nominee... >> brett kavanaugh to replace retiring...to >> nar mcconnell, trump, and the federalist society ain swung into action.no the president nated judge oiett kavanaugh, who had jd the federalist society at yale law school.>> avanaugh is the perfect mcconnell nominee. he's very conservativen

economic issues, on executive wer issues. he's the perfect blending of establishment and sort of red-state-based politics.gi (gavel b) >> narrator: at the confirmation hearin, the democrats immediately put up a fight. >> mr. chairman, i'd like to be recognized to ask a question. >> mr. chairman, it's a pending motion... >> if we don't even kn what the rules are, how can we... >> i'd like to respond to... >> mr. chairman... >> mr. chairman, we waor more than a year with a vacancy on the supreme cou. the treatment was shabby of merrick rrrland, president obama's nominee... >> democrats are read about garland that happened inec 2016, veryt history. >> people see through this. >> republicans are sll mad about bork. >> to my friends on the other side, you can't lose the election and pick jues. if you want to pick judges, you better win.

>> this stuff is now intensely polarized and super-partisan. s avel banging) >> narrator: ande republican-led hearings got under way, brett kavanaugh would follow the clance thomas playbook. >> i can't give you an answeon at hypotheticaquestion. senator, that sounds like a hypothetical, i... >> narrator: he wo hdn't engage. >> ...that's the hypothetical that you're asking me... senator, i think that hypothetical that you're asking is... ...a hypothetical that, uh, 'rabout any statutthat y asking me.ki >> narrator: from his office, mcconnell watched the heings. it all seemed to be going smoothly. >> what you fear iarthe known. you don't know what you don't know. and if there is mething out there, some bombshell to drop, or some way of captivating media attention, then u could have problems.in >> droa bombell exactly one week before the committee is set to vote... >> and then you begin to see the to anonymous allegations that had been lodged againsbrett kavanaugh about his conduct.ka

>> an allegation from his... >> narrato the allegation-- sexual assault. >> word of her leaks out without her name at first, and then when there' the news breaks, just ke with anita hill, her name is lked. >> her name is christine blasey ford. blasey ford.'s name is christine >> christine blasey ford... >>tarrator: mcconnell would back dckn from the coming fight. >> i think he was furious. you know, this was the torpedo that he dreaded. >> christine blasey rd described kavanaugh as stumbling drk...wa narrator: hworried about losing the senate in the upming midterms. he had to get kavanaugh confird fast. >>ou know, thow, words of mcconnell, "you will rue the day," back in the bork fht? those equally applied to him if he lost hhe kavanaugh fight, because the mocrats, if they controlled the senate after this elec on, he wou wue the day of what he'd done in garland.

>> narrator: mcconnell lnched a counteunttack.e >>enmocrats and their allies are arying to destroy a man's personal and professional lifen the basis of decades-o allegations... >> nartor: bork. thomas. nokavanaugh.fi tht for the court had become personal. mcconnell blamed the democrats. >> democrats wouldn't let a few inconvenient things get between them and a good smear. it's despicable. >> he's never faced a fight like this. he nev faced one where he could go, go down like this. and it was right there on the zor'edge. ♪ >> just moments away now from the historic testimony of christine blasey ford before the senate. >> dr. ford has arrived here on capitol hill to testify in >> it will certainly be an historic day on capitol hill.

>> remember, nobody had seen her and nobody had heard from her. not even the senators. so it was a total surprise. >> (ice shaking): i am here day not because i want to be. i am here because i believe it is my cic duty to tell you h whpened to me while brettbr kavanaugh and i re in high school. >> when you realized how genuinely terrified she was to be there, it shocked a lot of the older, longer-servg senators, that once again, this issue was being broughintopu thic sphere. >> (voice breaking): i believed he was going to rape me. i tried to yell for help. when i did, brett put his hand yelling.uth to stop me from this is what terrified me the most, and has had the most lastinlaimpact on my life. it was hard for me to breathe, and i thought that brett was acdently going to kill me. i

was, of course, a larger-than-life moment. christine asey ford had to go before the eyes of a nation and the worl >> i thought she was enormously courageous, enormously persuasive. >> she was very polite and just looked dead honest. >> it was a huge burden on her to come forwd. >> it was impossible not to be she was compelling.stimony. >> narrator: some of the senators that day had also bn at the clarence thomas hearings. paick leahy was one. >> when dr. ford testified, i asked her, "what do youu rememb of that incident?" and i think everybody in that hearing remembers her answer. >> the laughter, tgh-- the uproarious laughter between the tw and they're having fun my expense.i

s, you know, underneath one of them while the two laughed, two friends having a really good time with one another. narrator: it looked bad for brett kavanaugh and the >> this is over, ts devastating. >> i believe those who wanted to believe her did. >> the mood among repuicans on the hill was one of gloom. >> we had a meeting right after her testimony. and i uld tell that my colleagues were moved and they wereaying, you know, "he'd " better be good. he'd better have an answer, because she sounds very credible >> the worst-case scenario for kavanaugh and his defenders was what just transpired.ed >> narrator: at the white house, the president of the united states had also been watching. >> both the president and leader onmcconnell found her testto be incredibly compelling. >> i was in the white house the entire day, including watching

the testimony of both ford and kavanaugh. the president watched it live. and the president and i haveof both said, eacs have said publicly, she gave, she rendered compelling testimony. narrator: the president picked up the phone. on the oer end-- mitch mcconnell. >> both of them are f testing each other a little bit. "where are you at on this?" you know, "how strong are you?" ysand mcconnell basically o the president, "yodon't worry about me. i'm strong as mule piss." that's his quote. "i'm strong as mule piss." in other words, 's not going to let up, he's not going to givep, he's not going to surrender. ♪ >>o say that everything th could have gone wrong for brett kavanaugh has is an understatement. >> the impetus is on judge kavanaugh. they did dot have the votes in the senate... >> do not underestimate the importancef cee next few hours for brett kanaugh.na me >> at sooint, if you poke a stick and you torment that person and you attack that person, at some point, that

individual's going to fight back. unequivocally deny andal alletion against me by dr. ford. i never had any sexual orou physical eer of any kind with dr. ford. >> it was like watchg clarence thomas all over again. this was another version of theh "hh-tech lg." >> this confirmation process has become a nional disgrace. but you have replaced advice and ent th search stroy. co >> narrator: clarence thomas had invoked race.. aw brett kavanaugh launch partisan attack on the wemocrs. >> this whole tw effort has been a calculated andan orchestrated political hit fueled with apparent pent-up angeabout president trump, revenge on behalf of the clintonsand millio of llars in mon from outsideop le-winsition groups. >> it has become this completely

politicized drama. he took the allegations awayfr christine blasey ford and turned it intoin huge fight between democrats and republicans. he's tryinto rally all the republicans to his side. >> narrator: kavanaugh had rcome a combatant in the between republicans and democrats. ct rhat yous ref are? does this yearbook reflectour focus on... >> narrator: they squared off over his high school yearboo >> that's easy, yes or no, you don't have to filibuster... >> narrator: and hisndrinking. >> oh, no, no, no, no, no, you got this up, i'm going to, i'm gog to talk about my high school.... no, no, i'm going to talk... >> let him answer! >>'m going to talk about m high school record if you're going to sit here and mock me. >> did it relate to alcohol? you haven't answered that. >> i like beer, i like beer. i don't know if you do... do you like beer, senator? >> the quote that jumped out at me w, "brett was a sloppy drunk, and i know because i drank with him." >> thajuly 1 reference toef "skis," "went over for skis," and after tobin correct?ct

>> sir, sir, i just need a yes or no-- that, "brewskis," right? >> well, i need to elain context. >>ou just said, sir, that you drank on weekdays. that's all i was looking for. >> you're saying there's never y been a case where you drank so much that you didn't rememberne what hapthe nit before or part of what happened. >> it's, you're asking about, yeah, blackout, i don't know, have you? >> could you answer the question, judge? i just. so, you... that's not happen. is that your answer? >> yeah, and i'm curious if you ihave. >> i have no drinking problem,e. ju >> yeah, nor do i. >> okay, thank you. >> senator graham. >> narrator: on the republican side, lindsey graham led the fight. >> this is the most unethical sham since i've been in litics. boy, you all want power. god, i hope you never get it. i hope the american people can see through th sham. god, i hate to say it because these have been my friends fbut tell you, when it comes fair process?re looking for a

you came to the wrong town at the wrong time, my friend.is ths not a job interview. this is hell. i this... >> this is going to stroy the ability of good peop to me forward because of this crap.h your hhool yearbook! >> it serves to rall republicanand make it an us- versushem kind of issue. and if it's an us-versus-them kind of issue,hen you havehe majority, that's what you want. >> the crk will call the roll. r >> mr. cruz. mrs. ernst. mr. flake. mr. gardner. ms. duckworth. >> narrator: with mcconnell's republicans almo entirely in line... >> mr. toomey. m >> narrator: brett kavanaugh was confirmed. >> mr. udall. >> our friends in the united

states senate, on thides, created at environment. t mr. warner. >> and now we ha ve wiow it. >> ms. warren. >> and the proem is, we can't. >> mr. whitehouse. >> and the biggest tragedy is that we are now hopelessly divided on the last thing that used to ite us, which is our judial system. now there's nothing that pulls us together. nothing. >> narrator: kanaugh, gorsuch, thomas, alito, roberts-- the tty federalist socnd mitch mcconnell now dominate the sueme court. >> you talk about the warren court or the burger court or thr roberts we're living in the era of the mcconnell court now because he did what he did. and it very well could be the mcconnell court foseveral decades to come. >> clarence thomas d want to serve on the high court anymore.or >> clarence thomas comforiable re now, and there's a couple of others...

>> surgeons today removed two malignant noles from supremefrfr court justice ruth bruer ginsburg's left lung. >> the 85 year old is said to have fracturethree ribs..... >> rbg's health 'ss become the subject of much attention in recent years... >> go to pbs.org/frontline for frontline's late transparency project. explore dozens the of interviews in "supreme renge." >> imean i walked up to capitol hill... (mimics explosion)s >> it eepitome of a totallybroken system. >> i'm ing to submit a li of justices, potential... >> and idon't think he'dbe president without thatlist. >> connect to the frontline commmmy on facebook and twitter, and watch anytimeat on the pbs video app or pbs.org/frontline. ar >> nrar: behind the crisis on the border... >> stephen mler and sessions and myself had a dinner in this very room. >> narrato ...lie years of planning.ni >> the audaciousness of what thewere plotting... >> they literally put children .n cag

>> stephen miller believes any time the country is focused on immigration, the president is winning. >> narrato the three men behind zero tolerance. >> they use thusr power over immigration in ways we have not seen for a goreration. >> frontline is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. and by the corporation for public broadcasting. major support is provided by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, mmitted to blding a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more informatinf at macfound.org. the ford fouation: working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide.nd at fordfion.org. additional support is provided by the abrams foundation, committed to excelnce in journalism. the park foundation, dedicated to heightening publics awarof critical issues. the john and helen glessner family trust supporting trustworthy journasm that informs and

inspires. and by the frontline journalism fund, with major support from jon andh joler. captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> for more on thiother "frontline" programs, visit our website at pbs.org/frontline. ♪ to order "frontline's" "supreme revenge" on dvd visit shoppbs, or call 1-800-play-pbs. this program is also available on amazoprime video. ♪

♪ you're watchg pbs. ♪ ♪ -you've said you'd favor middle-class tax cuts. -the front line is just up here. at's wherehe river... -she took me out to those wetlaets. -i think we're off to a great gtart. ♪

>> and our top story, the violent start to the new year in salinasanother shooting victim tonight >> a 28-year-old manas shot several times in the upper body. >> two shootings in salinas tonight. the most serious happened just before 7:00. >> snipers, helicopters, and a swat team all called in to try and catch the suspects.ma n: another shooting in salinas. it is the fifth in less than a week. man: two separate shootings in salinas in less than an hour and just miles apart. >> this park is kind of like the really dangerous place r, like, young people to hang around. usually, you know, every year, you get a couple of shootings that happen down there. >> you can see a body lyinge, thnd i'm a kid, and i'm

just walking out, and thera