murkowski: absolutely. as one who was born and raised there, and who travels widely around the state, particularly some of our very remote areas, areas that are predominantly on the coast, but into some arctic areas where quite honestly, there has not been a lot of focus from folks on the outside, unelected leaders or otherwise. i have an opportunity to come in and see for myself, to sit down, to hear from elders about what they have observed. these are folks, they might not have a phd, but they have a phd in living and they can tell you what they are seeing, with the sea ice and the consequence of erosion that is coming about because the sea ice is receding, allowing waves to build up. it's not just coastal erosion, it is in so many other areas. it is what you're seeing in habitats, things growing in places they had not been before. in migratory paths, where the caribou are, the fisheries. i look honestly at the reality i see in my state and i believe that our climate is changing and we are seeing the impa

does he bring lisa murkowski of alaska? does he bring senator susan collins? does he bring those swing votes along with him if he says nope, i'm not going to vote unless you give an fbi investigation a week's time to move forward. and then there were questions. you saw. so democrats were not even clear on what this meant. dianne feinstein, what are we voting on what did i just say? i am in favor of an fbi investigation. so what does that mean? and how do we know it's just a week? let's bring in bret baier. let's bring in chris wallace as we watch this situation, i believe, and i said this, we have never seen this happen before. but, before we do that, i do want to just set the scene here from what you are seeing. you see senator ted cruz of texas there. they are finally exiting the room there was a little confusion why this ended so abruptly. chairman grassley says two hour rule. we're done. and we could feel that tick tock in the time that senators were, some of family filibustering like cory booker. but some just giving their sort of heart felt motion about

susan collins and lisa murkowski. i want to bring in kacie hunt about what the two senators are thinking. >> reporter: the short answer is we don't know very much. we're waiting for them to give statements. we haven't seen lisa murkowski on capitol hill all day. senator collins has been engaged with her colleagues. she's been the most reluctant to step in front of the cameras. senator jeff flake, you would have heard it in this hearing, he said he's aware he has support from his other or some of his other republican colleagues. if i have any experience covering politics around here, you don't walk a plank if you don't know there's a couple of people that will stick behind you or jump in the water after you and pull you out. the three of them together and, again, we want to underscore we're still asking for comment. the three of them together having incredible leverage. it means that mitch mcconnell doesn't have the 50 votes to confirm. they will get whatever they demand. if the white house doesn't give in then perhaps

lisa murkowski knows the power of her position. for her to not ignore the question today or say we will be hearing thursday, talk to me friday. for her to answer the question and she said it sure would be nice to have an fbi investigation. what do we read into that. >> kavanaugh is trying to keep the troops rallied. it is enormously consequential. he had very conservative judges to lower courts. it's highly unusual for a nominee to go before the media in the midst of a hearing, but this is all hirchling on the thursday hearing they were talking about. they are uneasy about this and the rally is very real with conservatives. they think the second allegation was not fully substantiate and that powered mitch mcconnell and the white house to move forward with the nomination. they need 50 votes and they don't have it. >> the rallying is not going to get brett kavanaugh where he needs to be with the confirmation vote. as we saw with lisa murkowski, it's not enough for her to hear what he has to say and believe him. that has been the posi

lisa murkowski said she supports the move and so did joe manchin. that's this coalition in the middle around this nomination because manchin had emerged in recent days as somebody who might be open to voting yes. he comes from a red state, is up for re-election, and the president will be campaigning there. joe manchin is at home talking to constituents about this. but together jeff flake and lisa murkowski on the republican side, that's two republicans that mitch mcconnell can't lose. he only has 51. he needs 50 to pass this nomination on the floor. so this was a message to him that, you know what, you don't have the votes for this and for mcconnell, that's everything. so we're still waiting to see what leadership are going to do. lindsey graham went over there. republicans are currently huddling as a group in mcconnell's office figuring out what to do next. the concerns that drove this stemmed from questions around what we didn't know about the corroborating evidence between -- of dr. ford's account, or lack thereof, and mark judge is a significant

but lisa murkowski doesn't owe a lot to the party.ne collins is facing re-election in 2020 in a state that is more purple than it is -- than it is red certainly and probably tilts a little bit blue. so that's on her mind, is can i support this nomination and still get re-elected in 2020. and then lastly, jeff flake is not on the ballot at all because she's retiring. >> thank you very much. >> jeffrey, peel off the muzzle in the future. >> that's right. >> thank you all very much. wolf blitzer and jake tapper will lead cnn's coverage of this historic hearing right after this quick break. hijacked from dreams. pulled from decades of obsession. taken from the souls of artists. we confess. we stole everything we could. from everything we've ever mastered. and put it here. the all-new lexus es. every curve. every innovation. every feeling. a product of mastery. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. in april, luke's dad made 25 calls to find a place that could bring his son's creation to life. there were 14 emails to determine the size o

lisa murkowski represents alaska.ith judge kavanaugh's rulings, separate and apart from sexual assault. joe manchin is running for re-election, he's going to win, on preexisting conditions. the health care bill. if you can persuade him that judge kavanaugh becomes justice kavanaugh and takes away people's right to insurance after preexisting -- nothing to do with the fbi. so this gives opposition more time to work these senators on local and state issues. and national issues, separate and apart from whether he under oath at the senate or committed sexual assault 30 years ago. >> what republicans are worried about is a bit cynical. >>> everyone anxiously awaiting president trump's reaction to this new proposed delay. what he said might surprise you. stay with us. you know, i used to be good at this. then you turn 40 and everything goes. tell me about it. you know, it's made me think, i'm closer to my retirement days than i am my college days. hm. i'm thinking... will i have enough? should i change something? well, you'

senators collins, murkowski, perhaps senator manchin.g comes up, that may give them more confidence to vote for president trump's pick. however, if something new comes up, it's a huge gamble on the part of republicans. if there is new evidence that comes up, if a witness, for example, mark judge comes forward and says, you know what? i do remember this event, i do remember being there, then that could totally tank president trump's nominee. and so, a lot can happen in a week. >> neil: we don't know. robert is back with us and. >> hi, robert. >> neil: robert you, i'm sorry about the audio problems. what do you make of this robert whether that will be enough. do you take democrats at their word of course they have been saying a week from now, that's fine, we live with that and deal with that. >> we have the trust in the fbi and trust to our department of justice and their ability to determine the facts in this case. i i think that republicans should do is paint this as an opportunity to withdraw the nomination of justice kavanaugh and brin

so now that we're hearing that murkowski's on board with this, the math is very simple. mitch mcconnell, it seems, is going to have to agree to this demand of jeff flake's for a delayed investigation if he wants to get to 50 votes. he doesn't have it right now without this. >> jeff flake in general, people have obviously paid attention to him because of some of the harsh words he said on the senate floor multiple times about our own president, moderate republican, not up for reelection, what is his role in all of this? >> well, right now his role is pretty consequential because he's injecting something into this process that brett kavanaugh was very opposed to, which is time. you heard brett kavanaugh yesterday say i was ready to come in here and testify the next day i wanted to have a hearing because he understood the more time he's hanging out there, that that is more danger to his confirmation. the republicans understood that. that's why they wanted to press ahead. all the drama around scheduling dr. ford's testimony. so now what you have is jeff flake in dramatic fas

this is at least an issue now for lisa murkowski at home.rselves in solidarity with our native brothers and sisters. fact that kavanaugh questions their validity tells us he's going to do the same with us. "the times" reports that lisa murkowski was scheduled to meet with the alaska federation of natives today specifically on this issue. they are now outspoken against kavanaugh as a supreme court nominee. and they are not a small constituency or a niche constituency for murkowski. they are the key supporters she has. you might remember she in 2010 she lost. as incumbent, she was forced to run as a write-in. alaska natives more than anyone helped her win that write-in. one tribal president joking that they helped most alabamians learn how to spell the word murkowski. that group's meeting with the senator they helped elect today is important, potentially vote swaying news. but i got to tell you, even though we're sort of on pins and needles wondering how that meeting went, this crucial time with this crucial vote with this crucial constituency

in addition, we have lisa murkowski with another reason. expose this document that shows that lease did murkowski might have a real problem back home with the considerable alaska native vote in her home state if she votes for this nominee is hostile to programs. and you might have seen this morning the announcement that she had released the announcements. it came after cory booker stopped the show when he said he was willing to risk expulsion from the senate to risk exposing documents that had been named confidential and hidden from the public. the one he wanted to release was about racial profiling. thanks to that action, we have this document. here's brett kavanaugh in 2001 calling it a naked racial set-aside. he was talking about a department of transportation program is supposed to benefit minority owned contractors. forgetting government contracts. he calls it a naked racial set-aside. he is also calling the program for had a wines. it is like writing about the naked elites. except ryan bounds never became a judge. because republican s

and they are not a small constituency or a niche constituency for murkowski.pporters she has. in 2010 she lost. she was forced to run as a write-in. one tribal president joking that they helped most alabamians learn how to spell the word murkowski. that group's meeting with the senator they helped elect today is important, potentially vote swaying news. but i got to tell you, even though we're sort of on pins and needles wondering how that meeting went, this crucial time with this crucial vote with this crucial constituency, undecided senator, when the democrats only need two and she's one of them, we don't know anything about that meeting today except that it was scheduled. and the reason we don't know anything about it is at least in part because the anchorage daily news reporter who published that story last week on senator murkowski's voting process, her name is erica martinson. erica martinson was laid off yesterday. erica martinson was the entire washington, d.c. bureau of anchorage daily news, the only people in the state covering politics in washington

we just heard from murkowski. she's one of these senators who were undecided.l ones who have come out and said they support this flake proposal to delay and to support an fbi investigation. we've now heard from all of the critical senators. we've heard from susan collins. we've heard from red state democrat heidi heitkamp, all of whom are saying now they want this pause. they want the fbi to investigate. it's really been a pretty monumental afternoon, nicolle with this delay. democrats are elated with this and that they're finally going to get this fbi investigation. republicans are spinning it. look, we're still moving forward. this is progress. we do know that mitch mcconnell and republicans wanted kavanaugh seated on the court the first week of the firm. that's not going to happen now since the earliest the vote is going to take place is next week. but the hours leading up to this committee vote were pretty incredible. you have senator jeff flake who reached out to his clegolleague senator chris coons who is known for working across the aisle. the two of the

lisa murkowski's problem is his rulings and native alaskans. the latest accusations are important and you have to keep track of the context. these senators, that's what they will look at for confirming him or not. >> you mentioned this as well, smartly. every senator gets a vote in the end. the committee goes first. four people are front and center at the moment. jeff flake who is retiring and said he would vote no because he wants it hear her story. professor ford's story. bob corker also retiring with no loyalty to trump. he said let's go through this and the two female republican senators, louisa murkowski and senator collins. here's lisa murkowski earlier today. >> it needs to be handled in a respectful manner and all of us are anticipating and wanting to learn from the actual hearing. >> i don't think we should air drop in a republican woman who doesn't sit on the judiciary committee specifically for the purposes of questioning. my hope is that all will be respectful. respectful of dr. ford and respectful of judge kavanaugh. >> and those c

lisa murkowski canceled a hearing in another hearing she was supposed to chair. what they take from the hearing, that's going to go a long way in deciding whether or not brett kavanaugh has a future on the supreme court. yesterday afternoon we were told from sources that suzanne collins really for the first time raised significant concerns about the third accuser in a private meeting with chairman and senior republican leaders, basically bringing in the written statement, pointing to it, talking about the seriousness of the allegations, even wondering if mark judge should be subpoenaed. lisa murkowski has raised a lot of concerns about the tone and tenor of republicans when it comes to christine blasey ford, the first accuser. both senators making clear they haven't made up their mind. they have made no commitments, no definitive answers on where they're going to go. the stakes are so high in this hearing in large part because republicans don't have the votes. >> all right. phil mattingly, thanks so much. we heard not one of the 11 republican members of the senat

>> not even a little bit. >> what's your message for murkowski and flake? >> i have no message. they have to do what they think is right. they have to be comfortable with themselves. >> reporter: would you be willing to reopen the background investigation on brett kavanaugh? >> i'm going to rely on all the people, including senator grassley, who is doing a very good job. that's a decision they'll have to make. i will be totally reliant on what senator grassley and the group decides to do. >> let's discuss. cnn senior political reporter nia henderson is with me. to you first. sounds like the math is on flake's side. everyone sort of woke up maybe thinking one thing and there has been this extraordinary turn of events. do you think if this happens, this additional week for this fbi investigation will help or hurt judge kavanaugh? >> you know, it depends what the fbi comes back with, right. we don't know what the scope of this fbi investigation would be. i imagine if you are the senate judiciary committee, a, you haven't wanted this investigation all along, sort of an extension of

senator murkowski. sen. murkowski: thank you. there has been a lot of discussion, as we have two different ways that we can help families when it comes to the health care costs. i have been working with a colleague of mine on making sure have healthable to savings accounts that are ruthles robust enough to cover e costs. but in fairness, if i have a goodness sake of an hsa sitting over here, i do not really have a good ability to save dollars wisely, what are we doing? this conversation here is so important to talk about transparency. my hometown in anchorage, largest city in the state, we passed an ordinance that requires our health care performers in our facility to request information, they have to post it, they have to provide information within a certain number of days. granted it is still very early, but at this point in time, it does not appear that it has had much of an impact. some of that is due to those issues that we have already heard -- the difficulty of predicting services during an episode of care, varying insuran

susan collins from maine and lisa murkowski from alaska. they know how joe donnelly will vote, jon tester voting no. they are obviously knows, democrats, but we don't know how senator joe manchin will vote from west virginia. doing the head count on the floor, what's going to happen is you will get this committee, whether it's a full recommendation or not the vote will move onto the floor according to mitch mcconnell, the majority leader and basically it's a head count and i think it's down to if senator murkowski and collins vote yes you may see a few other democrats in tight races vote yes as well. >> harris: there was a pitch from senator blumenthal to try to repair what's happened on capitol hill, is that even possible at this point? and how sincere is it coming from cory booker when he's already said all he can say, what's your thought on that? >> i don't think yesterday was good overall for the country, there was a horrible feeling on capitol hill, throughout washington, throughout the country. two believable witnesses made their case

>> murkowski also wants the judiciary committee to hear from a second kavanaugh accuser. that's debbie ramirez. around the time murkowski said that on tuesday, the president forcefully rejected ramirez's allegations. >> now a new charge comes up, it might not be him, there were gaps. she said she was totally inebriated. she was all messed up and doesn't know it was him, but it might have been him. oh, gee, let's not make him a supreme court judge because of that. >> one senior republican senate aide says those comments were not helpful. a source says republicans have tried incredibly lightly to keep moderate gop senators on board. the president wasn't exactly playing along later when he said democrats are playing a high-level con game. pray for brett kavanaugh and his family. >>> president trump returns to the u.n. for a series of meetings with world leaders. benjamin netanyahu of israel, shinzo abe of japan, and britain's theresa may. he will chair a security council meeting focused on iran. tuesday he addressed the u.n. for the second time as president. and after repeat

brett kavanaugh is there playing to the jury of susan collins, lisa murkowski and jeff flake and not doubting her pain, not accusing her of being a liar. president trump says, oh, i'm not going to play that game, i'm not going to call them liars but then he says everything other than calling them liars by making it clear it doesn't believe their accounts and saying that it -- that the charges against him, many credible charges by the way, impact how he views this all. >> why do you think he decided to hold this rare solo-news conference today on the eve of this hearing tomorrow morning? >> i don't know. i mean i don't think it is so unusual to have one after the u.n. general assembly, and i think there were things he wanted to talk about when it came to foreign policy, when it came to china. he did get some questions on those. i thought that based on cnn's reporting the idea was he wants to take control of the pushback for kavanaugh, he wants to fight for kavanaugh, partly at least because he knows that if kavanaugh's name is withdrawn it is going to be very demoralizing to his base

lisa murkowski is warning her fellow republicans not to prejudge the allegations against c kavanaugh. >> reporter: president trump has a series of high profile meetings with world leaders, but that is being overshadowed by the shadow back in washington and his supreme court nominee. he is lashing out at kavanaugh's accusers. "usa today" reports that lawyers for christine blasey ford have provided the senate judiciary committee with sworn and signed declarations with four people that corroborate her claims, that judge kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in high school. >> i have never sexually assaulted anyone, not in high school, not ever. >> according to "usa today" the declarations are from ford's husband and three friends who say ford told them about the alleged assault in person and in e-mail as far back as 2012 and as recently as soon of this year. and "usa today" obtaining the page from the calender of kavanaugh from 1982. grassley scheduling a vote for friday morning, less than 24 hours after ford testifies. >> the mess sing clear. they are less interested in the truth in the fact

why -- this seems to be, robert costa, what lisa murkowski is sort of asking for. she had some comments and remarks in a couple stakeouts on capitol hill and equivocated a little bit. it seems like something that would be helpful to her based on her interview in "the new york times" yesterday and comments today up on capitol hill. >> there's a lot of anxiety among my republican sources who say if there's not an fbi investigation, you could have the democrats take over the house majority in many november. and they could even try to move to impeach judge kavanaugh if he's justice kavanaugh at that point from the court. you can have that kind of proceeding happen in the congress and there's also concern about this fox news interview he did by talking about his own sex life and making different statements, he's really opening himself up to almost any sort of question for thursday's hearing. that he can't say, well, i don't want to talk about something on thursday if he's already spoken at length about his personal life on fox news. so they see why the white house wants

what will senators like lisa murkowski, heidi heitkamp and susan collins do with this information?e can safely assume this report has not made their decisions any easier. with that i'd like to welcome in "washington post" reporter emma brown who broke this story. jonathan swan with axio, "new york times" lisa lair and reporter for yahoo! news, john ward. thank you all for being here tonight. emma, i'd like to start with you since this really pulled this story, an amazing scoop and great work by your team. this clearly was an incredibly difficult decision for christine ford. can you walk us through how this story first came to your attention, "the washington post" got a tip and then, you know, how this process played out for christine ford. >> sure. so she first reached out to us early july when brett kavanaugh had made his way to the top of the short list but was not yet named. a few days later, president trump announced him and she spent much of the summer trying to decide what she was going to do. she felt like she had -- as she put it to me, a civic responsibility to come forwar

not flake, not murkowski. >> they haven't said what schedule they want it to be. and maybe they will say i want to hear but i want to hear tomorrow. it's hard to imagine that things could go that quickly, especially since wednesday is yom kippur. >> good point. >> senators will not be participating so it would have to be tomorrow. it seems inconceivable that this could all be pulled together that fast. people can do things fast when they want to. >> joan, you have a fascinating piece on cnn.com this morning, echoes of anita hill, right? there are similarities and differences here. remember, clarence thomas called those allegations a high-tech lynching. this is also the me too movement and moment. walk us through it. >> sure. i remember so vividly. i'll mention those briefly. it was a woman who did not want to come forward initially, encouraged to come forward after there was a leak, sexual allegations, both of them, and the senate was approaching a key vote. what's different now, poppy and jim, is the fact that the me too movement atmosphere, also the nature of th

. >> senator murkowski -- >> i'm not speaking for mitch. i will talk with jeff. somebody has got to explain this to trump. so i guess that will be my job. [laughter] >> are you going to back this move? >> if it is -- if i'm nothing i'm practical, okay? >> [inaudible]. trish: that was senator lindsey graham who gave a very impassioned plea to see this through and nominate brett kavanaugh to the supreme court in yesterday's hearing, saying he was open to the idea of a one week delay, it would hopefully bring the country closer together. and we are getting some reports on president trump, who is also said to be open to that delay. we're going to be going to him momentarily. but joining me right now on the phone with more, capital hill senior producer chad pergram. my goodness, it has been quite a couple days and we've seen it. a lot of emotion on both sides, chad. walk us through what you're seeing there, on capitol hill at this moment? >> well has been a couple of incredible moments frankly, a incredible couple days. let me try to explain to everybody what this mea

lisa murkowski, the alaska republican senator, would not go that far. she punted when i asked her d t directly about that issue, said we'll deal with it at that point and also what happens if the fbi probe finds anything untoward in his record and how will the republicans respond then? so, a lot of questions about his nomination and the aftermath of this rather stunning development today, kate. >> absolutely. and this played out in the judiciary committee this morning. you were inside of there, as this confusion was playing out. what was it like to be in there, manu? >> reporter: well, jeff flake was visibly distraught all day long after he had been confronted by those protesters. he was -- his head was in his hands. he was frowning, clearly, and he, at one point, got up, late in the proceedings, went and approached his friend, a democrat, chris coons, they disappear frd some time, they were having some significant discussions and then coons relayed that message to other democrats on the committee and that led to more discussions and clear confusion abo

lisa murkowsky, susan collins, jeff flake and potentially bob corker as well.f flake is on the judiciary committee. he's the first obstacle that kavanaugh and republicans who want kavanaugh confirmed need to get past. >> thanks for your reporting and running in to help us out. give us a call back if you get anything, anything more, we'd be happy to get your reporting on the air. >>> we should note there was supposed to be a special airing right now on msnbc. headliners, paul manafort. it is going to air, at 10:00 p.m. after we wrap up our breaking news coverage. we have more coming on this breaking news, a second woman accusing supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh of sexual misconduct. just days before thursday's judicial hearing. stay with us. >>> i ask each nominee two questions. first question for you, since you became a legal adult have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors or committed any verbal or physical what racement or assault of a sexual nature >> no. >> have you ever faced discipline or entered into a settlement related to this kind of

and murkowski also going on to say that deborah ramirez, the second accuser, should also come forward and make her case publicly, like christine blasey ford. >> if she has serious allegations that she is willing to come forward on and request the opportunity to be heard as dr. ford did, i think that there is a process for all of that. a process before the committee. i don't want to see further delay. >> reporter: and other republicans, of course, republicans in the same party as lisa murkowski here, were critical of her call potentially for an fbi investigation. here's how senator lindsey graham responded today. >> i would say to senator murkowski, this process has played out because of what they did. not because of what i did. and you're going to have to decide. if you think an fbi investigation is now necessary, i respectfully disagree. i don't know what you would tell the fbi to do. they have told me, we don't think we can help you here. >> reporter: it's really hard to overstate going into thursday's hearing, wolf, of course how much is riding on this one day, this one testimony f

in 2010, lisa murkowski, you might remember, she got primaried from the right.ually lost the republican primary in alaska for her own seat to a far-right challenger. in order to try to keep her seat in the senate, she had to run as a write-in, which is almost impossible to win, right? but her most stalwart allies in that political storm were native alaskans who stood by her with votes and not incidentally, a ton of last-minute money for ad buys. she told them at the time, "i will fight for you as long as i am able." she owes her seat in the senate to the native alaskan communities, and they are now reminding her of that in the local press in alaska, and also in the hallways of the senate where they are delivering the message that her vote to confirm kavanaugh could, quote, be a death knell for native alaskans. that's some of the pressure on senator murkowski from native alaskan voters who saved her bacon in 2010. do not vote to confirm brett kavanaugh. as for senator collins in maine, we've talked on this show about the voluminous and somewhat unnerving evidence

reports say reporters are asambling around the capital flake, murkowski and collins died just. chased a car to the house side of the capital where murkowski, portman and barrasso all got into a car together. she didn't respond when asked if she made her decision. we understand the bob corker has made his decision and tweeted that information earlier. in fact, here is a tweet on that, corker to vote yes on kavanaugh. i think judge kavanaugh has conducted himself as well as anybody could expect during this process. that is about the corker statement. he tweeted that out and chad per graham from fox as well. jacqueline is on our democrat's line. do us a favor and make sure you mute your television set. go ahead with your comments. supporti wholeheartedly and believe everything i --nessed and heard from dr. from the doctor today. believe that she was molested, as she stated. and she has shown throughout her life have it has affected her, and it has her duty that she felt, to believe that if kavanaugh was appointed, that we would be in big trouble, as women and as democrats. host: l

what do you think is the onus on senator colins and murkowsky?this is a wonderful introduction to kasie d.c. >> we've been trying to get you to so many times. it's quite a night you chose to join us for the first time. >> look, i think we have to learn a lesson. have to learn the real lesson of the #metoo movement. and the real lesson of the #metoo movement isn't to take down powerful men. it's to challenge and uproot from the core, from the root, patriarchy and sexism. so senator murkowsky and senator collins, if they want to challenge the way that patriarchal power has produced the outcomes that harm the life chances of young girls and women across the country, they need to take seriously, take seriously what this moment represents. because if we dismiss dr. ford and if we dismiss debra ramirez, if we plow through, think about the message we're sending to all of the young girls, all of the boys, all of the people who may suffer sexual assault. that they might have to stay in the shadows for 30 years again. and we can't do that again. we can't d

it seems as though senators murkowski and collins tend to vote and block. is corker's yes vote a signal to flake and you think that has any influence on him and will that in turn influence moderate female republican senators? >> sometimes it does because senator sometimes i am going to be the deciding vote on that. bob corker was somebody who was initially a no on tax reform last year and then he switched to yea at the last minute. he's somebody who is also against the omnibus spending bill. bob corker can be an predictable had another development at the capitol tonight for senator starting with late murkowski collins and democrat joe manchin of west virginia. they all huddled after the confirmation hearing with kavanaugh and ford can i ask flake what did you discuss and he said i don't want to characterize any of that. that coalition of flake collins murkowski in possibly democrat joe manchin as the operative group right now. that's the operative huddle. kennedy: they certainly do hold the cards here. that seems to be the power this critical vote and it ma

not one of those senators came out to hear our stories in person, and it was murkowski's office that actually didn't listen at all, and it was heartbreaking, you know? we feel as survivors that our voices and our experiences are constantly just swept under the rug, and this was such a perfect example of that. >> so as up listened, then, to professor ford give her story to the world, what was that like for you as a sexual assault survivor? because we've heard from other survivors who said it re -- they relived their own traumas during that time. >> yes. i think anytime someone comes forward in such a public way, it triggers survivors everywhere, but i also think that there's power in that. we can find power in our collective hardships and heartaches and experiences, and there was a sense of hope. there was a sense of hope in that room beforehand. there was a sense of hope in that room as she spoke for so many of us that have gone through that and such a powerful, intimidating way and i can't imagine how dhafl was and my stomach was in knots for her, but i felt, and i could see, the re

that's senator lisa murkowski.t is no secret in the capitol she is a spriwing vote, that sh wasn't settled on brett kavanaugh before the nomination and she is waiting until thursday before she decides now. she has taken a distinctively different approach from what you have heard. she believes deborah ramirez should be heard. take a listen. >> if she has serious allegations that she is willing to come forward on and request the opportunity to be heard, as dr. ford did, i think that there is a process for all of that, a process before the committee. i don't want to see further delay. >> reporter: now, wolf, it is worth noting lisa murkowski is not calling for delays right now. she is not calling for it to be postponed or pushed off like democrats are, but she is differ from republicans who say that that second allegation is a smear and she is very clearly a keen example of somebody who will be watching the thursday hearing very closely. >> you're absolutely right. phil, the senate judiciary committee has now hired a

whether you like it or not. >> and potentially, lisa murkowski as well.tay close, we are continuing to cover this and we've already gotten a statement directly from judge brett kavanaugh. more news as it happens. this isn't just any moving day. this is moving day with the best in-home wifi experience and millions of wifi hotspots to help you stay connected. and this is moving day with reliable service appointments in a two-hour window so you're up and running in no time. show me decorating shows. this is staying connected with xfinity to make moving... simple. easy. awesome. stay connected while you move with the best wifi experience and two-hour appointment windows. click, call or visit a store today. >> harris: seconds into our commercial break moments ago, the president of the united states tweeted about this third accuser of brett kavanaug kavanaugh. michael avenatti is a third-rate lawyer who is good at making false accusations, like he did on me and like he is now doing on judge brett kavanaugh. he's just looking for attention and doesn't want peopl

murkowski has been more circumspect. of course, rand paul, who is often willing to disrupt the best laid plans of mitch mcconnell, but maybe not in this case. hows interesting to see brett kavanaugh response to questions about executive power and executive privilege. he has made comments that have raised eyebrows about whether or not a sitting president can be indicted, about whether or not he can be charged with crimes. that is all very relevant to the molar investigation. said coons, a democrat, brett kavanaugh should expect a lot of questions at the hearing on that question. >> the senate has been dealing with a lot of executive nominations, judicial nominations, how has the senate been able to really rapidly go through all these nominations? >> again, just because the filibuster is no longer with us, the democrats are really not as empowered as they were in the past. the decision was made when harry reid was the majority leader to do away with the filibuster. there are a few cases of nominees that were blocked, but -

will that be enough to affect those two key senators, collins and murkowski? is this something that will be enough to change their mind? they have tried to be coy in the last few days about how they're proceeding. until we get a better sense from them, it will be difficult to really tell how much of a problem this is going to be for judge kavanaugh. >> the clock is ticking and this calls for a delay. i know you'll stay with us. kristen and josh, thanks to both of you. >>> if you are just joining us we are following a major development in the secret letter cent to senator feinstein accusing brett kavanaugh of sexual assault when he was a teenager. he deny its happened but now his accuser, alleged accuser has come forward to the "washington post." we'll continue our discussion after the break. roe your mornings were made for better things than rheumatoid arthritis. before you and your rheumatologist move to another treatment, ask if xeljanz xr is right for you. xeljanz xr is a once-daily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not wo

if they say to murkowski and collins, we are proposing this, are you with us?at makes it more muscular. they are very important. joe manchin, for example to see if they are on board with this. senator murkowski really wanted a short delay. >> let's go back to manu. >> the discussions, wolf, are happening in the door next to where the hearing is taking place. multiple members have been shoveling back and forth between the hearing room and the holding room to have discussions with jeff flake. when jeff flake emerged moments ago, it was the first time we had gone on in more than an hour. he has been after he made remarks and went over to him and gestured him to go to the back of the room. coop his multiple discussions with dianne feinstein, the ranking democrat and had discussions with chuck grassley about where they could delay the vote is very serious right now. it's happening and the chairman has been making remarks momentarily and we may get a sense of what is happening. it was supposed to happen at 1:30 and clearly something very significant has come up about

i'm talking about murkowski and collins and flake. and i still think that's the case. >> manu raju is up on capitol hill, our congressional correspondent. this is a sensitive moment, not only for a couple republicans, for a few democrats as well. >> reporter: yeah, a major development happening right now on capitol hill behind closed doors. four of the key senators who are going to determine whether or not brett kavanaugh gets a lifetime seat on the supreme court are meeting privately to discuss the kavanaugh nomination. that is jeff flake of arizona, one of the key republicans on that committee, the two key moderate republicans senators who are not on the committee but hold pivotal votes, lisa murkowski of alaska, susan collins of maine, and the one red state democrat from west virginia up for re-election the year, joe mansion, all discussing privately right now, this is reporting from our colleague ted barrett who watched them all go in to meet. now, this comes before the full senate republican conference is called an emergency meet

it wasn't murkowski. it wasn't collins. and, you know, i was critical of him for big talk, little action. brett kavanaugh may yet well -- may be confirmed. but if it wasn't for what flake did today, he would be confirmed tomorrow. and as dana was just saying, it will be friday if it's at all. and i just think, you know, it is rare when individual senators step up like this and individually change history, and that's what he did. you know, hats off to him. >> david, if the weeklong clock runs out and the fbi isn't done investigating, dana says, you know, the agreement is there will be a vote. do you think that would happen, or do you think they would try to continue the fbi investigation longer? >> no. i think they'll shut it down after a week. they're pretty rigid about that, i'm sure. but i want to say republican leaders who are unhappy tonight one day will thank jeff flake. he pulled them, along with chris coons, pulled them back from the brink of what would be -- what would have become the most divisive vote in contempor

and then there is murkowski and collins.uite areare already republicans who are wavering here. >> they are wavering. what we need more is wavering. what we need is definitive statements. if jeff flake wants to stop this, if you was to show integrity -- jeff flake is retiring, so he is nothing to lose. the magic words that jeff flake needs to use is "i will vote no on brett kavanaugh if the thursday vote is not canceled." until we hear those magic words from jeff flake -- he has not said very much. amy: corker is also retiring. >> corker is also retiring. susan collins is the senator from a blue state. she is from maine. she can run -- even before this happened, she could run for reelection in 2020 as a senator who saved roe v. wade or the senator who killed roe v. wade. now she can be the senator who put someone who has a credible allegation of attempted rape on the supreme court, or she can be the person who said stop. on thisjust lost ian issue. dahlia lithwick, you're covering this very same beat about what susan collllin

i do think, again if you are susan collins, lisa murkowski. was getting phone calls, one of her staffer was called and somebody on the other line was saying he hopes she gets raped if she votes no. it's very, very difficult position to be in. susan collins sees herself as somebody who really -- she thought about running for governor of maine. this is a toxic environment in washington. she is here because she thinks she can make a difference. she thought her vote on health care was very important. for her, this is an absolutely critical decision. do you really want to step out and be the person who says yes i wouldn't to vote for this guy who has had allegation in the middle of the me too era? i think it is an open question. >> again, not to keep adding this on into the equation, but it is a reality that this vote will always be seen as the vote that overturns roe v. wade. i think most people believe, regardless of what he said in the committee that when kavanaugh gets on the bench he will be the fifth vote to overturn roe v. wade upping the st

no week for a week unless flake and murkowski is bluffing. what do you think of today's session, the advancement of the nomination? the number for democrats is 202-748-8920. republicans, it's 202-748-8921. and for independents and all others, that's 202-748-8922. we welcome our c-span radio listeners as well with a reminder here on c-span, in just a little bit after we wrap up with your comments and calls, we will show you the entire judiciary committee that got under way this morning at about:3

>> reporter: and alaska, home of senator lisa murkowski. >> kavanaugh has got to go!eporter: tears and bull horns. >> just vote no! >> reporter: part of the public campaign to convince the two undecided republican senators to oppose brett kavanaugh's nomination to the supreme court. >> it's huge in some ways because, you know, it all comes down to the senators for maine and alaska. on the other hand, she just needs to do the right thing. like this shouldn't actually be a discussion. it shouldn't even be -- it shouldn't even be a difficult decision. >> i'm a democrat and i voted for her. i was one of people who signed in her name when she said she was going to stand up for women. i would never vote for her again. >> reporter: the effort to persuade collins and murkowski also playing out on television in their home states. >> susan collins, it's your party that's mistaken. >> reporter: in portland, april humphrey organized a sit-in she hoped would draw 15 to 20 people. instead, hundreds showed up. >> in november, we will remember. >> to have so many people come out on s

you start with flake, collins and murkowski as a tentative yes. we get into the red states conversation later. that would be enough if nothing changes and if they accept the standard of what we hear from the fbi. we wait for friday at least for that. up next, more on the fbi. once again in the middle of a major political debate. nuts and bolts of the fbi background check. >>> "murphy brown" is back and needs a secretary. >> i guess you've heard this is a pretty demanding job. >> i have. your reputation precedes you but i want you to know i am not afraid of hard work, i'm qualified and ready on day one. >> and i also assume you have had previous secretarial experience? >> absolutly. for four years i was the secretary -- i was the secretary of a very large organization. >> and you have all the requisite skills, computer, mail? >> e-mails. yeah. i do have some experience with e-mails. bringing rich coconut oil, a legendary smoother, together with cocoa butter, known to soften. as a whole blend, it smoothes frizz for 24 hours. blended makes us better.

and the vice that particularly collins and lisa murkowski are in is a difficult one.ultural context, the me too movement that they are, we have all been confronted. >> can i -- >> reporter: sure. >> what vice exactly is susan collins in. she's been pro choice her entire life. she's told her voters her entire life she's pro choice. she's run as a moderate consensus building republican who -- >> seems like a moment made for her. >> this does. lisa murkowski, an independent in alaska, this really doesn't seem like it should be that close of a call if you just study their decades in public service. >> reporter: it's a good point, joe. consider susan collins faces a perimeter challenge in 2020. she decided not run for governor. if she turns on trump now it's all but guaranteed she could face that in maine and that really could potentially sink her. i also think there's some republicans in leadership who are making the arguments to me you're right about her supporting abortion rights and there's a sense kavanaugh is the best you'll get from a republican president in an appo