justice gorsuch's was unanimously confirmed by simple voice vote to the court of appeals. not one senator voted against justice kennedy for both you and justice gorsuch clerked for and how you will succeed on the court. not one senator voted against justice scalia's confirmation for you have called a role model and a hero. but that was before judges were viewed as policymakers, rather than fair. and neutral interpreters of the constitution drafted bys congress. today as i suggested it's a wonderful opportunity to re-examine the proper role for judges under our constitution and the difference between legislators and judges. as justice gorsuch wrote before joining the supreme court, a poll than forcing between legislators and judges was the great project of the late justice scalia's career. justice scalia would always remind us that legislators may appeal to their own moral convictions and to claims abouta social utility. but judges instead can strive to apply the law as it is looking to the text, structure and history. not to decide cases based on their own moral conviction

gorsuch delivered the key fifth vote in the busting janice decision. he too pledged in his hearing to follow the law of judicial precedent. assures us he was not a philosopher king and promised to give equal concern to every person poor or rich, mighty or meek. how did that turn out? great for the rich and mighty. gorsuch is the single most corpora corporate-friendly court already full of them. ruling for corporate interests in 70% of the cases and in every single case where his vote was determinative. the president assures e va van gel teles his 56 would attack roe vs. wade. despite assurances about precede precedent, your words said it is not settled law since the court can overrule its press depth. mr. chairman, we have seen this movie before. we know how it ends. the sad fact is that there is no consequence for telling the committee fairy tales about sdis us and riding off with the roberts five, trampling across whatever precedent gets in the way of letting those dig republican interests keep winning 5-4 partisan decisions. 73-0, mr. kavanaugh. eve

let me just say this. >> just answer me the neil gorsuch. did they like gorsuch? did he get confirmed? >> yes, as the fourth vote and kavanaugh would be the fifth. there are nine members of the supreme court. this is the important opening. if you look at the senator from hawaii who said basically she doesn't believe that brett kavanaugh deserves the presumption of innocence because he has an originalist approach to the constitution, what it tells you, when you look at dianne feinstein, who had this accuser's letter for six weeks and did nothing with it, what it tells you is that they know how important the stakes are for the issues they care about that go before the court. it means we're politicizing every aspect of the supreme court. what i would like to see the democrats do is what the republicans do. you're right, sotomayor got overwhelming support, so did elaina kagan. if you look at all these other nominees to the court they get overwhelming support. even ruth ginsburg calls what's going on a circus. if you're qualified to be on the court that's what matters.

kennedy: as much as gorsuch? >> he's a little cageyer. would put him somewhere between roberts and gorsuch. one thing we have to remember web's not a trumpy judge. kennedy: i think the way the president picks supreme court judges is very different than the way he operates on twitter. kennedy: illya, thank you very much. the president is calling bob woodward's new book fake news. today... back pain can't win. now introducing aleve back and muscle pain. only aleve targets tough pain for up to 12 hours with just one pill. aleve back & muscle. all day strong. all day long. too hot to work? nah. this is the gator xuv835. with game-changing heat and air, it's never too anything for anything. comcast business built the nation's largest gig-speed network. then went beyond. beyond chasing down network problems. to knowing when and where there's an issue. beyond network complexity. to a zero-touch, one-box world. optimizing performance and budget. beyond having questions. to getting answers. "activecore, how's my network?" "all sites are green." al

kennedy: as much as gorsuch? >> he's a little cageyer. would put him somewhere between roberts and gorsuch. one thing we have to remember web's not a trumpy judge. kennedy: i think the way the president picks supreme court judges is very different than the way he operates on twitter. kennedy: illya, thank you very much. the president is calling bob woodward's new book fake news. ♪ ooh, heaven is a place on earth ♪ uhp. i didn't believe it. again. ♪ ooh, baby, do you know what that's worth? ♪ i want to believe it. [ claps hands ] ♪ ooh i'm not hearing the confidence. okay, hold the name your price tool. power of options based on your budget! and! ♪ we'll make heaven a place on earth ♪ yeah! oh, my angels! ♪ ooh, heaven is a place on earth ♪ [ sobs quietly ] ♪ oback pain can't win.e on earth ♪ now introducing aleve back and muscle pain. only aleve targets tough pain for up to 12 hours with just one pill. aleve back & muscle. all day strong. all day long. brbut how will his dentured to thicope with... a steak. luckily for brad, this isn't a

and gorsuch returned about 10 minutes later than that, so be on time, please. >> you said gorsuch. .>> and we've been hearing opening statements from the judiciary committee today after democrats called on the chair to adjourn the hearing. they'd received tens of thousands to have requested documents last night and wanted more time to review them. also, protesters during the hearing inside the room and just outside started off this hearing. we'll take a look outside of the hearing room, where people are waiting in line to get into the hearing for supreme court nominee judge brett kavanaugh. we've heard from him briefly this morning, as he introduced his family. today, statements are expected to continue, as well as introductions of the judge by ohio senator, rob portman, and former secretary of state, condoleezza rice. the questioning of judge kavanaugh is expected to begin tomorrow and continue through thursday. we'll also be hearing his opening statement later this afternoon. bl >> while we are waiting for the committee to come back together, taking about a 15-minute break here, we

he said judge gorsuch made these promises when he was asking for our votes. but early this year, he joined a majority of the court to overturn precedent in a 41-year-old case that protected government workers and their ability to form a union. in a 5-4 decision. i expect judge kavanaugh to make similar promises over the next few days, only to do, sadly, the exact opposite if confirmed. our job here is important because every american should be concerned about what our government and country would look like if judge kavanaugh is confirmed. we owe it to american people and to all the independent-minded judges i mentioned at the beginning of my remarks to preserve the integrity of our constitution, and the fairness and order of a system that has served us well for so long. judge kavanaugh, what may be going through your mind right now is to simply and stoically endure this hearing. but don't you think you owe it to the american people to disclose all of the documents being requested? because you have nothing to hide. because you have nothing to hide. i agree wit

and we're going to get, we just got neil gorsuch, we're going to get brett. we've got great people. look at this. we moved the u.s. embassy to jerusalem. [cheers and applause] we're protecting, remember this, you'll never get that, they said that about everything. you'll never get that, you'll never get elected, you'll never

people say what about neil gorsuch. scalia, gorsuch, both conservatives. my late father said when there is going to be a swatch a conservative for a liberal or swing vote, it will be world war iii. jon: if ruth bader joins berg were to leave the court. >> identical situation, even more toxic. both justices gorsuch and judge kavanaugh clerked for anthony kennedy. to jump right in and say they are extreme is unfair. jon: elena kagan hired kavanaugh. >> antonin scalia was confirmed 98-0. jon: dr. blasey ford is very believable and convincing. but she tells the story of this traumatic event in her life. she remembers the people involved, but can't remember the house, can't remember who threw the party. can't remember their parents. if this such a searing memory, why are those details -- >> i have spoke with witness hospital sometimes remember things and sometimes don't. seriously we went delight and were discussing, remembering the trauma part of it versus the details part of it. the point is they came in with an immediate narrative, it's totally logical to re

and gorsuch got 54.much more party line against republican nominees than republicans vote against democratic nominees. >> i just want to add that, you know, chris' point, this has been a very hostile environment today. you had a number of protesters as you mentioned jumping up in this room. he couldn't see who they were. so then they get up to go to lunch break and someone comes toward him from the right. i think it's a bit unfair to call this a snub when that is all we have to go on and the room has been very testy. >> to dana point, a lot has been about process. senator grassley moving forward as he did, chose to let everybody have their say. and then let it air out. >> yeah, we're about the end of the day where we would be. perhaps that senator grassley hoped. his tactic of being patient with these and letting it play out is probably turned out to be effective and wise things to do. once you join something like this, it prolongs it. so the republicans by and large did not. i would say that this is a g

senator will have 30 minutes for the first round of questions and i intend to go like we have with gorsuch, that people will have a chance to ask the questions they want to ask, but we start out with the 30 minutes and 20 minute second round, so everybody is going to have a chance for 50 minute crack at this strong judge. meeting adjourned. and at the end of that senator udall be recognized. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: first, my friend who did an outstanding job on the judiciary committee, for his graciousness and thoughtfulness and also my friend from new mexico as well. today the senate judiciary committee began hearings on judge brett kavanaugh's nomination to the supreme court. democrats on the committee have pointed out that over 40,000, 40,000 of judge kavanaugh's documents were handed over to the committee last night. it's the latest insult in what has been an insulting process for reviewing the nominee's record on the issues. not just insulting to democrats in the senate, insulting to the senate as a whole and insulting to the american people, like, you k

justice gorsuch put it this way. he said judges don't wear red robes or blue robes.hey wear black robes. these are the kind of men and women that president trump has been setting up and we have been confirming. and i hope it makes you proud and if we can hold on to the senate majority for two more years we're going to transform the federal judiciary with men and women who believe in [applause] and you all following the current supreme court fight. and you will watch it unfold in the course of the next week. president trump has nominated a stunningly successful individual. [applause] [cheering] you have watched the fight. you watched the tactics, but here's what i want to tell you. in the very near future, judge kavanaugh will be on the united states supreme court. [applause] [cheering] keep the faith. don't get rattled by all of this. we're going to plow right through it and do our job. [applause] [cheering] so moving beyond the supreme court, here's our challenge for the future. to do our jobs, wait out the obstruction, confirm more quality nominees to the judiciary

the answer was neil gorsuch.hehe was nominated confirmation process, and when republicans saw they were not going to get to 60 votes they changed the rules again to make sure that it could be a majority vote to cut off debate. 50, when thehave governor of places senator 51ain they will be back to -49. there are a couple democrats who will likely vote for confirmation, particularly those running for reelection in heavily republican states. i hate to use the terms like done deal but there is not a lot democrats can do other than point out what their authorization -- what their opposition is. unless there is a smoking gun and they learn something from the documents at a been released. but there's a lot of suspense about whether he will be confirmed. stephen, indicator decatur, georgia, on the independent line. caller: we know kavanaugh will be appointed to the court. there's no if's, and's, or butts. is about what we are turning into as a country. after the election of donald trump, or selection. we have turned into

justice gorsuch was confirmed by a simple voice vote to the court of appeals. not one senator voted against justice kennedy who both you and justice gorsuch clerked for and who you will succeed on the court, not one senator voted against justice scalia's confirmation who you have called a role model and a hero, but that was before judges were viewed as policy makers rather than fair and neutral interpreters of the constitution and the laws drafted by congress. today as i suggested is a wonderful opportunity to reexamine the proper role for judges under our constitution and the difference between legislators and judges. as justice gorsuch wrote before he joined the supreme court, upholding and enforcing this distinction between legislators and judges was the great project of the late justice scalia's career. justice scalia would also remind us that legislators may appeal to their own moral convictions and claims about social utility, but judges instead should strive to apply the law as it is, looking to the text, structure and history, not to decide cases based

>> i'm doing what i did during justice neil gorsuch's confirmation and what chairman leahy did duringkagan's. >> this is an obstruction of justice. >> if this were a court of law, every member on the dais would be held in contempt of court. >> come on. >> this process will be tainted and stained forever. shannon: q and a starts tomorrow at 9:30 eastern, it will be a long day. our midnight hero tonight, the 1-time bill cosby star working at a trader joe's will debate whether a hollywood star working for trader joe's is a story at all but i praise him for his comments in the aftermath of this, there is no job better than another, all jobs are worthwhile. tyler perry offered him a job, so much respect for people who hustle between gigs, the measure of a true artist. he says he doesn't want any hand me outs, he wants to get additions for jobs because he is the right person for it. love you for watching tonight, most-watched, most trusted, most grateful you spent the evening with us. we will see you tomorrow for the brett kavanaugh hearing. ♪ meet george jetson. ♪ ♪ his boy elroy. with ins

just as they were during the nominations of kagan or gorsuch. we have expanded access to these documents, also, instead of just providing access to committee members. we've provided access to all 100 senators. instead of just providing access to a very few committee aides, we've provided access to all committee aides. instead of just providing access to physical binders of paper, we've provided 24/7 digital and searchable access. this is unprecedented access to committee confidential material. i'd also like to add that my staff set up workstations and have been available 24/7 to help senators who are not on committee access confidential materials. not once -- but not one senator showed up. i guess senators complaining about lack of access to confidential documents weren't really interested in seeing them in the first place. i want to emphasize, more documents are widely available than in any prior supreme court nomination. then to the issue about hiding committee confidential documents, some colleagues, and you've heard it this morning, accuse o

kavanaugh will be as good as if not a better witness than kneel gorsuch was last year. -- neil gorsuch was. host: why aren't democrats as good as republicans when it comes to their concerns and trying to block nominees? guest: i don't think they play hardball as much. you could imagine, for example, two years ago when barack obama nominated garland, when the positions were reversed, if there was a republican president nominating a justice for the court, and there was a democratic-controlled senate, i'm not sure the democrats would have thought of or been able to accomplish the stonewalling done of garland. maybe that's admirable. but in the political game, they have never been as good at it as the republicans. ultimately the tactics of the republicans, the breaking of norms, is bad, i think for the court. i argue in the book that some of what we have seen in confirmation hearings in the last decade was brought on by the court itself. because the court is involved in so many key social issues. it raises the stakes in nations. it wasn't always like that. host: david kaplan's book out tod

during gorsuch's nomination, we accepted committee documents committee confidential. at that time, senator feinstein asked for 19 documents, as we're getting documents for you now. in the same way. so, you read from my letter and you called it a sham. was it a sham when we did it for gorsuch? was it a sham when we, when senator leahy did it? and the reason we did it is so that we could get documents so you could review them almost from i think august the 5th or sometime. maybe it was august 10th. so you could start on it very early. and then don't forget, that documents come, committee confidential and don't forget on a regular rolling basis they're not committee confidential and then put on our website, so that the 300 million people can view them if they want to. and then the second point about the lawyer for president bush, all of our conversations last night were with the department of justice. i hope you understand that these people in the department of justice are people that are there for years under both the republican and democratic administrations. they're s

this is the same chuck grassley that ran the gorsuch hearings. i'd like to run this hearing the same way if you would give me the courtesy of doing it. how long do you want to go on? >> mr. chairman, i like to make one more point. the accusation that this is a mob rule hearing was made from your colleague from the state of texas. conducting have been this in a respectful appropriate way. my concerns that i want to renew was over how the document request was handled for now justice kagan. a request was sent to the national archives. ranking member feinstein tried to work with you to send an identical request to the national archives. and before we proceed with the questioning, i simply would like to have a settled heart about why you chose to communicate directly to the archives not to respond to the ranking member's request. havers of this committee raised issues about an unprecedented committee process by which documents were blocked, pray which they were persecuted -- by which they were considered classified and we have been blocked from being

this congress is proud to confirm not just judge gorsuch but 26 judges to the appellate courts across the nation. this includes three outstanding texans to the 5th circuit court of appeals, historically, the nom nation of judges to our highest courts were somewhat routine, justice gorsuch was voted to the court of appeals, not one senator voted against judge kennedy who you and judge gorsuch clerked for and you will succeed on the court. not one senator voted against justice scalia's confirmation who you call a role model and a hero. but that was before judges were viewed as policy makers rather than fair and neutral interpreters of the constitution and the laws drafted by congress. today as i suggested, it is a wonderful opportunity to re-examine the proper role for judges under our constitution and the difference between legislators and judges. as justice gorsuch wrote before he joined the supreme court, upholding this distinction between legislators and judges was the great project of the late justice scalia's career. justice scalia would always remind us legislators may appeal to

this is comparable with what we have seen in the past, for example on gorsuch's nomination. >> these nomination fights can fallout him party lines. does the american public view the supreme court is partisan? >> they do. they are dealing the fight in a partisan context, and see it as a polarized animal. all they know about the court is there are no cameras and it is in washington dc they behave like democrats and republicans, and congress provides no evidence to the contrary. >> how does it compare to previous times you polled the american public? >> it is very similar. it is a dangerous, worrisome trend. we have been asking this question since 2011, first about health care reform hearings and later about same-sex marriage, asking whether people view the court decisions as demonstrating that they are acting in a constitutional manner. decision recent demonstrates a split into parties like democrats and republicans, and that is what 56% say. it is there a dangerous for the institution itself. >> we said a week out from the confirmation hearings, when were you in the field with this po

my point is that justice gorsuch was confirmed to the court in one of the most concerningly partisanr the majority deployed the nuclear option to end the filibuster for supreme court nominations this brings us, judge, to today and your nomination. when justice kennedy announced his returmt i once again called the white house and urged through white house counsel that president trump consider selecting someone for the seat who could win broad support from both sides of the aisle and, judge kavanaugh, i'm concerned you may not be that nominee. your record prior to joining the bench places you in the midst of some of the most pitched and partisan battles in our lifetimes, from ken star's investigation of president clinton to the 2000 election recount to the controversies of the bush administration, including surveillance, torture, access to justice and the culture wars. so, judge, it's critical that this committee and the american people fully examine your record to understand what kind of justice you would be. and unfortunately as we've all discussed at length here today, that's been r

just as they were during the nominations of kagan or gorsuch. but we have expanded access to these documents also instead of just providing access to committee members, we've provided access to all 100 senators. instead of just providing access to a very few committee aides, we've provided access to all committee aides. and instead of just providing access to physical binders of paper. we've provided 24/7 digital and searchable access. this is unprecedented access to committee confidential material. i would also like to add that my staff set up work stations and have been available 24/7 to help senators who are not on committee access confidential materials, but not once, but not one senator showed up. i guess senators complaining about lack of access to confidential documents weren't really interested in seeing them in the first place. but i want to emphasize more documents are widely available than in any prior supreme court nomination. to the issue before hiding committee confidential documents. some colleagues, and you've heard it this morni

judge gorsuch it's not about i agree or disagree, that would be huberus. it carries far more weight. he made these comments when he was asking for our votes, but earlier this year, he joined the majority of the court to overturn precedent in a 41-year-old case thanking protected government workers and ability to form a union in a 5-4 decision. i expect judge kavanaugh to make similar promises but to do. our job here is very important because every american should be concerned what our government and country would look like if judge kavanaugh is confirmed. we owe is to the american people and the independent-minded judges to preserve the integrity of our constitution and fairness and order of a system that has served us so well. what may be going through your mind right now is to simply endure this hearing, but don't you think you owe it to the american people to disclose all of the documents being requested because you have nothing to hide, because you have nothing to hide. i agree with my colleague senator dushyirn, judge kavanaugh. if you stand behind yo

neil gorsuch went to that high school. no one came out -- no one came out and said anything like this about neil gorsuch. so, no, this doesn't happen every time. >> and also the idea there's these generic allegations that democrats keep on tap to fling at anybody who comes along who they want taderail and they have no connection to reality, i mean it's, a, you're right it doesn't account for the gorsuch factor here. but also as these allegations continue to mount, if they're so, so sure there's absolutely nothing here, refusing to allow the allegations to be investigated is not the way to disprove them. >> it can only be that you refuse to have an fbi investigation because the fbi investigation can only make this worse, can't make it better for brett kavanaugh. rachel, thank you for a great hour and starting us off tonight. >>> and we're going to begin right now with lisa graves, the former chief counsel for nominations on the senate judiciary committee and also was a deputy attorney general in the department of justice. j

gorsuch described the busting union decision. he too had pledged in his hearing to follow the law and judicial precedent, not a philosopher king and promised to give equal concern to every person baby or meek. how did that turn out? great for the rich and maybe. the single most corporate friendly justice on the court already full of them, ruling for big business interests in over 70% f of cases and in every sine case for his boat was determinative. the president early on assured evangelicals the supreme court picks would attack were v. wade. despite confirmation etiquette assurances, your own words make clear you don't really believe roe v. wade is settled law of the court as you said can always overrule its precedent. mr. chairman, we've seen this movie before. we know how it ends. the sad fact is that there is no consequence for telling the committee fairytales and then write enough of the roberts five, trampling across whatever precedent gets in the way of letting the state republican interests keep winning 5-for partisan deci

>> i'm doing exactly what i did during judge gore neil gorsuchs nomination. that virtually every member on that side would be held in contempt of court. >> this process will be tainted and stained forever. >> shannon: well buckle up, day two and q&a actually starts tomorrow. it's slated to be a long day but we will be there for all your coverage. our midnight hero is jeffrey owens, the one time star that was seen recently working at trader joe's. some would debate whether that's a story at all, but i would like to praise owens for his comments in the aftermath of all of this. he says "there is no job better than another, all job jobs are worthwhile." plus tyler peary also offered him a job. by the way, tonight, owens is saying he doesn't want any handouts, he wants to audition for the job and get the job because he's the right person for it. i love jeffrey owens. and i love you guys were watching tonight. most-watched, most trusting, most rightly spent the evening for us. we willoo see the kavanaugh hearing tomorrow, i'm shannon bream. ♪ i earn unlimited 2% c

. >> it was reported that president trump was upset when then judge now justice gorsuch met with you and other colleagues and may have been less than complimentary. does a nominee owe loyalty to the president once through this process and once on the bench? >> no, i think once the member is confirmed to the supreme court, he has an obligation to try to follow the laws as written. >> i have to read to you a tweet from a year ago, actually a few years ago from 2013. thanks to all of you who encourage me to consider filibuster reform. that had to be done. that was from your old colleague harry reid. what do you think he feels about this. >> not very far -- hugh hewett and i have discussed this in the past. we never filibusters until george bush 43 was elected president and so the appointment whether to the cabinet or court is a new invention. and who invented it? chuck schumer. we're band to where we were as a matter of custom for 200 and some odd years down to the 2000 election which is you don't filibuster nominees on the executive calendar. so i'm comfortable with where we are. that

the president worried that gorsuch would not be loyal and told aides that he was tempted on pull gorsuch's nomination, and that he knew plenty of other judges who would want the job. and to add to that, kavanaugh, chuck, was really fawning over the president when he accepted the nomination. let's play that sound bite. >> 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 for 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. >> chuck, he said throughout this process, i have witnessed first hand your appreciation for the vital role of the american judiciary. >> yeah. well, you're right. there's a good bit of fawning in this and it is unsettling. the fact the president is an unindicted co-conspirator is highly unsettling. i still come back to my original point. that justices of the supreme court appointed for life often and early establish their independence from who

that wasn't the case with go gorsu gorsuch. none of this came one gorsuch.hat there aren't others that you could choose from that would never have these kind of allegations come up against them -- >> i think anybody the republicans put up at this point, maria, you would create allegations and make the same argument because the strategy -- >> did it happen with gorsuch? did it happen with gorsuch? it didn't. which means that there are people out in, men out there, women out there, with such impeccable resumes beyond reproach, which is what a lifetime appointment to the supreme court should be about. if you were ceo of a company, scott, and you were hiring for your highest legal position in a company that had majority women and you are these kind of allegations, you would not hire that person. >> listen here, we have -- >> the bar should be even higher than that for the supreme court. >> liz swisher is a college friend of brett kavanaugh. here's what he told chris cuomo -- she, rather. >> there's no problem with drinking beer in college. the problem is lying a

given my very recent experience with now justice gorsuch.have to guess what his views are on this. he's spoken about it. he's written about it. he's picked out this particular case as one in a speech he gave in 2016 that of all the cases, all the cases, in american constitutional history, it was the one he said he wanted to overturn. so i'll be challenging him to speak to his own record, something that is clearly legitimate for 34e to ame to as about, what did you mean when you said this case must be overturned. why? it goes directly to his view the scope and reach of the presidency and the idea that the president has to be able to fire at will and refuse to obey orders from any prosecutor. >> we will be watching and very interested in those answers. senator chris coons, thank you very much for being on. >> thank you, alisyn. >>> two journalists from reuters say they were just doing their jobs, but now they face seven-year sentence. what the head of reuters plans to do to get them out of prison. that's next. ♪ >> announcer: "america's choice

he is being less forthcoming than neil gorsuch who was not exactly mr. forthcoming. fair? >> i think the memo this morning forced him to say more about roe and saying i worked -- >> pro-life president. >> precedent upon precedent. he's a super political figure here in this town as dick durbin called him the zelag of republican politics or forrest gump. >> let's go up to capitol hill. phil mattingly is tracking this. we used the word remarkable, unprecedented. this hearing this morning where you had a democratic senator and then several colleagues say, go ahead. kick us out. go for it. quite remarkable. >> reporter: i believe senator booker called it a spartacus moment. this is the reality that democrats have long been frustrated with this process. kind of a very different process just because of the scope of paper trail for brett kavanaugh. but they haven't necessarily been able to latch on to things that make it real. make it something that can actually gain momentum and what they got this morning. i think jones read on the abortion-related e-mail or at least how legal sc

but at this moment, he mentioned the gorsuch hearings. that was a conservative replacing a conservative. there is the policy implication for the democrats that this is a more conservative, we believe, we don't know until if and when he's confirmed. they believe he's more to the right than justice kennedy, who is leaving. >> he was actually ambushed. he was not anticipating this level of aggression from the democrats. he presumed there would be a lot of angry comments in their opening statements about process. he did not expect to get interrupted by democrat after democrat. this democratic strategy began over the last several days. they've had private discussions. there was a conference call organized over the weekend by chuck schumer, the senate minority leader. talked to members on the committee, the rank and file democrats in particular on that committee, who wanted to take a much tougher line because of their frustration. grassley and the republicans were caught flat footed on that, but grassley did not want to give an inch on this bec

>> i'm glad to talk about justice gorsuch's. i read everything that they have written that law review articles and judicial reviews but i haven't come to my office and i asked them about the questions that i have. i wait until the hearing is over and the judiciary committee in based on all of that i make a decision. i've tried cases in all courts including supreme court. i take this very seriously. justice gorsuch's i was extremely concerned that he had a habit of going out of his way to be an activist judge on one particular topic women's freedom to make their own health care decisions. again and again the justice who said he was an umpire would go out of his way -- i didn't think we needed him on the court. but i did my homework. you don't see me coming out the gate and trashing somebody for calling them a name before even know the facts. i'm going to do my homework before you reach a decision. >> 60 seconds mr. stewart. >> it's not just judge gore sachin not just judge kavanaugh commits the 17 appointments that tim kaine the

well, just as i did last year during justice gorsuch's confirmation, you put a process in place that would allow my colleagues to obtain the public release of confidential documents for use during the hearing. all i ask was my colleagues to identify the documents they intended to use and i would work to get the department of justice and former president bush to agree to waive restrictions on the documents. senator feinstein secured the public release of 19 documents last year under this process and senator klobuchar secured the release of four documents this year. if my colleagues truly believed that other committee confidential documents should have been made public, they never told me about them and request the ones they wanted. instead of scaring the american people by suggesting that we're hiding some incriminating documents, they should've made a request that i worked to get the committee confidential designation removed. this year i received no such request except from senator klobuchar which was honored and resulted in the disclosure of documents that she wanted to use during

that hand that was extended to the republicans they didn't allow it and then they end up getting the gorsuch and now they've chosen kavanaugh someone who has just about the worst developing reputation out of any political figure in in recent memory he was lucky that bill cosby was in the news this week to take a little bit of the focus off of them. and now that we have these accusers these credible women who are coming forward they say that this is all political it's a big con as trump says and if we bow down to these women now they will do this to every candidate this is just the standard operating procedure now that is a theory that doesn't stand up to even the most recent example did it happen neal gorsuch no it didn't happen to of course it's because he apparently had raped any women and so i think the process is terrible i think it is partisan but not in the way that the republicans are saying and i think honestly that this isn't a problem of judge just brett kavanaugh i think that we need to fundamentally rethink how we put people in the supreme court how long they serve that entire th

this is longer period of time than senators had for justices sotomayor, kagan, and gorsuch. justice kavanaugh also submitted over 17,000 pages with his bipartisan judiciary committee questionnaire. the most extensive questionnaire ever returned by a nominee to the supreme court. the committee also received more than 440,000 pages of documents related to his service in the executive branch. this, too, is more than any supreme court nominee to date. as has been said earlier, in fact is more than the last five nominees combined. i applaud chairman grassley and his dedicated staff for their tireless work in reviewing these documents and making the vast majority publicly available as quickly as possible. and frankly, mr. chairman, i believe the american people appreciate your efforts, your transparency and your commitment to a fair process. now i want to make one side note. it was said here today that the number of documents provided by justice, now justice kagan, who was also a nominee who had served in the white house and had many, many documents relating to her service, that 9

the more they learn about brett kavanaugh the more they will like him. >> you helped neil gorsuch go through the murder board where they practiced what his hearing would be like but for those hot lights and coverage it has to be difficult for the nominee even when it looks like they will have the votes. what is the practice session? >> what brett kavanaugh has been doing is going through literally hundreds of hours of practice sessions where they set up a fake hearing room and have white house counsel, former clerks, former senators and current senators that ask the hardest questions to get him ready for those hearings because it is arduous to sit there all day pounded with questions. you want to make sure he is battle tested because he's going to do a great job but you don't want to get caught in this gotcha moment. >> thanks, the battle begins tomorrow. when we return nike has a new spokesman for 30th anniversary ad campaign. so many to choose from, lebron, michael jordan, colin kaepernick, the company seems to be starting to backpedal. didn't realize they are alienating a big chun

let's look back at how they voted for neil gorsuch. joe donnelly is a no on this nomination, did vote for neil gorsuch, so did heidi heitkamp and joe manchin. how is the calculus different for those two this time around? >> there was no cloud over neil gorsuch like this is with this one. it's lucky for heidi heitkamp and joe manchin that this fbi investigation is going forward. that's exactly what democrats have been asking for. they've got it. the process will be undertaken and the fbi will render a report at the end. that will give those red state democrats, the ones that are still on the fence, some cover one way or the other. either the fbi comes up with very serious issues to be addressed or it will essentially clear him and that will give a good indication of where safely manchin and heitkamp can go at that point. it's a good break they've got this week for the fbi to do its job, do what democrats have asked for and either way at the end they can cast a vote feeling they got sufficient information to make the best judgment for th

now justice neil gorsuch. she is a former senator from new hampshire, she had been instrumental in helping bring him around to meet the senators during their one-on-one negotiations. her name was floated at one that isut we understand not who is being considered for this point. so we don't know the answer to that question. host: nancy is in ohio. on the line for those who support the nomination. caller: i am just calling to say i do support him. think i would i be, i think, very surprised and disappointed. but i do think, if this is about groping, i don't understand why they are calling for fbi investigations. on theisa mascaro, status of whether an fbi investigation would happen at this point. somethings is democrats have called for from the beginnings when these allegations surfaced, almost two weeks ago, 10 days ago. they said -- the fbi does what is called a background investigation on the nominees. is not a full, normal fbi investigation that you may think of. it is really just april mary review -- prelim

judicial nominees, an historic pace that includes 36 circuit judges, 33 district court judges and kneel gorsuch to the supreme court. this week we'll confirm even more as the confirmation process continues for president trump's second nominee, judge brett kavanaugh. in the last week or two the democratic minority has been very cooperative with this, appointing good conservative republicans to the district and circuit courts. but let me continue about judge kavanaugh, first let's just say that he is well regarded by his peers. he's a mainstream independent jurist well regarded across the political spectrum. look at his professional career to see why. his record at the supreme court is stellar. excuse me, as a circuit court judge with -- i'm sorry. at a circuit court judge which was then reviewed by the supreme court. the supreme court adopted positions advanced by his opinions at least 13 times and overruled him only once. on the d.c. circuit court, democratic-appointed skwrublgs were just as -- judges r just as likely to join judge kavanaugh's majority opinions in full as his republican appoint

and then after that, justice gorsuch was confirmed and justice gorsuch was going to provide the fifth vote whereas in the previous vote because of the death of justice scalia, the earlier case of fredericks ended in a tie. within a long, justice gorsuch and the fifth vote was there and abood is overturn an janus now the precedent case. so to the extent that the court in janus said by the way, all you litigants, all you people t there who are relying on this precedent, you have notice that we were thinking of overturning this case. do you believe that is justice should be able to make it easir to overturnma or even, overturn even well-established supreme court precedent by simply giving notice that he or she has concerns about that precedent because that is exactly what justice alito get? >> senator, i think the factors that the court considers is, whether the prior decision was grievously wrong, whether steeply inconsistent with subsequent precedent that is developed aroundth it, the real world consequences, the workability of the decision as well as relied -- >> on the other hand, ju

why the difference between gorsuch and kennedy i mean gorsuch and kavanaugh. gorsuch is an even swap for scalia. this is high stakes stuff. right? this is the seat where the guy in the middle is at risk. kavanaugh clerked for justice kennedy. would you have picked him? no. but you lost the election. that does have consequences. when i said it, about obama winning, i meant it. mary garland. scalia dies in the election year, the last year of the term of president obama, the primaries are already under way. not in 100 years has anybody been nom internationinated unde circumstance. as for sotomayer and kagan, i was told you have to keep them off the court because they are going to be a pro-choice vote. they hate guns. on and on and on. i tried to go back to what this committee used to do. thurman voted for ginsburg. you will never convince me because he agreed with his philosophy. he saw in her a qualified person. voted for scalia, the same is true. 96 and 97 votes. what happened. most of the nominees never had a hearing, it was assumed they are qualified and not

and i called justice gorsuch, then judge gorsuch, a legal rock star. now, i'm ready to say that. the hearing is not over. i'll do my job. look, this is the most powerful unelected position and the most powerful country in human history. we have to be sure that he is the one. but i sure like what i see. >> bill: at the same time, the executives from facebook and twitter will testify about bias online and online security. what could they say that would satisfy you and your concerns now? >> they could come up with a solution to the problem. >> bill: what would that be? >> i do not want government to have the say about what someone can say or not say on a social media platform. some of my colleagues do. i do not. i want to see a set of some sort of fair third party tribunal which assigns web names that we can agree to to be the neutral referee. i don't think we can ever depend on the social media platforms. that's not as much of a criticism as it sounds like. it is just these are subjective evaluations and we have to have somebody make the call that everybody perceives is fair. that'

gorsuch evened out the court. he seems to one to tip the court in more conservative way. >> he will tip it. but look at justice roberts when he did on the obamacare decision several years ago. he could become gradually more like justice kennedy whom kavanaugh will be replacing on the supreme court. it will not be this rigid 5-4 thing he have one thinks about. there will be still a lot of fluidity. when one of the liberal just is steps down, and you have a republican president, you will make these hearings look like a kid's picnic. cheryl: kennedy's surprise announcement of retirement set the ball in motion. steve, tom, thank you very much to both of you. appreciate it. >> thank you. cheryl: we're monitoring what's happening in the senate judiciary committee. we'll going to kavanaugh live when he begins the opening statement. whenever that is. >>> the governor of arizona, i mentioned this a moment ago, just within the last hour he announced that john mccain's senate replacement has been chosen. we have got the inte