brett kavanaugh: no. >> have you ever met susan ralston, who is karl rove's personal assistant at the white house, formerly worked as mr. abramoff's secretary? brett kavanaugh: she works in the deputy chief of staff's office today. >> you know her. brett kavanaugh: i do know her, yes, sir. >> thank you. have you ever met david safavian? brett kavanaugh: no. >> when did you learn that he was being investigated for receiving illegal payments? brett kavanaugh: senator, on that matter, i think whatever i learned, i learned reading the newspapers. >> so prior to the time it became public that he was being charged, you did not know about it prior to that time? brett kavanaugh: that's correct, senator. >> have you ever met michael scanlon? brett kavanaugh: no. >> when did you learn that he was being investigated for criminal activities? these are all people from the white house. that is why i am asking. brett kavanaugh: i don't think michael scanlon worked at the white house. i could be wrong about that. again,

something brett kavanaugh will supreme court. something brett kava naugh will not supreme court.anaugh will not be. the senate majority leader said brett kavanaugh and one other close runner stood the best chance of getting easily through the senate confirmation process and, as you mentioned, that could be tied because, unlikejust over a year ago when neil gorsuch was approved by the senate, the majority now that the republicans and joy isjust majority now that the republicans and joy is just one vote. in actual fa ct, and joy is just one vote. in actual fact, john mccain, the republican senator from arizona are suffering from brain cancer, cannot make it to the confirmation vote and they could bea the confirmation vote and they could be a problem for president trump. as far as the democrats have confirmed, they have vowed to fight these nomination. chuck schumer, comedy senate minority leader issued a statement saying he would posejudge kavanaugh's nomination statement saying he would posejudge kava naugh's nomination with everything i have. we also have reaction from us senator

what we know most recently about brett kavanaugh bet -- brett kavanaugh's views is he would do what he could to shield president trump from any kind of investigation, subpoena, anything else at this point. brought up have mr. kavanaugh's white house service. chances ou think the are that the senate will see all of the documentation related to period of his service or chances access to that will be limited? we would expect that chairman grassley, who chairs judiciary committee, will request and obtain all of being sought about his years in the white house. actually some precedent that.enator grassley to do john roberts worked in the white house, elena kagan worked in the white house. and they made -- they released including r records e-mails. so there is direct precedent notion that these records need to be made vailable and carefully reviewed. and we would expect chairman obey that precedent. i think it is also important a supreme court critically s so important that the american and e ought to understand understand well who it is who is considered for that particular role. is efore, i

brett kavanaugh. all our rights are at stake. roe v. wade, health care, democracy itself. thank you. it's now my great honor to introduce a champion, a , mpion for all our rights kirsten gillibrand. [cheers and applause] ms. gillibrand: everyone here knows what is at stake. everyone here knows what is at stake. what is at stake is women's freedom. our freedom to make our own decisions. our freedom to decide when and how many children we are going to have. what's at stake is freedom for lgbtq americans, for equal rights, for civil rights, for voting rights, for clean air, clean water, for all the values you hold most dear. president trump did exactly what he said he was going to do. he has appointed someone who will not protect a woman's right to make decisions about her life, her health care, her reproductive freedom. this must not become the next justice on the supreme court. what that will take is all of us fighting as hard, as long as we can. [cheers and applause] our voices, our voices, our storie

and brett kavanaugh is not just a good nominee, brett kavanaugh is an exceptional nominee, and any fair person has to admit it. now, madam president, it's been a little over a year since we last considered a nominee to the supreme court. that nominee was neil gorsuch. and i have to say president trump hit a home run with justice gorsuch. i came to this floor nearly a dozen times in support of justice gorsuch's nomination because i knew neil gorsuch and i knew what kind of a judge he would be. i knew he would interpret the constitution according its original meaning, not according to the pet theories of liberal law professors or liberal activists. i knew he would give effect to the plain text of statutes rather than running around to find bits and pieces of legislative history to support his preferred view. and i knew he would hold the administration -- the administrative state to task and help check the unrestrained growth of the unelected, unaccountable fourth branch of government. justice gorsuch has done all that, and more. he has shown himself to be an independent thinker who faithf

brett, i have to go to you. you've been standing here doing so many of these years for battles for supreme court nominations. what is your sense after hearing judge kavanaugh speak tonight when the resistance out there from so many senators. they said were not going to support anyone whom this president nominates. >> i think judge kavanaugh gave a perfectly fine account of himself tonight. he seems to have an attractive family and he seems to be a nice young man. he seems young to me, anyway. 53 years old. that's young at this stage of my life. i have to tell you after the announcement, i watched some of the reaction on our competing channels. i must tell you that it's already starting. he has rendered a number of decisions for example reining in the administrative state here in washington. he will be portrayed, laura, i can tell you without any fear of contradiction is the enemy of the environment, a defender of big interests against the little guy and so on down the line. it's a litany you've heard before, and

nan: mark, it goes back to brett kavanaugh's whole record. it is interesting. when he worked with the independent counsel, ken starr, back in the 1990's, he ggressively sought president clinton's records. he went to court three times to get access to president clinton's records. and he fought really hard to get the president to turn over a whole slew of information. interestingly, when he went to work for president bush right after the clinton administration, interestingly, one of the first things brett avanaugh did was push for an executive order that would have shielded presidential papers, george bush's presidential papers, even though there was a law requiring those papers to be released. so, it is his early action with the bush administration and then from then on he took the position the president should be exempt from criminal prosecutions, investigations. he's talked about the extraordinary power that a president has. so, to us he appears to be very much of a partisan player. when president clinton was in office he sought disclosure. the minute presiden

juan: brett kavanaugh has deep ties to the republican party. before becoming a federal judge, he served as a senior aide under president george w. bush in the white house counsel's office. while at the white house, he met his wife, who was bush's personal secretary. kavanaugh also worked for kenneth starr, the independent counsel who investigated president bill clinton in the 1990's. kavanaugh, like justice neil gorsuch, clerked for anthony kennedy. and like gorsuch before him, kavanaugh is backed by the federalist society and heritage foundation who drew up a list for trump in 2016 of suitable right-wing judges to consider for the supreme court. on monday night, kavanaugh said he was honored to be considered for kennedy's seat. >> tonight it is my honor and privilege to announce that i will nominate judge brett kavanaugh to the united s states supreme court. amy: on monday night, protesters gathered outside the supreme court soon after president trump picked brett kavanaugh. speakers included senator elizabeth warren of massachusetts. >> he is

your reaction to brett whom you know very well, who worked for you and the independent counsel >> brett kavanaugh is the real thing. i predict that he will be confirmed and it's going to be i guess easy for some people to vote against him. but he will wear it well. he's the real thing and he is the goodness of kindness andss spirit that we have sought tonight in the statement. what we heard tonight reallyy came from his heart and i have known him since he was coming off of the justice kennedy clerk shop. what you see with him is where you get -- what you get. substantively i think we will have a different conversation. i think we will have the political conversation that's unfolding as brett just said. but i think it will be a deeper conversation, i hope there will be. it began tonight, what do we want the supreme court to be and what do we want supreme court justice to be. we can use shorthand terms and they are helpful, regionalism and textualism. i would also say that we -- do we want to's restore the traditions of the homes as and apprentices and, byron white, appointed by president

brett kavanaugh is the president's nominee for supreme court. will he pass the test with the senate? we'll see. the big questions ahead. stay with cnn. booking a flight at the last minute doesn't have to be expensive. just go to priceline. it's the best place to book a flight a few days before my trip and still save up to 40%. just tap and go... for the best savings on flights, go to priceline. rewards me basically aeverywhere.om so why am i hosting a dental convention after party in my vegas suite? because hotels.com lets me do me. who wants to floss me? hotels.com. you do you and get rewarded. directv gives you more for your thing. if you've been waiting for a sign to quit cable, then here's some signs. it came from the toaster. now you can quit cable. switch to directv and now get a $100 reward card. more for your quitting cable thing. that's our thing. call 1 800 directv. ♪ ♪ can world-renowned artist red hong yi use the chase mobile app® to pay practically anyone, at any bank? all while creating a masterpiece made of tea leaves? ♪ ♪ yes. bu

cavanaugh and attacking brett cavanaugh. always the attackers have the slight edge. it is easier to make a charge than refute it. >> thank you for being with us tonight on this big night. it is nice to have you here. >> always a pleasure to be with you, rachel. >> thank you very much. what she was saying there about the declining responsiveness of nominees at their confirmation hearings over time, in the case of brett cavanaugh that will run up against this interesting thing, that he does have a paper trail a mile long. not only 300 opinions he's authored in the d.c. circuit, which deals with a lot of the naughtiest issues that comes before the -- never do homonyms on television. there is also his record, an extensive record in the george w. bush white house and his time in politics. that will all be up for discussion. you heard several references to rowe v. wade and whether or not judge cavanaugh, if he's confirmed, would be the justice to cast a deciding vote to overturn rowe v. wade or get rid of the right to legal aborti

the ap moments ago reporting that it will be brett kavanaugh.e live full complete reaction to the president's nomination and analysis. shannon bream, jay sekulow, jay garrett and later we will have an opening monologue that we will tell you all about your president selections. joining us from the white house as our own john roberts. >> for the past hour or a little more, shannon bream and i have been leaning toward the kavanaugh. we expect to see the president, as well as judge and, soon to be, if the president gets his way, justice brett kavanaugh walking up. he is a veteran of the d.c. court of appeals. so many different justices of current and past from the d.c. circuit court of appeals. there are a lot of people who thought that this was maybe too much of an establishment toys, that maybe he should have gone with tony amy barrett, but nexe around if another justice steps down while the president is still sitting in the oval office, amy coney barrett would likely be his next choice. >> we are only ten seconds away, the president of the united

brett kavanaugh. we object. mitch mcconnell. we object. all of us, we stand together for liberty and justice for all. i will not stop fighting until the day is done. woooooo! wooo! wooo! we object! we object! we object! we object! chanting] >> good evening. i'm director of washington operations for the national council of jewish women. if mr. o'connell at mr. grassley think the 90,000 supporters of the national council of jewish women are not going to write like hell to defeat this nominee, then they are sadly mistaken. we have been here before. and we have been successful. will we do it again? will we defeat this nominee? yes! what we defeat this nominee? yes! we have been here before. we will do it again. we cannot allow politics to masquerade as constitutional law. we say hell no. we will work to defeat this nominee across the country in every state. we will work with all of you. we look forward. team!ght, win >> good evening. elizabeth. i am president of the constitutional accountability center. we are here to say we are reclaiming the

horgan i say show in opposes the nomination of judge brett kavanaugh to the supreme court. the two reporters will be asking her questions this week is siobhan hughes, from the wall street journal and mark, who covers the supreme court for the associated press. significance of this nomination, what is it feel monumental than the nomination of neil gorsuch. >> because it is. he is being considered for a seat held by judge anthony kennedy who on very significant issues, set himself apart from some of his conservative colleagues on the court. lgbtq issues, on juvenile rights. he was considered to be the swing on the supreme court. neil gorsuch when he was being considered for the supreme court was up for a hard right conservatives seat, antonin scalia of. so anthony kennedy was more in the middle, so this has taken on much, much greater significance. it has also taken on greater meaning, i think, because the president has laid out very specifically -- in fact, when he was running for office, that if elected, he would appoint an individual who met two very specific criteria: one

brett was confirmed to the d.c. circuit judge thousand six following years of obstruction by senate democrats. i was pleased and proud to support brett's nomination to the. d.c. circuit. i followed his work on that court the last dozen years with great interest. he spent a dozen years on that court, the second greatest court in the country. without criticism by the way. or least i should say without fair criticism. he has been a true intellectual leader, offering landmark opinions on the separation of powers, administrative law, national security. it is no overstatement to say that judge kavanaugh is among the most distinguished and influential justice. >> you can find the rest of the floor debate on the kavanaugh nomination on c-span.org and live coverage of the senate gavel to gavel on c-span two. from both sides of the aisle today speaking about the supreme court nomination from before. here on c-span, we're taking you live to the house in just a moment, debating a number of financial regulation bills today and l

to beat brett kavanaugh, the democrats have to beat brett kavanaugh with votes. with 51 no votes.hat it comes down to. and that means republican votes. >> yeah. it's not likely. we always make the statement this is a new session. >> democrats have to go with possible right now and fight as hard as they can. if there is a situation where they vote for him and joe donnelly of indiana and if they go ahead and also vote for him, i hope democrats aren't too hard on those guys, you know, if the votes are not needed. if the cause is lost and then they do something to defend themselves politically to get re-elected. sometimes democrats can be a little bit unforgiving in those situations and they should think about it in a more sophisticated way. >> yeah. i think the politics this time are different though. it reminds me of the bork nomination 30 years ago. the balance of the supreme court turned. the southern democrats have to go along. everyone has to listen to ronald reagan. in the end, the politics completely reversed and the good political vote was to vote against bork. because the ca

that's the kind of man brett kavanaugh is. he is thoughtful, he's caring. he does things because they're the right thing to do, as someone who cares about others and his community. he has chosen to spend 25 of his past 28 years serving other people in his jobs, most list on the d.c. circuit. he is the kind of person you would want on the supreme court. he has a judicial philosophy that's pretty simple. he has proven timed and time again that he will apply the law fairly. he interprets the law based on the words and historical context and meaning rather than trying to legislate from the bench. that's what most people are looking for. speaking to the notre dame law school in 2017, judge kavanaugh spoke of the legacy of justice antonin scalia and what people should take away from his time as a supreme court justice. he stated, and i quote, the judge's job is to interpret the law, not make the policy or make law. so read the words of the statute statute as -- the statute as written, mindful of history and tradition. don't make up new constitutional rights that

so i think we have a good view standse brett kavanaugh on the issue of abortion. but i want to make clear, it is not just a fight over abortion and health care. when you read and learn about brett kavanaugh's record across a wide range of issues, not just his views on residential power, not justial power, what he is said and done on health care and abortion, but the other major concerns are his views on the role of administrative agencies. he would have -- he voted against the existence of a consumer protection financial bureau. he has voted against the clean water act.ean he has voted against consumer protections, net neutrality. i can think of there a few instances where he has voted in favor of everyday people, when their lives are affected or regulated by a government agency. so, there is a lot in this record, not just health care, abortion, and there is much to be explored and much to be learned. susan: eight minutes to go. siobhan: is there any trump nominee who could be acceptable to you, given that you feel trump has been so explicit about what he is looki

he is 53-year-old brett kavanau kavanaugh. the yale educated lawyer worked on the starr investigation of bill clinton. he worked on the bush administration white house. sources close to the selection process say the president was encouraged by the key conservatives who came to kavanaugh's defense. jeff zeleny reporting that ann colter and others were on his team. >> the nomination fight was instantly under way. chuck schumer issuing this statement within seconds. >> after the announcement, the nomination fight was under way. chuck schumer issued this statement. president trump has put reproductive rights and health care protections for americans on the chopping block. >> my judicial philosophy is forward. a judge must be independent and interpret the law and not make the law. a judge must interpret the constitution as written. informed by history and tradition and precedent. >> vice president mike pence kicks off the white house campaign to pressure red state democrats to support kavanaugh. pence is supporting kavanaugh to tak

a >> brett kavanaugh is a brilliant lawyer. judge kavanaugh continues to be a brilliant judge and he will be a brilliant justice of the supreme court. i have had the privilege of litigating cases through the supreme court for three decades including the time that anthony kennedy was on the bench until his retirement. i have known brett kavanaugh in both private practice on cases and as a judge. the president has just nominated not only a well-qualified and brilliant jurist, but someone as you just said it, that understands the role of the judge. that's critical.l. if you understand the constitution and the three branches of government, but you also understand the role of the judge. brett kavanaugh has live that out in his life both in practice and as a judge and he will be an excellent addition to the supreme court. you heard it tonight in his brief statements that brett made. the fact of the matter is, they will come after him, because that's what they do. they won't lay a glove on him. this guy has been ready for this moment

brett kavanaugh is an open book.e want to talk about key issues like abortion, and the affordable care act. he's very explicit on those two issues. we know his hostility to roe. he doesn't meet that standard if she's true to that standard that she articulated last weekend. he gave a speech blasting john roberts on the rationale he use today up hold the law. we know that brett kavanaugh believes it's unconstitutional to try to ban assault weapons. we know that he's against the consumer probation bureau. we know he's against the alabama net neutrality policy. that doesn't get into the issue of debating about his views on the executive power and views that the president cannot be indicted and he should be able to fire a special investigator at any moment for any reason. there is like almost an embarrassment of riches when it comes to opposing this guy. that is why i think if democrats were forlorn prior to today and thought that there was nothing we could do because we didn't have the majority in the senate, i think tom

>> brett kavanaugh, that's right. he got the nod, but now comes the spectacle, that's what the editors at "usa today" say, who conceded he's a highly accomplished judge and deserves the thoughtful consideration of the senate, but the paper is predicting that now the circus will begin, the spectacle, if you like. it's kind of a similar opinion from "the wall street journal." the editors there approve of donald trump's pick, calling kavanaugh the intellectual leader on the bench. but the paper predicts, "a political brawl quds aren't the nomination as it heads to the senate because, i quote, "this is the polarizing america of 2018." >> all right, let's end on a story that's not about football. it's about a new game in the u.s., starting where the prize is not what you might imagine. >> it's a quiz show basically, a tv quiz show. it seems orwellian. it debuts today in the u.s., where the prize is not money, but the chance to get part of your student debt paid off, as this briret says, rather sarcastically, isn't this wha

i hope senator collins looks at brett kavanaugh's record. what do we know about those 300 opinions he's written and is 12 years on the d.c. circuit? my guess is what we're going to find is this is a guy who is deep reverence for our constitution and he doesn't want to be a legislator. if he wanted to be a legislator, he should run for office or voters can decide. >> shannon: you sound like someone was written and spoken about this a great deal. folks should check out your writings. senator sasse, thank you. how will the presidents supreme court nominee affect the midterm elections which marked a list of vulnerable red state democrats invited to attend the announcement tonight. they took a pass. trace gallagher is here with details on that. for the media reaction, good evening, trace. >> good evening. a supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh had barely walked away from podium at the white house before the democratic national committee issued a statement saying that cavanagh belongs near these up in court. it so clearly the battle is on. three

this is not about brett kavanaugh.s way for the democrats to fire up their base in anticipation of the mid-terms. the same lines of attack we've seen against every other republican nominee. the same lines of attack that have been rolled out no matter who the president had gone with last night. >> bill: just go back to the last comment that kavanaugh made when we introduced you. inform by history, tradition and precedent. the last word precedent, that's code, right? that is roe versus wade. that is how he will likely answer that question during these hearings that will likely begin in september. is that a fair assetment? >> i think that is a fair assessment. i think judge kavanaugh is a judge who respects precedent. he is a serious, thoughtful judge. not a political hack. i think even people who disagree with him politically in their heart of hearts know he is supremely qualified to serve on the court. when you say he will respect precedent as a judge it doesn't mean that precedent can never be overturned. what it means

those requests were not made to brett kavanaugh. been discussed by senator schumer and christine, during administration, nonpartisan staff would provide documents, but this time president bush's former lawyers .re trying to take the lead does anyone doubt the documents are being thoroughly prescreened? as one senator said, i have learned over the years that transparency doesn't come easy. it requires constant oversight and pressure from the public, congress, and others. this is a lifetime appointment that will alter our country forever impacting democracy, rule of law, rights and legal protect -- legal protections for every single american. thes time to release all of records. >> thank you, senator and let me generally think senator schumer and all senators for holding this press conference for inviting my colleagues and i to participate. i am the senior counsel and senior fellow at people for the american way and i have been involved in supreme court nominations, literally for more than 30 years. going all the way back to robert bo

." -- judge brett kavanaugh is president's choice to serve on the supreme court. follow the process on c-span. the senate confirmation hearings, though, and the swearing-and. watch live on c-span. watch anytime on c-span.org. or, listen with the free c-span trumpapp. >> president nominated judge brett kavanaugh to replace retiring supreme court justice anthony kennedy. judge kavanaugh is a former law clerk to justice kennedy. the judges wife, children, and parents joined him at the white house for the public announcement. [applause] pres. trump: my fellow americans, tonight i speak to you from the east room of the white house regarding one of the most profound responsibilities of the president of the united states, and that is the selection of a supreme court justice. i have often heard that, other than matters of war and peace, this is the most important decision a president will make. the supreme court is entrusted with the safeguarding of the crown jewel of our republic, the constitution of the united states. twelve days ago, justice anthony kennedy informed me

brett kavanaugh. some have speculated no one more eminently qualified. supreme court nominee. young guy, young family. has been on the d.c. circuit for a dozen years. has a track record of being conservative and has the qualifications in yes, sirrer years, he woulyes,yester. ainsley: they don't like this pick. they are resisting. women's march sent out a press release accidently without filling in the name. [laughter] we oppose xx. they forgot to fill nut name. if you missed last night's announcement. we got you covered. this is what he said when he was introducing judge brett kavanaugh. >> it is my honor and privilege to announce that i will nominate judge brett kavanaugh to the united states supreme court. [applause] i know the people in this room very well. they do not stand and give applause like that very often. what matters is not a judge's political views but whether they can set aside those views to do what the law and the constitution require. require. i am pleased to say that i have found, w

>> well, to paraphrase the senator, i know brett kavanaugh, i serve with brett kavanaugh, bret calf knowo anthony kennedy and i mean that in the healthy sense. i think he's a solid jurist, he's not the kind of guy who wants to be a celebrity judge. anthony kennedy enjoyed where people are courting you for the fifth vote. brett kavanaugh's audience was anthony scalia and the federal society believed the judge should not be the most dominant guy in the field. paul: interesting, bill, 300 opinions on dc circuit. >> right. paul: i can't think of a judge who has long track record, even scalia was on dc circuit for 4 years before -- >> i also think that's a good model, we should be nominating justices whose records we can look at and get a better idea. no one knows how someone is going to go once they get a lifetime appointment. but i think bret is probably the clearest record of any nominee in recent memory. >> kim, so what are the emerge rg arguments that are going to be -- we will hear about jurist prudence and arguments to try to defeat him? >> democrats are settling on a couple. one of th

tonight, it is my honour and privilege to announce that i will nominate judge brett kavanaugh to theupreme court. applause. i know the people in this room very well. they do not stand and give applause like that very often so they have some respect and brett's wife ashley and two daughters, margaret and liza have joined us and congratulations to you as a family. judge kavanaugh has impeccable credentials, unsurpassed qualifications and a proven commitment to equal justice qualifications and a proven commitment to equaljustice under the law. a graduate of yea or couege the law. a graduate of yea or college and yale law school, judge kavanaugh college and yale law school, judge kava naugh currently teaches college and yale law school, judge kavanaugh currently teaches at harvard, yale and georgetown. he is considered a judge's judge, harvard, yale and georgetown. he is considered a judge'sjudge, are truthful leader among his peers. he isa truthful leader among his peers. he is a brilliant jurist with a clear and effective writing style universally regarded as one of a finest and sharpe

brett kavanaugh was a clerk to justice kennedy. the list that president trump might choose. when he was added to the list in late last year, some people saw it as a change to the list that would assure that brett kavanaugh would get his seat. this encouraging justice kennedy that it was safe to retire. we're that a minute and a half away from the nomination. i want to bring in our friend here from slate.com. brett kavanaugh was seen as the most likely pick instantly. is there anything that surprises you about this? >> a little, i thought he would troll us with coney barrett. i thought he would pick a woman to be the person to reverse roe, to have senator collins and murkowski fight a woman. i thought that would be fun for donald trump. this seems like a slightly safer pick than i thought he might do. >> and we've been told republican leader had cautioned about brett kavanaugh saying, he has a long record that we're going to have to go through. and he's not saying that might be a pain but there might be some issues over the course o

brett kavanaugh was not a big surprise. he clicked for justice kennedy -- he clerked for justice kennedy. it was quite a drama that the president put together down there, including justice scalia's widow present. alix: it was really the reality tv star selecting the supreme court nominee. walk it forward for me. were you watching over the next few weeks? david: you mentioned it has the effect on regulation. senate see in the confirmation process, it will be nasty, but i think it is inevitable. the question is what this will really due to the court for the regulation. we have john malcolm coming up, one of the key outside advisors from the heritage foundation, why he thinks it is a good thing. one of the issues is health care , the democrats saying this could really hurt health care of a particularly obamacare. we have an expert in catherine baker from the university of katherine baicker from the university of chicago on that. it is a broadly stronger dollar story. ,uro-dollar down 4/10 of 1% dollar 10 taking a big leg highe

kavanaugh and attacking brett kavanaugh. and always the attackers have the slight edge. it is easier to make a charge than refute it. >> nina, thank you for being with us tonight on this big night. it is nice to have you here. >> always a pleasure to be with you, rachel. >> thank you very much. what she was saying there about the declining responsiveness of nominees at their confirmation hearings over time, in the case of brett kavanaugh, that will run up against this interesting thing, that he does have a paper trail a mile long. not only 300 opinions he's authored in the d.c. circuit, which deals with a lot of the knottiest issues that have come before the -- with a "kn." never do homonyms on television. there is also his record, an extensive record in the george w. bush white house and his time in politics. that will all be up for discussion. you heard several references to roe v. wade and whether or not judge kavanaugh, if he's confirmed, would be the justice to cast a deciding vote to overturn roe v. wade or get rid of

the ap moments ago reporting that it will be brett kavanaugh.live full complete reaction to the president's nomination and analysis. shannon bream, jay sekulow, jay garrett and later we will have an opening monologue that we will tell you all about your president selections. joining us from the white house as our own john roberts. >> for the past hour or a little more, shannon bream and i have been leaning toward

i think brett kavanaugh is spectacular. a fine list.est on that list that president trump -- >> neil: professor, what if you could update people on him? >> he's thoughtful. he reads. he reads across the board. he hires clerks across the board. women as well as men. he's respected by all of the justices on the supreme court. across the spectrum. they hire his law clerks. they followed various opinions that he's -- ideas where he's written some -- a lorer court opinions and the supreme court has followed his lead. basically he's smart and open-minded and fair and decent. he actually supported merrick garland and don't be surprised if merrick garland supports him. >> neil: you do raise the possibility there's a different way of doing this. you talk about fair questions you could ask a judge kavanaugh about past writings and past judicial cases, roe v. wade should have been decided. an interesting way to take on this issue. all of these candidates askew anything having to do with how they would rule on something. you say what about going ba

cavanaugh, who was my boss, who said, brett was always working hard. i would say go home, brett, it's too late. you have to have a life outside of work. he told that story a lot of times about judge cavanaugh. >> correct me if i'm wrong, i believe this is the first time a sitting supreme court judge has had one of his or her clerks

brett kavanaugh is one too. keep in mind, this establishment pick, he has over 300 opinions, as gloria was saying. and they're issues that the conservatives really like. issues of executive power and religious liberty. but there are some controversial ones too. he had a controversial opinion on the affordable care act and another one about some kinds of abortion restrictions. so those are out there, and these hearings are also going to feature george w. bush for his time there. some people wonder really, do they want to relitigate those issues, things that happened during the bush years, during those hearings. it's for sure going to come up. >> a classic washington insider from the george h.w. bush administration. all right, everyone. stick around. you can see ariana is there at the supreme court where there are protests going on. we have a lot more to cover. the democrats who might hold the key as the presidents tries to seal the deal in the senate. four of them were invited to the white house for the announcem

does it make a difference that it's brett kavanaugh? >> no, not at all, because there's complete man debt opposition to the list of 25 that -- blanket opposition to the list of 25, so they had ample opportunity to decide that they were going to resist the nominee no matter who the person was. it's interesting because you mentioned there's no protests on the right. les certainly no storm the -- this is certainly no storm the streets protests, but brett kavanaugh was not the preferred choice or every movement conservative. i'll say my inbox is full of press releases from conservative groups saying they're very happy with this pick, but i think we'll expect some conservatives will break away from the president on this pick. i don't think we'll see many in the senate, but maybe some conservatives in the media will probably break away with this pick. neil: yeah. his biggest asset could be his biggest curse, fred, that he has a long written record. what do you think? >> well, the it's a pretty impressive record, no question about that. he's v

brett kavanaugh. you sit on the judiciary committee. already released a statement, senator, laying out the reasons you're going to vote against his nomination, confirmation. why not hear him out first during the lengthy confirmation process, ask him a lot of questions and then decide whether to vote yay or nay? >> wolf, i have reviewed judge kavanaugh's record at least in major part and i will tell you i'm increasingly troubled the more i learn and see. i decided to oppose this nomination because the process itself was so really corrupt. the president in effect made himself a puppet of the federalist society and other outside right-wing fringe groups and never before in the history of our country has a president in effect delegated or outsourced this decision but equally important the president imposed a litmus test and automatically overturned roe v. wade and the protections of the affordable care act like protections for millions of americans who suffer from sickness, including diabetes, heart, stroke, pregnancy, obesity. these kind o

judge brett m. kavanaugh: mr. president, thank you. throughout this process, i have witnessed firsthand your appreciation for the vital role of the american judiciary. no president has ever consulted more widely or talked with more people from more backgrounds to seek input about a supreme court nomination. mr. president, i am grateful to you and i am humbled by your confidence in me. thank you. thirty years ago, president reagan nominated anthony kennedy to the supreme court. the framers established that the constitution is designed to secure the blessings of liberty. justice kennedy devoted his career to securing liberty. i'm deeply honored to be nominated to fill his seat on the supreme court. my mom and dad are here. i am their only child. when people ask what it's like to be an only child, i say, it depends on who your parents are. i was lucky. my mom was a teacher. in the 1960s and '70s she taught history at two largely african-american public high schools in washington, d.c. mckinley tech and h.d. woodson. her example taught me

is there a way of weighing these brett kavanaugh comments? >> well, look, i think it is a very big deal, lawrence, because it is a comment on an issue that as jill suggested is front and center in our civic life right now. is the president above the law? does he intend to hold himself above the law? can he be made accountable? if brett kavanaugh means what he said in 1999, the answer would be no. it would not take a saturday night massacre to get rid of bob mueller if brett kavanaugh is right about what he said in 1999. because his point is that piece is, hey, the president can't be accountable, can't be forced to turn over information to any subordinate officer in the executive branch. if that's the law, then bob mueller is really standing on -- not even thin ice, no ice at all in brett kavanaugh's view. >> let me go to your experience to seeing this kind of material. sometimes you see a statement like that in 1999 in which he's in a panel discussion and he might be speculating and might be being more provocative in order to get a conversati

brett's wife ashley and their two daughters, margaret ann eliza, have joined us on the podium. congratulations to you as a family. [applause] >> judge kavanaugh has impeccable credentials, unsurpassed qualifications, and a commitment to equal justice under the law. a graduate of yale college and your law school, judge kavanaugh currently teaches at harvard, yale, and georgetown. throughout legal circles, he is considered a judges judge a true , thought leader among his peers. he is a brilliant jurist at with a clear and effective writing style, universally regarded as one of the finest and sharpest legal minds of our time. just like just as gorsuch, he excelled as a clerk for justice kennedy. [applause] >> judge kavanaugh has devoted his life to public service. for the last four years, he is served as a judge on the gc circuit court of appeals with great distinction authoring over 300 opinions which have been widely admired for the scale insight and rigorous adherence to the law. among those kids are more than a -- those opinions are more than a dozen that the supreme court has