if judge gorsuch new the same thing that judge cavanaugh knows. judges are absolutely not supposed to consider who they think is sympathetic in c a case , where the empathy lies. it's where the law lies. theirs was we making decisions and rules based on the law. federal judges actually swear administer justice without respect to persons and to do evil right to the poor and the rich. that's what the judge has done during his 12 years as a member of the d.c. circuit court. the minority leader senator schumer has already said not good enough for him. not good enough for senator schumer. he wrote an op-ed in the new york times on j july 2. he wrote this op-ed before the president had even made a decision as to who he might nominate. f at the time he was considering a number of names and it didn't matter to senator schumer. he made it clear he wasea going to fight any mainstream nominee unless he could confirm that the nominee would rule in a t certain way. judges don't do that, judges shouldn't do it. that's the l litmus test now for the liberal democ

becomes justice cavanaugh. how can we afford that? the american people should have their eyes wide open to the stakes. president trump's own justice department is currently arguing in court that those protections are unconstitutional. i like president trump at one of his rallies to tell the people at the rally he is taking away their protections when they have someone with a pre-existing condition and their family. he wouldn't dare, but that is what is legal department in hhs injustice is doing. the president doesn't tell people what he's doing. he whispers them with you. he doesn't dare tell the american people and that's why it's our job in the minorities , it's our job to that the american people know the peril they are in and the healthcare is in. if anyone doesn't believe that president trump is still intent on tearing down our healthcare system, just look at what the administration did yesterday. the president decimated funding that helps people sign up for health insurance. they cut it to one sixth of wh

cavanaugh graduated from yale college and yale law school. he clerked for supreme court justice anthony kennedy. he serveden inr positions in president george w. bush's white house, and in 2006e was sworn in as a judge on the d.c. circuit of the u.s. court o appeals. the chief judge on that court is rrick garlandho was denied a hearing when president obama nominated him and at the time cavanaugh call garland supremely competent for the supreme court. much more coming upt in the n half hour. >>> this appears to be a tragic accident in the district. a man wasidg his bike in a designated bike lane. he was struck and kild this weekend by a delivery truck. all of this unfolding at an unusual intersection. this was just a few blocks south of dupont circle. news 4's pat collins is there with the details on that this evening. pa t >> reporter:he place where it happened, a friend of the victim brought some flowers and used a yellow ribbon to attach them to a signal post here. we're learning more and more about this terrle crash and its tragic conseque

so, is there a litmus test for brett cavanaugh?cannot be, he cannot have made and he will not have made a commitment on to vote in any particular way on any particular issue. why? because it would really be inconsistent with the integrity of the judicial process and frankly would be inconsistent with the oath to make a promise. this is the way i'm going to vote. this is not congress. >> you are saying, no promise on abortion and no promise on anything else? >> if i know brett cavanaugh and i do, he will not have promised to vote in a particular way. he will as i'm sure you will hear time and time again say, i will listen to any position within reason. and i will listen to it respectfully and there's the other thing, he is one vote and there's a process, you are in the room as a supreme court justice, just yourselves, you do not have staff giving you guidance or direction. it's the nine men and women that were chosen to serve in this very important function and that in itself is a weighty consideration to listen to your colleagues,

i hope the democrats in the senate will give judge cavanaugh a chance, i hope they will take the time to consider his qualifications and will sit down and talk to him before they rush to condemn him, although quite a few had rushed to condemn him even before the president had decided and he was named to the l court. i also look forward to sitting down with the nominee to exploring some of his views more fully and put everything thave seen so far would be a very good conversation and judge cavanaugh would make an a for justice of the supreme court. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. >> today i rise to oppose the nomination of brent cavanaugh to the supreme court. this is an issue i will return to in the coming weeks. that i want to say a few words about why i am in opposition. i think many americans have a pretty good sense of what the function of congress is, what the president of the united states does but many americans do not fully appreciate and what it plays in our lives. in the past decade alone the supreme court issued some incredibly controversial and in my mind disa

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

it's judge cavanaugh the type of judge who will it evolve? for all those critics on the right,ga those who would evolve from the more liberal block on this, what would you say to them? >> i would point out that when i took judge kavanaugh's class as a first-year law student, the first thing he assigned me was to read the constitution. this could be an exciting and fun minutes, because she read case after case and sometimes you have to take a whole constitutional walk. anybody who comes at this question with an open mind is going g to find a judge who has spent 12 years at hearings to the structure, the history, the meaning, the text of the constitution and doing so in such a fair-minded way, he mentioned in his speech that the person who hired him as not justice kagan. three left of center justices, they have off hired a former clerks of judge kavanaugh. and that's because left, right and center, judge and kavanaugh is so easy to respect and admir admire. >> laura: given this historic night, we appreciate your input. leonard leo is going to s

judge cavanaugh said that after working in george w. bush's white house, he changed his mind about the legal liabilities that a president should face. he suggested it is currently possible for a sitting president to be indicted and that congress should take action to prevent presidents from being subjected to civil lawsuits or criminal prosecutions during their time as president. judge cavanaugh said that after working in george w. bush's white house, he changed his mind about the legal liabilities that a president should face. the minnesota law review he wrote, it would be appropriate for congress to enact a statute providing that any personal civil suits against presidents like certain members of the military, be deferred while the president is in office. congress should consider doing the same, moreover, with respect to criminal investigations and prosecutions of the president. in particular, congress might consider a law exempting a president while in office from criminal prosecution and investigation, including from questioning my

it seems believe cavanaugh does have in enemies, if not enemies, some adver searses, ted cruz and rand paul, so some conservative senators are trying to suggest that maybe bret cavanaugh isn't an conservative as some supporters may suggest. >> fair to say after the fireworks outside last night, the real pyrotechnics are about to heat up. hans, thank you. >>> with us matt miller, he is now an msnbc justice and security analyst. political reporter for axios, alex psi mccannen is here, along with sahil kapur. frankly last week, the same day we learned that anthony kennedy retired, someone close to the president said to me look for nur that is bret cavanaugh. enchts they all have conservative federalist kind of tradition. i have a feeling the president will make his decisions on their records. my guess will be largely how the meeting goes with him, what people think about him, and then the question that democrats have had about how trump will make this selection. he's got a lot the things that will come before the court, not just roe v. wade, but things that matter to him personally. he mi

it would have been stopped cavanaugh, or stop barrett. but, how do you thk going now that we know that it is cavanaugh, how will they target what they talk about, which issues they bring up, and kind of honing and especially on the impeachment issue that seems to be the hot button. >> by they i assume you mean the senators. right? well the senators, the democrats and the replicants, will they coordinate what they do, meaning, will the democrats figure out the committee, feinstein, harris, the others, they will each say we will take an aspect of his record, and for example, and impeachment. when judge cavanaugh was working for ken starr, he took a rather expansive view of impeachment, and you admit that the democrats want him to explain that, just in case of another impeachment. that sort of thing. that is what they will do. the republicans will filibuster, the republicans will take their time for questions, and they will talk and talk and talk like i'm doing now. and leave no time for further questions.>> there are some senate democrats r

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

bret michael cavanaugh. you can't spell supreme without an and add an f to bret and you have bret michaels. leader of poison, first and middle name of cavanaugh who one celebrity apprentice in 2010, the host, mr. donald trump who come after. [inaudible] is it no longer that bret cavanaugh is simply unqualified, but that he is evil. you be the judge. were just asking questions. [applause] all we do here is ask questions. i don't know. he might not be evil but after looking at that, i wouldn't let him near my family. i don't even have a family. but if i had a family, he's not coming near. all right. joe, does bret cavanaugh frighten you? >> ms comfortable with him as when i go into a jacuzzi with my shirt still on. [laughter] all the dirt they dug up on this guy is pretty lame. the washington nationals fan, expect him to recuse himself. he's the treasurer of the k club, that's good. he's a responsible guy in the k club. >> it's true. [laughter] without him you wouldn't have the keg club. you know what's good a

. >> we will see him confirmed. >> reporter: cavanaugh is already getting high-profile backing. as he starts looking for support in the senate. tuesday, he met with judiciary committee chairman who will head up the first of several h quickly. it is going to be thorough and it is going to be done right. >> reporter: pence said he feels confident that cavanaugh is off to a great start. >> we are encouraged. >> reporter: which could be crucial with a slim majority in the senate. the administration is a just looking for republicans for help, they are looking to democrats up for reelection in states. >> do you feel pressure to vote for him? >> no. i feel no pressure. >> reporter: this is democratic officials have made it clear that they think cavanaugh is the wrong choice. >> you listen to what the judge has said in his past, they have been clearly concerning. he is extremely conservative. >> reporter: julie, now cavanaugh is getting more help from outside the senate tonight. the white house released this letter signed by 150 former classmates and fellow alumni from georgetown prep w

in which the four justices he appointed were voting against him and the nixon tapes case and mr cavanaugh despite his general conservative leanings is not at all clear whether he would uphold the right of a president you know to flout a subpoena issued in the ordinary course of law enforcement because there's precedent in favor of such criminal justice authority so that could be a surprise in this whole exercise we member one of the other surprises that we came from a previous confirmation of chief justice john roberts he was the casting vote that up hailed the affordable care act of president obama so the idea that we're clearly getting set for a whole slew of over rulings in a conservative direction is premature i think as john was talking about there are already protests gathering against this nomination we're seeing some live pictures there from outside the supreme court where people making speeches and so on we are facing the midterm elections in november do you think that this decision is likely to have any sort of bearing any sort of influence on how people might vote and those ele

judge brett cavanaugh, d.c. born and raised was a justice. now along with justice himself, neil gorsuch. he helped write the camstar report and even investigated vince foster's death. he's also a marathon runner, so he will be ready to run the gauntlet on the hill. judge raymond kethledge is considered a d.c. insider. he likes to hunt and fish, and he often writes from a spot in the barn with no internet. he also has written a book and that mark ten years on the federal bench. judge amy kony barrett had a lot of tough questions from senators franken and durbin. they focus a lot on her devout catholic faith and it's quite a backlash from a lot of folks who said those questions were inappropriate. she was a clerk for justice antonin scalia, and she has a law professor and writer profession. judge thomas hardiman likes things from guns to religious liberty. he was a first and his family to graduate from college and he put himself through georgetown law school by driving a taxi. no matter whom the president picks, with senator mccain away from wa

cavanaugh currently serves on the d.c.cuit court and lives with his family in chevy chase. >>> today is the deadline to un e some migrant children with their families. the trump adminisation says me children will have to wait longer though. about 100 children under the age 5 were supposed to be back with their parents by today. roughly half o them are still separated. >>> family and friends remembered longtime sports writer john mcnamara today. the gazette reporter was killed last month in annapolis. he was remembered as a truth teller a w friend loved sports and loved people. back to >> it went on for years. chemicals from a dry cleaning business leaked into the ground water in o arlington neighborhood and now for the first time residents are getting the first fulleport on the environmental impact of that business bureau chief julie carey visited now rea today and joins u with more. julie? >> reporter: hey, leon. this is the area that's impacted and a community of 350own homes and condos and beneath these homes and sidewa

largely to work on some bills but also this nomination of cavanaugh to be the supreme court. how are you approaching the nomination at this point? do you think that -- at some point it's inevitable for democrats. you are in the minority, republicans have the majority. they appear to have the votes to confirm him. do you think that president trump will get his supreme court justice? guest: well, this is one of the most important responsibilities we have in the united states senate, advice and consent. this is a lifetime appointment. we're talking about affecting the supreme court for decades to come. first we like to see all of judge cavanaugh's records that have been a strug toll try to get the white house to produce those documents so that we can have a better understanding of his philosophy. so me, this is an issue about the independence of the supreme court. will judge cavanaugh be an ibbednt voice on behalf of the american people to protect their constitutional rights against the powerful, whether the president of the united states, the congress or corporate america. we a

judge cavanaugh has never gone wobbly. i know the man.doesn't have a wobbly bone in his body. >> interesting. david, you said that you think the president can't go wrong, that basically everybody in the final four is strong. >> yes, the four of them are. personally i like hardiman, comes from the third circuit locally here. he was confirmed unanimously through the senate last time, and comes through blue collar roots. he was the first in his family to go to law school, and funded school by driving taxi. >> that's what he drove the campaign on, does that matter in a pick like that? >> it's a great story, great story for the midwest, a great story for the country, taxicab to supreme court. >> you're all legal eagles, none of us know for sure who it's going to be, but i want to start with alex. what's your best bet? >> bret cavanaugh is a name we've heard, as well as kethledge, and then barrett is still in there. what does your tell you? >> oh, i don't know. maybe bret kavanaugh. >> justin, what's your bet? >> i agree with alex. number one,

some of them came to the senate floor to discuss judge cavanaugh's qualifications. e presiding officer: majority leader. mr. mcconnell: yesterday i had an opportunity to theesterday, i had opportunity to meet with judge brett cavanaugh. impossible not to come away impressed. has an all-star legal resume, topflight academic credentials. his extensive judicial record is defined by fairness, thoroughness and analytical precision. i was already confident the pred had made -- the president had made an outstanding choice. now i'm even more confident that my colleagues here and americans around the country won't have to take my word for it. just look at one of judge kavanaugh's former professors at yale law school. here's what professor akhil amar wrote in "the new york times." it is hard to name anyone with judicial credentials as strong as judge kavanaugh. current faculty at yale law describe him as a, quote, true intellectual, and a wonderful mentor and thinker to our students. even at harvard, his alma mater's archrival, a scholar agrees that judge kavanaugh is, quote,

what we've seen so far is reason of concern about judge cavanaugh. as well aspinions, some of his published statements when he was working for the white house. but there's also the issue about the independence from the executive branch. will he be a true independent voice to allow the mueller investigation to reach its logical conclusion, or is he -- that he's written, said that the president should not be annoyed by investigations while he's a sitting president? these are questions that we want to get answered and we want the american people to know about this. we do think every senator must make up his or her own mind as to whether this is the right decision or not. we're an independent branch of government. it should not be by party alfillation but whether judge cavanaugh is the right person at this time. i have some serious concerns. >> and some democrats are saying they would like to hold off meeting with the judge until they see the paper trail , which we are told could go into the millions of pieces of paper. where do you stand? are you prepar

cavanaugh is liked by many republicans in washington. at this point, cavanaugh is a front-runner. president is hearing out the criticisms. it doesn't mean he's tilting in a certain direction. >> let me ask you to pull back the lens a little bit and read you something from "the new york times" about whoever he picks, what they might face in terms of their role on the court. this -- people under the cloud of investigation do not get to pick the judges over their cases. >> do you agree with that? and do you think there's any chance that this can be slowed down? it already feels like a runaway train? >> i do agree with that argument. no man should be able to pick who prosecutes him or pick who ultimately sits as a judge and jury. there are several questions in this investigation that could make it to the supreme court, whether a president can be subpoenaed or pardon himself. so it is a very real argument, i think. the question is whether it's one that has any saliance to republicans. no democratic senator ultimately will vote for whomever trump nominates, and they keep their powder dr

thank you, erik >>> the country is just getting to know judge cavanaugh.i introductionon monday he did something that caught the year of local gender columnista >> cavanaughed about women a lot and here are four occasions on which cavanaugh praised the women in her life. >> she overcamearriers and became a trial judge. the president introduced me tonight as judge cavanaugh, but to me that title always belonged toy mom. my wife ashley is a west texan. she owes been a great wife and inspiring mom. i have two spirited ugers. i am proud that a majority of my law clerkshave been women. >> "the washington post" gender comnist monica hess calls that list cavanaugh just ran through his female relationship resume. >> she says men list three to five women who are important toa them as way to prove they are on the side of all women. monica joins us w live to talk about it. >> monica, let's talk about you explaining to us exactly why you believe men like javgeaugh do this and the impact this female relationship resume is intended to have. >> well, i think that we're i

he is equally good on deregulation as cavanaugh andha a strong track record on that score.has ruled against the irs and in favor of the tea party on areas of tax regulation. so again, that's very favorable for the financial markets, and then last, but n least, and this is a really important one. >> cla action lawsuits have a lot a real plague for of industries and pretty much ranging from technoly to ansportation and almost every industry has suffered from some degree of class action lawsus and tledge is on record of being skeptical of the kinds of settle onts that award tens millions to the lawyers and a $25 off cuapon to the a litigants in the lawsuit. so i think when you look at the broad track record of the three different nominees, i think ketledge, is the one that has th most track record in the widest series of areas that are of interest to financial markets. >> all right. >> and he'll be the one that markets will like best. >> we will know monday night. >> michael jones of river front investments. thanks for joining us tonight. >> good to be here. >> boeing takes co

a graduate of yale college and yale law school, judge cavanaugh currently teaches at harvard, yale andeorgetown. throughout legal circles he is considered a judges judge, a true thought leader among his peers. he's a brilliant tourist with a clear and effective writing style universally regarded as one of the finest and sharpest legal minds in our time. and just like justice gorsuch, he excelled as a clerk for justice kennedy. [applause] judge kavanaugh has devoted his life to public service. for the last 12 years, he has served as a judge on the d.c. circuit court of appeals with great distinction offering opinions which have been widely admired for their skill, insight and rigorous adherence to the law. of those opinions, there are more than a dozen that the supreme court has adopted as the law of the land. beyond his great renown as a judge, he is active in his community. he coaches cyo basketball, serves meals to needy families, and having learned from his mom who is a schoolteacher in d.c., tutors children at local elementary schools. there is no one in america more qualified for

but i'm trying to do is to certain if judge cavanaugh has the qualities that i think we are all looking for in a judge and the judicial temperament and the character and the intelligence in the balance and the desire to truly follow the law rather than to try to move things in a more predetermined or perhaps political outcome. and so, i want to know how does he view president and what does he consider or how does he consider settled law to be settled. i'm looking forward to the conversation. i think it will be more than several weeks. the judiciary committee has two go through a pretty voluminous records request. you have a judge who's been on the bench now in the dc circuit for 12 years and is a lot opinion out there and you have his history in the bush administration so you have further records out there so i will be following all of it. i am okay been in that space of people accusing me of being too thoughtful on this. i want to be thoughtful. i think alaskans expect me to be thoughtful. i'm welcoming their opinions and views and everyone comes out with something they care about so t

judge cavanaugh ended up writing a 2009 law review article where he aued that sitting president might not necessarily be subject t aivil lawsuit or a criminal investigation, particularly if congress ends up passing a law about it, and you're going to probably see a tremendous amount of scrutiny about that, particularly if there is a very big development in the mueller/russia pbe over the next coup of months or so. >> this will be an interesting it always is. >> thanks, mark. >> thanks, wendy. we invite you to stay tuned for all of the latest involving the supreme court's picknd the president's overseas trip that's just ahead. that's on "nightly news" st >>> dozens of migrant children who got separated from their parents at the border are expected to be reunited today, but the trump administration is expect to miss the court-imposed deadline for a number of other kids and they have not agreed to extend the deadline to kieping fam together in long-term facilities. reunification will only happen for half of the 100. some have parents who remain in custody or can't be vetted, and ays that

about judgeoned cavanaugh's recent decisions.t to ask you about the time when he was an associate counsel between george w. bush and 2001 and 2003. in his revis confirmation, that was a bit controversial. do you expect he will get the documents from that period? >> the senators in the senate at that time that had a chance to visualize him, you wouldn't think he would have to have those again. that is one of the issues we are waiting for the white house or wherever else. somebody even says some of these documents might yet the at thes, some of them library as an example because we worked with george w's white house. we just got half the weight until we get a feel of how many pages more emails -- for thetant confirmation process? >> i haven't determined that yet but i have determined that going through other supreme court justice nominees, there are certain things that have regularly -- before the committee has document spirits so i am starting out with that precedent. if the democrats want a lot of documents, most democrats of alr

cavanaugh argued in his dissent that holding the young woman in custody refusing to release her for a medical appointment for her procedure until hhs was able to find her a sponsor who could serve as a foster parent, was not undue burden under the supreme court's legal test. he did not consider holding someone in government custody to be an undue burden. this is a view of someone who will not follow the law as currently set forth by the supreme court. if confronted the challenges to r roe. and let us remember that it's the supreme court that sets precedent and that could happen if judge kavanaugh is on that court and really the dissent in this case is a view of someone chosen for a reason, ready to fulfill donald trump's campaign promise to see roe vs wade overturned this fight matters. who sits on our courts matters and how we exercise our constitutional duty to examine a nom fee for the highest court in our land matters. justice will finance conservative interest spent deck cates setting the stage for the court packing going on today. those of us who oppose this agenda need to mobil

does anyone think any of these 25 names including judge cavanaugh would protect row? they would not be on the list if they were, you know that, i know that, the president knows that and the american people are going to know it here is what judge kavanaugh argued. that the trump administration should keep a young woman in detention and allow her to make her own choice about medical care. amazingly, he said the courts should consider a constitutional challenge to the healthcare law and openly criticize the supreme court decision to uphold the affordable care act including america's right now. to protect pre-pre-existing conditions and still get insurance. president trump had litmus test. judge kavanaugh's rulings do not stop there. he has even argued that sitting presidents should not face criminal investigation. no investigation of a president. is it ever need wonder president trump chose him from the list of 25? we know he is obsessed with this investigation. he even said that a president does not have to follow a lot if the president deems it, his words, unconstituti

cavanaugh, the only thing interesting for cavanaugh for me is that if the president really wants to get the republican, all 50, john mccain will not be there, he is recovering from brain cancer, or not recovering, dealing with it. to get susan collins, he would have to go cavan aaugh. >> does it mean that non-c non-cavanaugh pick. >> there is a picture of him fishing with justice, they are friends, and he has a fairly modest background, he would fit that mark. he doesn't have that inside washington background, that cavanaugh has. they may help him get through the center. >> build on this. i wanted to add to this. as we look at what some democrats are doing, pushing for it on the russia investigation saying, look, you need to pick a non-from these groups, don't pick from these four, the russia investigation could reach the supreme court, you need someone who will be understanding, if you will of that process. >> absolutely. if democrats had their pick, it would be garland, the nominee from before the 2016 elections. all of the justices, to build on possible folks who could be justices, i

cavanaugh and kethledge is a frontrunner. cavanaugh i'm told is the one that looks the most like neil gorsuch. some people have a problem with the ruling he made on obamacare. some people say the criticism is not merited. the president expecting a big fight from democrats because they believe that roe v. wade is on the line here. the next supreme court judge can tip the way in a way that would overturn roe v. wade and more moderate republicans of maine have expressed concern about the judicial philosophy of the next supreme court justice. she believes that roe v. wade is established law and doesn't need opening again. >> john roberts, thank you. we'll take a closer look at the top supreme court contenders and confirmation battle ahead. that, plus permits for lemonade stands and the bear that wanted more. stay with us. good to have you on this tuesday afternoon. get your groove on with one a day 50+. ♪ get ready for the wild life ♪ complete multivitamins with key nutrients that address 6 concerns of aging, including heart heal

essentially focusing on cavanaugh or kethleg. cavanaugh had some concerns later in the week, concerns raised by the senators. noticeably raised about some of the decisions and views cavanaugh has expressed. my sense is that the white house feels like that's under control now, and the president can make a decision on a leveled playing field, and feel confident that whomever he picks, he can get the nominee through the senate. i think right now, you're most likely looking at either a cavanaugh pick, who seems to be the credibled candidate, the person who has those washington ties. or ray ketleg,some refer to as a gorsuch. >> john allen, i didn't hear the name amy barrett there. democrats have certainly zeroed in on her a couple days ago. there was this issue with olympia snow saying roe v wade is an issue for her. is there a sense that amy conan barrett may be an that list? >> certainly so, i think there's a significant am of support for those who would like to see a woman on the court who would be in the position of overturning ro

president trump made his finalu decisiony night, then called cavanaugh to personally deliver the news, introducing him to americans as, quote, one of the sharpest legal minds of our time. with a signature made for tv we veal, president trump in pri time announcing his pick for the high court. >> i wil nominate judge brett kavanaugh to the united states supreme court. >> cavanaugh, a solid conservative, has spent the last 12 years as aederal appeals court judge in washington. the president praising him as a brilliant jurist. >> judge cavanaugh has impeccableed tials, unsurpassed qualifications, and a proven commitment to equal justice under the law. >> cavanaugh describing his judicial philosophy as straight toward. >> judge must be independent and must interpret the law noth make law. a judge must interprettatutes as written. a judge must interpret the constitution as written, informed by history and tradition and precedent. >> cavanaugh is at home in washington, a clerk for retiring justice antho y kennedy 25rs ago with ties to two past presidents. once investigating bill clinton for

his judicial record is not as comprehensive as cavanaugh.ge jamie barrett is drawing fire from democrats who fear she would overturn roe vs. wade. her support for overturning judicial precedent if she believes they were erroneously decided. i'm told the president would like to appoint a would map and nominating her would effectively put democratic senators like joe manchin, joe donnely and tim cain into a box they voted to confirm her last year. regardless of who the president nominates, there's going to be a big battle in congress over the confirmation. as you pointed out at the top, trace, this would 'ment a 5-4 conservative majority in the court for decades, years if not decades to come. listen to maryland senator benl carden speaking about this. >> clearly the president is looking at a list prepared by an extreme group that has an agenda that really wants to just ratify the president's policies. i think what the american people need to be concerned about is we're talking about changing the balance on the intreem court that's going to aff

now because judge cavanaugh is not just us at ruth bader ginsburg or justice sotomayor or.et ready, all tight and buckle up. democrats are about to tell you, as they have been saying for ten years now, the sky is going to fall. the world as you know it is going to end. and they want you to believe. they will lie to you. they want you to believe that judge kavanaugh is going to lead, okay, just like republicans. the dirty air, the dirty water, the rise of, let's see -- racism, sexism, massage andism. and america will cease to exist as we know it. my advice to the american people, they are going to lie to you, that's what they do. you have to listen to her own heart and mind and do your own research. we will present as much information as we can on this program. the democrats try to lie for political gain and as always, and originalists, a constitutionalist, an appointment such as this to the supreme court strengthens the foundation of this country, the original intent of our founders and our framers. the world is not coming to an end, just as it did not come to an end after

i suspect brett cavanaugh will not have an issue with him because there's oversight.with the oversight. not you don, but meaning voters. with an independent counsel if that independent counsel were to go in a direction that the country posed, there was no elected oversight and with a special counsel although there's been a lot of fear that trump would exercise his power to fire mueller through his deputy attorney general, the truth is there's oversight. i don't think brett cavanaugh will have any issue with the special counsel's existence. >> i want to talk about the fbi director christopher wrey. he was asked about the mueller investigation. >> i do not believe he's on a wimp hunt. it's a man i've known to be straight shooter. >> i don't think it's a kwiwitc hunt. the president calls it a witch hunt. that's a direct rebuttal. >> it is. it's consistent with what they have said. it's being carefully supervizzed. it's been well within the mission and mandate and it's been very productive. we've seen this support from the fbi and from doj for the special counsel investig

. >> shannon: cavanaugh is the nominated justice and some law students penned a letter saying he's a threat to the most vulnerable among the privileged bestow education. let's bring in a former law clerk to justice clarence thomas and judge brett ka vau -- ka -- cavanaugh. >> thank you for having me. >> shannon: how has the relationship been. >> he's lot a long record as a principle jurists and has a great record and has gotten praise along the spectrum for his judicial record and character. >> shannon: 18 female clerked penned this letter how he's been more than they've even expected as a mentor with career advice no matter where they are on the political spectrum and said that's how he likes to hire because he likes different view points. >> and he keeps up with all his law clerks. you get a quick response from him. i check with him when there's a big professional opinion coming up and he annual reunions and has a lot of character and a great family person and has helped all of us quite a bit. >> shannon: and i'm behind in e-mails and it speaks well he makes the time for people. i

meeting lawmakers that could make him justice cavender. -- cavanaugh.far they have been supportive with some even predicting that they could pick up democrat votes from states that trump voted for in 2016. >> if we have 51 votes to pass them i think democrats will jump on board but they will be hesitant. >> democratic opposition seems to be coalescing around an effort for the moderate republicans. joining the democrats to launch a coordinated campaign ahead of the confmation. spending $10 million to highlight the stakes on key issues like his healthcare and abortion. >> supporters see it as a way to not sink the abomination -- keep the red states from supporting cavanaugh. >> we are trying to rise to the challenge here, and try to put 10 chili oppose this nominee. >> the two most likely defectors because of their support for abortion rights. both are remaining noncommittal for now, but, flipping their votes could be a challenge for democrats unless cavanaugh indicates a desire to overturn. >> i'm going to be asking, i have never met him. i am anxious to

president bill clinton with trump facing a special counsel of his own he may now have a key ally cavanaugh has already spoken out against indicting a sitting president. in the minnesota law review he wrote the indictment and trial of a sitting president moreover would cripple the federal government rendering it unable to function with credibility in either the international or domestic arenas of all the people the most self-serving person he could choose in order to protect himself from this criminal investigation we cannot let this confirmation process go forward with the u.s. senate deciding the nomination and split between fifty one republicans and forty nine democrats every vote will count conservative groups have already launched an ad campaign he wants the best of the best on the supreme court and the president has signaled he's ready for the battle trying to set up a nomination we're room next door to the white house in the eisenhower executive office building a sign to liberals that the battle is on john hendren al-jazeera the white house. thank you. well as supreme court is the hi

specifically cavanaugh.ns are pushing back on ice for various reasons. as much as i would love to see a female on the ranch, as i heard the lead up to seckman, she had a tough confirmation process for her current job. i think my money is on kethledge. >> i love amy barrett. she did have a tough confirmation, let's not forget three democrats did vote for her. manchin, tim kaine and donnelly out of indiana. i like her because she is the youngest, 46. she is the mother of seven. she is a strict originalist in constitutionalist. at the same time, the thing appealing to me julie is the fact that she was a clerk for antonin scalia, and she did not go to when i leave -- and ivy league school. i would like that on the supreme court. i like amy barrett. at the same time i like kethledge as well. i would have to say cavanaugh is probably my third choice. conservatives overall, i doubt we will be disappointed by anything that donald trump was in front of us as a nominee. >> with cavanaugh you have some decisions on oba

judge cavanaugh's opinions are cited by judges around the country. the supreme court has, again, endorsed his opinion at least a dozen times. he's written that the judge's job is to interpret the law, not to make the law or to make policy. we look at-- he went on to say, so read the words of the statute as written. read the text of the constitution as written. mindful of history and tradition, it's an important mindful point there, which you would assume you would determine had-- were done consistent with the law and the constitution. read the text of the constitution as written mindful of the history and tradition. don't make up new constitutional rights that are not in the text of the constitution. don't shy away from enforcing constitutional rights that are in the text. constitution, that is the quote of one of his many writings. we have lots of things to look at here. since 2009 he's been, lecturer at the law school at harvard. in addition to being a brilliant legal mind, he's devoted to his community and as we saw the other night to his family a

there might be 'path for a compromise candidate, like cavanaugh, he too clerked for kennedy.r maybe thomas hard i man. circuit court of appeals in philadelphia. those are the reported four finalists. although, with president trump, one never knows who will be the last to be voted off the island. here are the most important stats about these potential justices, at least according to me. calf a -- there appears one certainty, president trump is about to nominate someone who could easily serve three decades on the court, further bolstering his standing for better or worse as the most consequential president of the modern era. so who do you think he will select? that's the poll question this hour. go and vote now. your choice is judge barrett, kavanaugh, kethledge or hardiman or someone else. i'll give you the results at the end of the hour. alan dershowitz is here to weigh in. his latest book comes out on monday. it's called the case against impeaching trump. professor, if the president called and solicited your advice, who would you advise him to -- >> i could never disclose, i

>> judge cavanaugh is a circuit judge. he is ruled several times against agencies like the epa in favor of the ministration. they just do a lot of federal agency stuff and has a long track record in supporting conservative beliefs about agencies. >> that is not going to stop anyone. >> he does not have a terrible record on abortion. >> you have to know that he has been around for long enough period now. so every facet of how your asking for an effort he could give you that. >> he has been on the short list for a while. >> the bedding markets say that's who it is. of 41% if you look at the european betting markets. they believe it is going to be cavanaugh. but i think he is been vetted over and over again by various republican administrations. >> i don't think there are surprises in the case. of course she is not been around long enough. and i don't believe that justices are going to be able to get away here. saying they can't answer because i may have to rule. >> the european betting community takes bets on who the nominee

not like this cavanaugh guy or this kethledge guy.ets named is going to be the new sort of demon head for liberals for the next few weeks. >> martha: you are so right. i think that may be the case. perhaps because amy coney barrett is relatively new. she's been on the court i think seven or eight months at this point, that the president perhaps might believe that he's going to get another pick and that perhaps he would like to return to that idea later down the road. thomas hardiman has also said to be one of the top contenders. what do you think of brett kavanaugh? is he someone that you would be happy with, and why? >> sure. basically anybody who was on that list is someone i could certainly live with and some people i could be very excited by. on things like this i tend to outsource a lot of my judgment to these people. i have a lot of friends who are basically fantasy supreme court players and they have studied all these briefs and all that and brett kavanaugh is very popular among a lot of people i trust like ed whelan, who write

judge cavanaugh has over 300 opinions. he's written about a lot of legal subjects pretty extensively. as i said -- >> was this one a factor to be clear? >> the factors are his entire record. >> so the white house deflecting on that specific issue, saying we were aware of his entire record here. still, officials at the white house today, this morning are expressing confidence to me they believe the senate can confirm and will confirm cavanaugh, in their words, by the start of the next supreme court session, october 1st. when there were questions in recent days from some confidents about kavanaugh specifically. i'm told by one source at the white house that the president says we have the votes, stephanie. >> yes, i'm sure the white house is aware of kavanaugh's entire record. i got a sufferinging feeling the president is really stoked that he said no. a sitting president cannot be investigated. all right, garrett, walk me through kavanaugh's day. he's expected to start meetings with senators? >> he has two big meetings. firs