jonathan la mere, maya wylie andary mel bur and i'll be back with you for tonight's broadcast of the 11th hour. remember, with this republican conference mighting on t conference -- meeting on the hill continues but "hard ball" with chris matthews begins now. >> it is a day of high drama a few blocks from here on capitol hill. over the course of nine hours, dr. christine blasey ford and judge brett kavanaugh provided real human drama with one person delivering the indictment and other defending his life long reputation which said was already destroyed. for the first time dr. ford spoke publicly about her accusation of sexual assault against kavanaugh. >> i am here today not because i want to be, i am terrified, i am here because i believe it is my civic duty to tell you what happened to me while brett kavanaugh and i were in high

school. >> well dr. ford detailed her private pain in front of a massive public audience. >> i don't have all of the answers and i don't remember as much as i would like to, but the details that -- about that night that bring me here today are the ones i will never forget. they have been seared into my memory and have haunted me episodically as an adult. >> when roughly four hours of testimony she shared in searing detail what she alleges happened one evening back in 1982. >> what is the strongest memory you have, strongest memory of the incident? something that you cannot forget? take whatever time you need. >> indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter. the uproarious laughter between the two and they're having fun

at my expense. >> well after a short recess, it was judge brett kavanaugh's turn to share his account. he launched into an impassioned defense directing his rage toward democrats and displaying sadness at the process. >> i was not at the party described by dr. ford. this confirmation process has become a national disgrace. the constitution gives the senate an important role in the confirmation process. but you have replaced advice and consent with search and destroy. i intend no ill will to dr. ford and her family. the other night ashley my daughter liza said their prayers and little liza all of ten years old -- said to ashley, we should pray for the woman.

it is a lot of wisdom from a 10-year-old. we mean no ill will. >> well it quickly dissolved into a -- evolved into a explosive partisan battle with lindsey graham of south carolina going after his democratic colleagues personally. >> what you want to go is destroy this guy's life, hold this seat open, and hope you win in 2020. you said that. not me. i would never do to them what you've done to this guy. this is the most unethical sham since i've been in politics. and if you really want to know the truth, you sure as hell wouldn't have done what you've done to this guy. are you a gang rapist? >> no. >> to my republican colleagues, if you vote no, you're legitimizing the most despicable

thing i have seen in my time in politics. i hope you're on the supreme court. that is exactly where you should be. and i hope that the american people will see through this charade. >> well when the hearing today concluded, the president trump tweeted judge kavanaugh showed america exactly why i nominated him. his testimony was powerful and honest and riveting. democrats search and destroy strategy is disgraceful. and this process has been a total sham and an effort to delay, obstruct and resist. the senate must vote. nbc news reports that all senate republicans will meet tonight in a conference later tonight sometime. that will be something. senator richard plume enthrall joins me now. you're an old prosecutor. you know how to judge a witness and why didn't you believe kavanaugh in his >> i refuse to discount and disbelieve dr. blasey ford who was so credible and powerful

today. not only in what she remembered, but what she frankly admitted that she couldn't remember. and her call for an fbi investigation, judge kavanaugh refused to do it, her presenting corroborating witnesses which judge kavanaugh lacks, her taking a polygraph, which judge kavanaugh has not done, all of them as a contest of credibility, plus the gaps in judge kavanaugh's account and the serious issues of credibility. his statements contradict known facts and evidence. and so that has led me really to believe her and not him. >> you know his testimony reminded me of clarence thomas. to this extent he seemed angriest not in his defense or denial but angriest at the

process. angry that some would bring up an old case like this 26 years ago. he doesn't say high-tech lynching the way clarence thomas did but he seemed to be indicting the committee, you and all of you guys, for the way this was held as he said, held to the last minute, this charge from dr. ford. >> these survivors came forward voluntarily. he wants to blame it on a vast left wing conspiracy, a cabal, which is the ultimate insult to these grave and courageous survivors of sexual assault. and really an insult to the community of survivors. they demonstrated in their sworn statements and dr. blasey ford demonstrated clearly and induce putablely today how credible they are, how deserving of respect. he demon strastrated how little respect he had for them. >> and by the end of your testimony, i thought everybody watching, i thought she was

compelling and genuine, authentic and likeable if that matters. but certainly authentic. by the end of the day, a few moments ago, i get a soens the republicans had regrouped and blown the trump with lindsey graham leading the charge and it looks like they will still push through with this. do you think they will tonight? >> nobody can predict what the republicans will decide as a group. but i hope that at least some of them look into their conscience and do the right thing. it will take some backbone and grit and gumption to stand up to donald trump, but we're all hearing from the survivors of assaults all across the country that dr. blasey ford has given them hope and inspiration and courage and fortitude and a vote for judge kavanaugh will really be devastating in the disregard and

disrespected demonstration and the kind of shame and silence that all too often causes sexual assault to be underreported. i hope my republican colleagues will stand up and speak out. >> well it is an amazing day. thank you for -- i haven't seen anything like this in watching politics for decades. a member of the senate judiciary committee. dr. forward recounted the incident today. let's watch that. >> i believed he was going to rape me. i tried to yell for help. when i did, brett put his hand ee over my mouth to stop me from yelling. this is what terrified me the most and had the most lasting impact on my life. it was hard for me to breathe and i thought that brett was accidently going to kill me. both brett and mark were drunkenly laughing during the attack. they seemed to be having a very

good time. mark seemed ambivalent at times urging brett on and at times telling him to stop. a couple of times i made eye contact with mark and thought he might try to help me, but he did not. >> so compelling. and joining me now is u.s. congress woman anna eshoo from california and jason johnson, politics from the root.com and shannon petty piece of bloomberg news and the white house constituent for them. congress woman, thank you, i've known you a long time and you're a great person. did you know, was this bad when she first came to you, this is about attempted rape and fear of being killed by this perp and what do you think of brett kavanaugh now? at the end of this day? >> well thank you, chris for having me on. i think that first of all i'm so proud of my constituent dr. ford. she offered compelling, honest,

really riveting testimony, but in such an honest, clear, plain way in a very soft voice. and when you compare this morning and her testimony with this afternoon, where there was anger and sniping at senators and -- really i think a belligerence on the part of judge kavanaugh, you know, in life you listen to quiet people, they have a quiet confidence and then you listen to someone that is yelling and shouting and talking over people. and i had a sense of what is this man trying to hide. so there was a -- a clear contrast between the two. and she said i'm here and i'm

terrified. when she said what she recalled most vividly to senator leahy, the laughter, laughing at me, i think that that -- for me that will remain with me always. and it's the exact story that she shared with me when she first came to meet with me and revealed what experience she had and talked about where she wanted the information to go to. >> just for the record, everything you heard today squared with everything she said when she first came to you. >> absolutely. absolutely. >> thank you. republicans while not attacking dr. ford questioned whether she's mistaken, a case of mistaken i.d. and asked about that during the hearing today. let's watch. >> dr. ford, i just conclude with this. you do remember what happened,

do you not? >> very much so. >> last night the republican staff of this committee released the media a timeline that shows that they've interviewed two people who claim they were the ones who actually assaulted you. i'm asking you to address this new defense of mistaken identity directly. dr. ford, with what degree of certainty do you believe brett kavanaugh assaulted you? >> 100%. >> cynthia, you're pro at this. i'm not. if i was sitting on a jury -- >> no one would put you on a jury. >> as a journalist, i've never been able to get on one because i would love to get on. this question of kavanaugh's defense, it doesn't seem to me like a real defense. he had this global defense. i never did anything -- but when asked about kbg a belligerent drunk which is the dr. jekyll and hyde and when he drinks too much he's a bad grie and

aggressive and may even be a criminal. he didn't like that question. he didn't really answer it. and my question is, he seemed more angry at the fact that this old stuff is being brought up than indignity that anyone would accuse -- i heard a guy defending his resume, i didn't hear a guy showing emotions that anybody would say he would behave like this. he seemed uncomfortable and seemed to be hedging. your thoughts. you're the expert. >> i had a couple of thoughts about him. first i thought he had a tantrum and showed that he doesn't have the temperament to be a supreme court justice and he also showed that his -- he can be an angry and belligerent person and -- >> yes. >> and it just felt like, that is what he's like and angry and belligerent when he's drunk. can you imagine if a woman came into the senate chamber and screamed and hollered at senators like that and interrupted them and was that rude? she would be taken out in a

straight jacket. because it is -- it is judge kavanaugh, he got away with it. i thought it was shocking. the other thing -- >> i don't think he got away with it. because you were watching. let's watch that so everybody knows what you are talking about. here is kavanaugh being combative with the democrats on the committee. >> and what you're saying, if i understand it, is that the allegations by dr. ford, miss ramirez and miss swetnick are wrong? >> that is -- that is emphatically what i'm saying. emphatically. the swetnick thing is a joke. that is a farce. >> would you like to say more about it? >> no. >> senator, let me take a step back and explain high school. i was number one in the class. >> i thought -- >> no, no, no -- >> i thought it was -- >> i'm going to talk about my high school -- no, no --

>> let him answer. >> i'm going to talk about my high school record if your going to sit here and mock me. >> well back to you, cynthia, how would you describe that public personality you just saw from the judge? cynthia? >> i would describe that as a person who does not have the temperament to be a supreme court judge -- justice. and additionally he really hurt his credibility by dancing around and trying to avoid responding to the question about an fbi investigation. and the way he would say, oh, they're just 302s or just this and that, we all know those of us in the law enforcement community and so does he that when the fbi would go to interview mark judge, that would be a critical interview and no such thing has occurred. and according to this victim mark judge was in the room. he is a critical witness. there is no excuse that he hasn't been called. and the way that judge was constantly trying to get away from responding to that damages his credibility beyond repair

for me. >> i know both sides are politicians. won't say democrats aren't being democrats tonight. but i want to ask this question, what is the rush? >> the rush is because -- >> they don't have a case for a rush. >> no. none at all. they just don't want more of the allegations to come out. >> so they want to stop the clock. >> they want to stop the clock and push this through as fast as they can. i found if you are a republican and hoping and praying that he wouldn't absolutely implode, you might feel slightly more comfortable after what you saw today. >> we just heard the senator flake is saying he doesn't know how he will vote. if they lose him and the two women it is over. or one of the women. >> that is what they're facing. and i don't know how they'll vote on this at end but i will say this, for your regular citizens, right, who were just catching this tonight because they haven't been watching it all day, they see a guy who is supposed to be on the supreme court yelling arguing and everything from high school was animal house and the story about

renate and nobody buys that. he soundedlike a terrible liar. >> i think the democrats were johnny one notes and they say fbi and i say beco has-- be coherent and i wonder why there wasn't more questioning of his belligerence and drinking and the gang rape and the colorful information, they didn't get into that and say was there a culture of this kind of behavior, did you go to a so-called party where this behavior was going on. >> well i think the committee hearings often turn to the debate over process and the talking past each other and insider conversation about an fbi investigation when people don't care about that. they are interested in this person's character. but i think the democrats -- it seemed got a little nervous about him looking like the victim. i think he's following a playbook that is often followed when people are accused either rightfully or wrongfully of deny, attack, and become the victim. we saw it with clarence thomas, we saw it with bill clinton and

something that trump mimics all of the time. so if he -- >> you're right. >> if he came off looking like a victim and they came off attacking this man with his daughter and his wife and his mom in the front row, how is that going to make them look -- >> what did you think of lindsey graham's call to war. it was personal with this guy. he was accusing all of the democrats of being bad guys, bad women, the whole thing. >> and then he's like i've been ambushed. i didn't buy that. and i thought it was over the top just like his crying at the beginning. >> but it was personal. why did he do it? what is the emotion and motive. >> one, he wanted to make sure he's in there with donald trump and defending what his boss wants and then, two, the only way this could work is if you try to make it more personal than dr. ford. >> and the white house clearly liked it. i don't know if he was performing to an audience of one but sarah sanders tweeted about it and so did donald trump jr. >> i think this is invasion of the body snatchers. this is frightening. they are so afraid of the guy that controlled 90% of republican voters.

>> and with mccain gone there is a change of tone. >> change of reality. when he was asked about drinking habits, let's watch. >> so let me, if i can, return to a line of questioning my colleague was on before. which was about whether you've ever gotten aggressive while drinking or forgotten an evening after drinking. >> those are two different questions. i've already answered the second one. as to the first, i think the answer to that is basically no. i don't know what you mean by that. like -- what are you talking about? >> well -- >> i don't mean it that way. but no is the basic answer unless you're talking about something where -- that i'm not aware of that you're going to ask about. >> here we go. cynthia, you're the expert and it looked like that -- i said this before, that's the question he didn't like and everybody knows what a bad drunk is. anybody who has been out on a social case and you bump into people who don't know how to hold their booze and they don't

get happen kwi and friendly and tell funny jokes, they get mean. and he knows what that meant and he didn't want the question because he didn't want the answer. >> right. he does know and he knows that his roommate from college said he was a mean drunk. >> because he said he didn't like his roommate from freshman year. >> he didn't. >> in all fairness, you don't get to pick your freshman year roommate. >> i loved my freshman year roommate. >> you're lucky. but go ahead. >> anyway, it is an interesting question about whether or not he could have been so drunk and he and his buddy were so drunk that they -- this incident was of so little moment to them that even though she remembers it for all time, he doesn't even remember it. and that seems to me to be sort of where this incident probably happened. that they were so drunk, they don't remember. >> but he remembers not remembering. >> he doesn't know what date is.

>> that is my problem. i'm going back to everybody here because i'll start with you, you're the expert, global denial. he denied every drinking too much to excess and never being blackening out and never being forgetful of something. never being in a party the whole junior year. junior is doing nothing but jock stuff and going to stuff with his father -- >> and going to church. >> and he denied going out that whole summer. >> that is right. >> it is a global defense -- >> he also said constantly that the four witnesses back him up. they do not. that is just is not true. two people -- two of the women who were downstairs don't have any memory of this either way and why would they, because they were not upstairs when it happened. and mark judge is the third person and he was in the room and is a co-perp, why would he say he remembered it. so he constantly repeated that as if as some point we're going to be stupid to believe it. he also went on and own about his year book but it was so innocent and we love this woman whose name begins with r. who i refuse to say her name because

it is so on knox j-- obnoxious the way he treated her and he expects us to believe that and he thinks we're dumb and if he said it we'll agree. it is insulting that he does that and that the republicans don't have any desire to find out the truth and to have this guy mark judge interviewed. it is critical to deciding whether or not this guy should be on the supreme court. and here is what is going to happen. at some point mark judge cannot continue to hideout at the beach with his comic books. at some point someone will find out what happened. and if this guy is on the supreme court and he said something else, he's injured the supreme court in a huge way. the whole supreme court is being injured here by this. it is sort of the last institution that anybody had any respect for and now it's going to be dragged through the mud. thank you. brett kavanaugh. >> the democrats want to take all of the time they could get to show this guy's deficiency and the republicans want to have a quick call tomorrow as fast as they could get one. in defending himself from the

allegations, judge kavanaugh blamed democrats saying the events of the last couple of weeks represent revenge on behalf of the clintons among other things. let's listen. >> this whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit fueled with apparently pent up anger about president trump and the 2016 election, fear that has been unfairly stoked about my judicial record, revenge on behalf of the clintons and millions of dollars in money from outside left-wing opposition groups. this is a circus. >> well as a partisan awfully combative display but when it came to hear from the most crucial republican, senator flake, he did not tip his hand as to how he might vote when it comes to it. let's watch him. >> i would just urge my colleagues to recognize that in

the end we are 21 very imperfect senators trying to do our best to provide advice and consent and in the end there is likely to be as much doubt as certainty going out of this room today. and that as we make decisions going forward, i hope that people will recognize that and in the rhetoric we use and the language that we use going forward, that we'll recognize that, that there is doubt, we'll never move beyond that. and just have a little humility on that front. so thank you. >> well joining us now is the former democratic senator from california barbara boxer. senator, thank you for coming on tonight. how did you see it today? what do you think the republicans are -- they were definitely backs against the wall around 3:00 this afternoon and then they seemed to get some pepped up because lindsey graham did the call to arms and they felt righteouslyin dig -- indignant and where do you see this going tomorrow morning. >> let me say i think it was

exhausting for everybody and especially for women who have had this experience and for women who have had relationships with very angry men. and i think -- i've listened to your commentary, i think you're right. all of a sudden we see a man transformed from a choir boy who up until now has said after hours in front of the committee he lived this very perfect life, all of a sudden his anger is triggered and what we saw today is someone who you could now see attacking a woman. it is very frightening. and i think your guest who was so good and said temperament -- temper. is so important for who you put on the court. he -- he not only showed the personality transformation. what do i think it will happen.

we all know it is a few republicans that hold this decision on their shoulders. i don't know anyone who didn't think that dr. ford was credible. and when she said i am 100% sure who this was, i believe her. it's up to them. do they believe her? and the last point i'll make is if you are undecided, there is only one way to know and that is to get an independent fbi background check and frankly anyone who doesn't support that doesn't want to get to the truth and that includes judge kavanaugh. >> i agree. senator, the idea of doubt, we just heard it from jeff flake, who is a guy who is teetering here. he said he's teetering. and he is certainly no friend of this president or perhaps his nominees. but i guess what is your experience with the fbi? will they kpleclean it up and g after this guy mark judge -- hanging out at the rehoboth or dewey beach reading comic books

and i want to hear under oath in a hearing from the other people that were there. because something happened and it was probably the judge who was the person who did it. i just want to have some corroborating evidence to back up what was a very compelling witness. but only one witness. and it was certainly the victim. but i -- i don't understand a party that nobody went to. i don't know this world. don't they have friends around them or are they -- or is this whole social crowd keeping a secret. i don't get it. i know it is a while ago but those people don't leave chevy chase and they grew up and here stay generations. i know the world and what we're talking about here. your thoughts. >> chris, you and i did not grow up in privilege. i grew up in the inner city of brooklyn, new york. and this kind of a world is pretty alien to me but here is a guy who was supposedly in the room where it happened hiding out in a far away room on the

beach and we know that he's in hiding. and you ask me about the fbi. when i was a united states senator i had the privilege 24 years to recommend a number of people for judgeships, not supreme court, but the lower courts. the fbi always did a background check. and, guess what, a couple of times they learned a couple of things and they had to go way back and they came to me and said, uh-huh. so they're the ones who can do this. they don't have any prejudice, they're not political. they will go back and find the truth. and i will tell you, i know people that criticize my democratic colleagues but they made that point. and that is the only point that you can make when you're faced with this anger. mixed with crying. i've never seen it. it was like clarence thomas plus crying. it was bizarre. >> it was emotional. senator, we miss you. i think you probably miss this

but thank you so much. you're replacement is doing well. >> i'm happy to have kamala there. >> thank you so much. former senator barbara boxer of california. cynthia, great expertise for us benefitting from it tonight from your prosecutor experience. shannon petty, and jason our colleague here. up next, more on how today's contentious hearing was received at the white house. although, i don't know if i believe anything coming out from chuck -- i don't think he like the the crying by his guy. it is not in his tool kit. this is "hard ball" where the action is. ball" where the action is. we distribute environmentally-friendly packaging for restaurants. and we've grown substantially. so i switched to the spark cash card from capital one. i earn unlimited 2% cash back on everything i buy. and last year, i earned $36,000 in cash back. that's right, $36,000. which i used to offer health insurance to my employees. my unlimited 2% cash back is more than just a perk,

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welcome back to hard ball. president trump was a spectator to today's hearing but at the white house watching machine of christine blasey ford's testimony on air force one from new york and the remainder from inside of the white house itself upstairs in the residence. trump tweeted moments after the hearing, judge kavanaugh showed america exactly why i nominated him. his testimony was powerful, honest and riveting. democrats search and destroy strategy is disgraceful. and this process has been a total sham. an effort to delay, obstruct and resist. the senate must vote. only public comment from inside of the white house during the hearing came in a tweet from sarah sanders who tweeted praise for lindsey graham saying, he

quote, has more decency and courage than every democratic member of the committee combined. i'm joining by eli stokeles and tim o'brien, from bloomberg. thank you both. we're getting word there is a huddle in the hallway and susan collins and murkowski, the two women who are pro-choice and may well vote against this nominee for other reasons and also joined by joe manchin from west virginia who is teetering and not willing to say where he stands and jeff flake. so they are the deciders. >> there is high drama and those are thought to be the four swing votes and it depends on who you talk to. i talked to a democrat on the hill who said i think -- i think he's going through and we may see no republicans defect because that -- the last couple of hours of that hearing were such a rallying cry for the republicans and for the republican base. although the senators were talking about whoer having to decide, those are the ones who matter. those are not base senators and i think it just -- it does come down to that.

the white house loved it. the republican party -- >> they said they loved it. >> because they felt like they were in a hole this morning and -- >> with the tears -- all of the tears. >> the president is not a crier but he liked that he thought. >> and a call to arms. tim, my question is who is the decider? is it the president or the holdouts, the four guys in the hallway or mcconnell? who will decide they will go for broke, risk a vote in the committee, the hope the 11 hold and including fake and go for 50 in the senate? who is going to decide that. >> i think that the ax on a lot of this will end up being mitch mcconnell. this is hardball politics. he will keep people in his party lined up on this. and i think the first pressure will come to bear on jeff flake. he's on the judiciary committee and so he'll have to stand up tomorrow and decide where he's going to be on this and then a lot of pressure over the weekend on the other potential holdouts.

collins and murkowski, et cetera. i have a feeling that there is going to be a line vote on this. but i don't know. i'm not -- >> a line vote meaning 50 republicans at least? >> yes. totally. >> well the pressure on flake would be if he ever wants to run for office again in arizona, the smart move is to vote for the nomination. you want to be a republican at last moment. >> i suppose so. but nobody knows where the republican party is going, even if he votes for this nominee, if the party continues in the trend we've seen with donald trump taking over the party, jeff flake went from being one of the most conservative members of the party to now not being considered cur considered conservative enough but it doesn't know if this has to do with his political future but in terms of base politics with mitch mcconnell, why the white house was excited when lindsey graham tweeted was because he broke the pattern there with the woman questioning and very sober questioning of kavanaugh. it became sort of a partisan slug fest after lindsey graham. >> let me try something on both

experts. if you are trump, the president, and the nominee for the supreme court and you're mcconnell. you figure you have a very little chance of getting this through but you have a bigger chance now that you'll have three or four days from now. go for the vote. just like in the florida recount. count it now and stop the count and stop talking about it and stop more witnesses coming forward and get it over with and you may not get it but you damn well won't get it by next thursday. your thoughts, tim. >> that is totally where trump is right now and his tweet was evidence of that. i think there are two people here who are very important, murkowski and collins and i have to believe the very sympathetic and credible testimony that dr. ford gave today is going to weigh very heavily with them but there is no question this will be powered through in a highly partisan was and that is why lindsey graham's outburst during the testimony today, i think, is a signal moment around all of this. >> it is like calling the charge. trump loved it. somebody had to do it.

somebody had to say we will still win this thing. >> lindsey graham has been in the trump camp over recent months and one of the people with mccain willing to be a trump critic for a while and it is interesting to me that the kind of leverage the white house now has over lindsey graham. >> by the way, the death of john mccain is being recognized here. i think we're seeing something that would not have been happening if he was still alive. >> that may be true and speculation about whether lindsey graham wants to become the attorney general after this and sucking up to the white house. but they needed somebody to change the dynamic in that hearing because they didn't like when the outside -- the prosecutor brought in to give that appearance that they're questioning dr. ford, they didn't like the way that hearing was proceeding when she was just quietly assessing and looking to get the facts. they liked it much better inside of the white house and i think mitch mcconnell liked it a lot better after lindsey graham sort of turned the tide. they got rid of this pretense they were after fact and information and they just went full bore at the democrats about

process. >> they didn't fact finding -- >> and judge kavanaugh was channeling trump. the aggressive and defiant behavior was trump and he liked it and you can't discount the fact that the judge himself turned the sentiment. >> but the great irony is he's denying what it meant to be belligerent. he didn't understand the question. what do you mean by that? i think he knew. up next, a accusation and denial. so who do we believe? i'm sure people watching right now have a strong belief in who they believe. you're watching "hardball." ever since i started renting from national. because national lets me lose the wait at the counter... ...and choose any car in the aisle. and i don't wait when i return, thanks to drop & go. at national, i can lose the wait...and keep it off. looking good, patrick. i know. (vo) go national. go like a pro.

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one democrat joe manchin. >> two meets of note, two happening now and one just concluding. republican members are meeting in mitch mcconnell's suite of offices to decide their way forward on the nomination. but earlier tonight three crucial republican votes, susan collins and lisa murkowski and jeff flake met with joe manchin from west virginia in susan collins headway suite and jeff flake was in the room for the duration today. i talked to joe manchin leaving the capitol tonight as republicans were gathering for their con-fab and he was reluctant to characterize their discussion or would not say if they discussed the vote or vote the same way and the only thing he would say is they didn't talk about the weather here in washington. but those four votes, i think you could argue, have been the most in play this entire time. collins and murkowski who sh have shown they have the spine

to vote against their party and their president when they feel it is the right thing to do. flake, who used his one minute of speaking time today to remind everyone in this hearing to judge based on the humanity of these two people and manchin has been a wild card. early on in the process folks who followed what was going on felt like he was somebody who wanted to vote yes on kavanaugh because it would play well back in west virginia but he's been much, much quieter about his leaning on this as we've gotten closer. so i think that four-some is the one to watch more so than in the republican conference meeting. i will add to that, bob corker who is the other person we've been watching closely, told reporters on the way to the meeting he watched the whole hearing and he made up his mind already. >> i heard him. >> so a lot of moving parts here tonight. >> garrett haake. and joining me now is ruth marquis from the washington post. george f. from the washington post and jonathan allen nbc news digital national political reporter. i just want to run through the

mechanics here. if the republican leadership and the president decide they could still win, but go ahead with the vote, if they find out there are too many defector, they won't go ahead and take a loss. is that a fair assumption? they would rather lose than quit? >> well i think brett kavanaugh made it harder for them to not plow ahead and go with the vote. if you remember, back in the -- >> he said he won't quit. >> back in the judge bork days, we knew judge bork knew he was going to lose and y-- yet he insisted on a vote and i remember having to confront him at lunch that day with the news he'd just been defeated. >> judge, how did you read judge kavanaugh's denial of guilt? did you read it denial of guilt orrin dig nation that his old high school play days are being replayed years later? >> i think both. and when being questioned about stuff in the high school year

book you reach a nadir. and he has a good legislative mcantic and doesn't brag without knowing where he's going said on the senate floor the other day that he would -- that kavanaugh would be voted on. that means it would come to a vote in the senate which means he will get out of committee and not lose any votes there which means he won't lose flake on the vote to get him to the floor. >> that is a logic -- so if flake sticks with the majority of the committee, the 11, he's one of the 11, that means one of the 50. >> no, it doesn't mean that. it means -- there is a tradition of saying i don't want to deny the man a fuel vo-- on a full v get him out of committee but not to vote on him favorably. >> john. >> the report to the senate floor adversely if they want to so that is a possibility. even if flake doesn't -- >> and that has happened previously with judge bork. >> as far as mcconnell goes, i think what he was saying on the floor the other day was a warning they couldn't sync this behind closed doors by with

holding votes secretly and saying i'm not going to support this guy and saying i'm going to put this on the floor and make you vote in front of your own voters and constituents. what i thought was amazing about the hearing was the incredible shift in tone between the testimony we heard from dr. ford in the morning to what we heard from brett kavanaugh in the evening. he went full partisan which was his strategy to make it a blood bath -- >> to make division. >> absolutely. because he won't pick up democratic votes and what garrett haake was saying about joe manchin, president trump is in wheeling, west virginia for a make america great rally and there will be a ton of pressure on him to vote for kavanaugh. >> and he was silent during the testimony this morning. politico said the questioning left some officials cringing noting trump was not angry as shocked by the spectacle of the hearing. over on fox news the president's network of choice reaction to her testimony was largely

sympathetic. >> this was extremely emotional, extremely raw and extremely credible. this is a disaster for the republicans. >> she is extremely credible and rachel mitchell not only is not laying a glove on her but in my view is helping her credibility by the gentility by the way the questions are being asked. >> those were the journalists over at fox. a small group. but nonetheless journalists. chris wallace and -- and the rest of them and the others. >> the testimony was incredibly searing and powerful. there are gaps in her story. she acknowledged the gaps. but it was clear at least to me that when she said she was 100% confident, she 100% believed that. and i -- >> and she said she knew this guy. she knew brett. she knew him from the neighborhood. >> it wasn't that she was

mission taken or mistook him for somebody else. that was searing testimony and i wonder about jonathan's assessment that going full partisan was the right strategy for brett kavanaugh because it might be a good inside strategy with senators and those are the ones whose votes you need to get, but i wonder if people watching that, watching his anger and -- >> they weren't going to -- >> and shouting at the clintons. >> and you shift the question from who is right to what side are you on? that is always what you do in politics. >> he went partisan. now he is the guy, as you mentioned, the democrats said was evil and kill millions of people and you say he -- he picked a fight. >> no. you know -- when judge thomas, justice thomas now was up there and he came out after anita hill with this veracity, i had expected -- especially because there were questions about brett kavanaugh's temperament, whether he was an aggressive belligerent drunk that he would come off as

the judge kavanaugh that we've all known for some time. which is polite, respectful, a nice kind of guy. kind of guy. >> denies you sense he looked like he'd already lost. he can't be a high school coach, can't do anything. his whole life, he said, was destroyed. he sounded to me like a guy on his last leg and all he could do was declare partisanship. >> the terrible thing that would happen to him is he would sit as a circuit court judge the rest of his life. >> not have senator white jhous after him. more on today's dramatic capitol hill hearing coming up. these techs in a lab. this builder in a hardhat... ...the welders and electricians

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-[ laughing ] ho-ho-ho! -wow. -it's a computer. -we compare rates to help you get the price and coverage that's right for you. -that's amazing! the only thing that would make this better is if my mom were here. what?! an unexpected ending! in today's emotional hearing, judge kavanaugh consistently resisted pressure from democrats to call for an fbi investigation to help what they say clear his name. here's how senator durbin from illinois pressed him on that point. >> judge kavanaugh, turn to don mcgahn and to this committee and say for the sake of my reputation, my family name and get to the bottom of the truth of this, i would hope that all members of the committee would join me in saying we're going to

abide by your wishes and we will have that investigation. >> i welcome whatever the committee wants to do. because i'm telling the truth. i'm telling the truth. >> i want to know what you want to do, judge. >> i'm innocent, i'm innocent of this charge. >> then you're prepared for an fbi investigation? >> they don't reach conclusions. you reach the conclusions, senator. >> but they do investigate questions. >> i'm innocent.

let me finish tonight with what we saw today in the hearing room of the senate judiciary committee. up through 2:00 p.m. we heard dr. christine blasey ford deliver what one expert called dazzling testimony, remembering being sexually assaulted by judge brett kavanaugh when they were both in high school. i believe those who wanted to believe her did. and those who didn't were left fearing that they had just confronted a witness who was not only credible, but likable. and most important, authentic. starting at 3:00 p.m. today we heard a prominent man, judge kavanaugh, defend his hard earned reputation. he spoke of having worked hard to make great grades in high school, having gotten into yale, and then into yale law school will ever beginning a successful climb in the washington political governmental and judicial world. in a sense, dr. ford and judge kavanaugh were arguing past each other with equal emotion. and despite or because of all of his protestations and claims to liking beer, i had the feeling

that judge kavanaugh was primarily angry he was being judged on his behavior so many years ago and not on the success of his resume. dr. ford was testifying to what she remembered judge kavanaugh on what he said he could not remember. there are more ways to get to the truth, by the way, than relying on the public testimony of just these two people. this should be the beginning of an inquiry, not the end. and that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "all in" with chris hayes starts right now. good evening from new york. i'm chris hayes. we are, if the schedule is to be believed, about 13 hours from a vote in the judiciary committee of the senate of the united states about whether to put brett kavanaugh on the nation's highest court for life. a vote on that, i would imagine, seems inconceivable to millions of americans that watched what happened today. a spectacle that was at times enraging, galling, baffling,