justice kennedy: and that i will faithfully and impartially. justice kavanaugh: and that i will faithfully and impartially. justice kennedy: discharge and perform. justice kavanaugh: discharge and perform. justice kennedy: all of the duties incumbent upon me. justice kavanaugh: all of the duties incumbent on me. justice kennedy: as associate justice of the supreme court of united states. justice kavanaugh: as associate justice of the supreme court of united states. justice kennedy: under the constitution and laws of the united states. justice kavanaugh: under the constitution and laws of the united states. justice kennedy: so help me god. justice kavanaugh: so help me god. [applause] justice kavanaugh: mr. president, thank you for the great honor of appointing me to serve as a justice of the supreme court. i have seen firsthand your deep appreciation for the final role of the american judiciary. i am grateful for your steadfast, unwavering support throughout this process. and i am grateful to you and mrs. trump for the exceptional, overwhelming

what does his integrity have to do with impartial? this is retribution for the clintons. that is partisan. >> no doubt. >> he sat down and had days to write and think about. he said, i didn't show this to anybody else. i wrote this myself. this is how i feel. >> not sure he had days to write it. he wrote a response. he saw christine blasey ford's testimony -- >> no, he said he didn't watch the testimony. >> i think what i'm saying is -- and he acknowledges and we all admit, it seems that was a low moment for him that didn't reflect the impartiality that he has demonstrated throughout the course of his career. >> okay. i'm sorry, i have to go. thank you both. >> as a judge that is. >> thank you. we'll be right back. are you taking the tissue test? yep, and my teeth are yellow. time for whitestrips. crest glamorous white whitestrips are the only ada-accepted whitening strips proven to be safe and effective. and they whiten 25x better than a leading whitening toothpaste. crest. healthy, beautiful smiles for life. dono.u hear that? it's q

and he's trying to drive home the point that he is impartial tonight. is he trying to have it both ways? what do you think of that? >> i think he surrendered all aspects of impartiality during his testimony. he demonstrated quite clearly, with a venom toward the left, wielding out troepz, sort of clinton blames, invoking her name or the clintons' name. the whole thing was i think something where he surrendered that ground. he does not have the temperament to be a judge. and i think he wrote that article today in the "wall street journal," or editorial, because he understands that people of good conscience are looking at the way he performed. you have a former supreme court justice today, they rarely -- he actually was a supporter of kavanau kavanaugh's. different political judicial philosophies. but this is something you rarely have ever seen. a former supreme court justice coming out and not on judicial philosophy, not on the allegation, the credible allegation from dr. ford, but just on the temperament issue alone said he shouldn't be on the bench. th

it is up to us to keep our impartial justice.rs. ourselves to the traditions and wisdom of ourfounders. and it is up to us to renew the bonds of love, loyalty a nd to us to renew the bonds of love, loyalty and affection that went us altogether as one great american family. applause. let us pray we are successful in this task, and let us pray that all americans will grow up ina pray that all americans will grow up in a country which is fair and just u nsafe in a country which is fair and just unsafe and strong and free, and let us unsafe and strong and free, and let us ask god to blessjustice kavanaugh and his family as they embark on this incredible journey together. i now invitejustice brett kavanaugh to come forward and to ta ke kavanaugh to come forward and to take thejudicial oath. kavanaugh to come forward and to take the judicial oath. thank you very much. justice brett kavanaugh, are you ready to take the oath of office? i am. can you please repeat after me. i had, brett m kavanaugh, do solemnly square —— swear that i will

he's an impartial person and he doesn't want to give that appearance as a judge. secondly, there are justices on the court past and present who has said much more partial things than what brett kavanaugh has said. thorogood marshall, in 1989,

it is up to us to reclaim our heritage of equal and impartial justice. it is up to us to rededicate ourselves to the traditions and wisdom of our founders. and it is up to us to renew the bonds of love, loyalty, and affection that link us all together as one great american family. [applause] >> let us pray we are successful in this task, and let us pray that all of america's children will grow up in a country that is fair and just and safe and strong and free, and let us ask god to bless justice kavanaugh and his family as they embark on this incredible journey together. i now invite justice brett kavanaugh to come forward and to take the judicial oath. thank you very much. [applause] >> [inaudible]. >> repeat after me. >> i brett m. kavanaugh do solemnly swear. >> i brett m. kavanaugh do solemnly swear. >> that i will administer justice without respect to persons. >> that i will administer justice without respect to persons. >> and do equal right to the poor and to the rich. >> and do equal right to the poor and to the rich. >> and that i will faithfull

without fair and impartial courts of justice, as alexander hamilton put it in the "federalist papers," all the reservations of particular rights or privileges would amount to nothing. the courts guard our rights, and the senate guards our courts that, mr. president, is why today is such an important day. that is why the vote we take this afternoon, a vote to confirm a new associate justice of the supreme court of the united states, represents one of the most consequential decisions a senator ever makes. the members of this body are duty bound to make sure we confirm justices of the supreme court who are men and women of the highest character and the most superlative qualifications. so fortunately that is just the sort of nominee who stands before us today. 12 weeks ago the president nominated the jurist who's been described by legal peers of all political stripes as a super star, a serious scholar, and who is legendary for his preparation and possesses the temperament and judicial philosophy to be an excellent associate justice. the president nominated a brilliant student of the law.

without fair and impartial courts ofjustice, judiciary.ts of justice, as alexander hamilton put it, in the federalist papers, all the reservations of that particular rights or privileges would amount to nothing. the courts guard our rights and the senate guards our courts. that, mr president, is why today is such an important day. that is why the vote we take this afternoon, a vote to confirm a new associate justice of these "of the united states, represents one of the most consequential decisions a senator ever makes. the members of this body are duty bound to confirm justices of this print court who are men and women as the highest character and the most superlative qualifications. —— of the supreme court. that is just the sort of nominee who stands before us today. 12 weeks ago, the president nominated the jurist whose been described by legal peers of all political stripes as a superstar, a serious scholar and who is legendary for his preparation and possesses the qualifications of temperament and thejudicial the qualifications of tempe

a good judge must be an umpire, a neutral and impartial decider faces no policy.nddge must be independent must interpret the law, not make the lot. they must interpret statutes as written. they must interpret the constitution as written. informed by history, tradition, and precedent. in the wake of the confirmation process, my approach to life remains the same. i will heed the message of matthew 25, i will continue to volunteer to serve the least fortunate in month as. i will continue to coach, teach, and tutor. a goodstrive to be friend, colleague, husband, and dad. as in the past, our nation faces challenges and divisions. i am an optimist. i live on the sunrise side of the mountain. i see the data is coming, not the date that is gone. futuretimistic about the of america and the future of our independent judiciary. the crown jewel of our constitutional republic. as a justice on the supreme court, i will strive to support the constitution of united states and the american rule of law. thank you all. [applause] [applause] [applause] >> ladies we ask that you remai

the wall and act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the activity and impartiality of the judiciary. it further explains in the commentary that the impropriety occurs wheree the reasonable mid would conclude that the judge's honesty, integrity, impartiality, temperament of a judge is impaired. confidence in the judiciary is the road t road-responsible for imprope to divide theresponsiblt by the quo judges. and they explained that a judge should be faithful to and maintain professional confidence, competence in the wall and it shouldn't be swayed byan partisan interests, public cuellar or fear of criticism. we need to consider the norms that argue against a kind of behavior that we saw from judge kavanaugh because of the allegations brought against him by several sources, all of which deserve a full and fair investigation by the fbi. i was heartened to see senator flake and senator coons spoke in agreement to hold off for both at least a week while the supplemental background investigation could be completed to look into these allegations. since then, questions have

it is up to us to claim our heritage of equal and impartial justice. it is up to us to rededicate ourselves to the traditions and wisdom of our founders, and it is up to us to renew the bonds of love loyalty and affection that link us all together as one big american family. (applause). let us pray we are successful in this task. let us pray that all of america's children will grow up in a country that is fair and justice, safe and strong and free, and let us -- and his family as they embark on this incredible journey together. i now invite justice kavanaugh to come forward and to take the judicial oath. thank you, very much. (applause ). >> lu please repeat after me. i, brett m. kavanaugh, do solemnly spare. >> i do brett m. kavanaugh, do solemnly swear. >> that i will administer justice -- >> be do -- and do equal right to the poor and to the rich. >> and that i will faithfully and impartially. >> that i will faithly and impartially. >> discharge and perform. >> discharge and perform. >> all the duties incumbent upon you. >> all the duties incumbent

he insisted he would be fair and impartial. trump decided to lash out against the democrats again. >> with the nation watching, brett kavanaugh swore to fatefully and impartially honor his role as associate court justice. he took the opportunity to tell americans he would not let his past dictate his judgment. >> the senate confirmation process was contentious and emotional. that process is over. my focus now is to be the best justice i can be.e. a good just -- a good judge must be an umpire, a neutral and impartial decider. >> his composure stood in stark contrast to his emotional and at times belligerent testimony a week ago. he was confirmed by the senate and the narrowest margin -- in the narrowest margin -- president trump chose to stoke the fire. he called sexual assault claims by -- of kavanaugh a hoax by the democrats. >> i went to apologize to brett and the entire kavanaugh family for the pain and suffering you have been forced to endure. >> the bitter confirmation process has made liberal activist call for his impeach

in order to be an effective judge at any level you need to be impartial, dispassionate. we don't ask our judges to be perfectly neutral but we can't tolerate judges who are nakedly partisan either. judge kavanaugh himself has said that most obviously a judge cannot be a political partisan. those are his words, and that's just what he has shown us he is. in his long history and now in his recent rant. the testimony judge kavanaugh prepared for the judiciary last thursday -- prepared testimony. this was not just on the spur. this was not a -- it showed who he was and is it was steeped in partisan resentment and acrimony. he tried to implicate sitting senators in a calculated and orchestrated hit job. that's what heed said to the senators he was being interviewed by. he denounced left-wing opposition groups who don't have close to the power the hard right has had in pushing our republican colleagues around to rush this nomination through. we don't hear about them. and then topping it off, he portrayed the recent allegations against him as revenge on behalf of the clintons.

or that he is in any way challenged as to impartiality. they can't do it and haven't done it because such opinions don't exist. judge kavanaugh is a good man. he is eminently qualified to serve on the supreme court of the united states. i endorse president trump's nomination of him. i was pleased to vote in favor of cloture, and i look forward to voting for his confirmation in the coming hours. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. mr. blumenthal: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. at some point during the confirmation hearings now siemg seemingly years ago -- now seemingly years ago, but just a month or so, i saw young women going through the halls of the capitol with t-shirts that said, i am what's at stake. i am what's at stake. i want to thank those young women and all of the countless women and men of all ages who have come to our nation's capitol to show us what democracy looks like. i know that some of my colleagues have been displeased, in fact, have

he will be an independent and impartial judge.e court justice john paul stevens isn't buying it. now, what does a former attorney general think? michael mukasey is here next. so why not bundle them with esurance and save up to 10%? which you can spend on things you really want to buy, like... well, i don't know what you'd wanna buy because i'm just a guy on your tv. esurance. it's surprisingly painless. so let's promote our falle a homecomingtravel dealame, on choicehotels.com like this. touchdown. earn a free night when you stay just twice this fall. or, badda book. badda boom. book now at choicehotels.com minutes can mean the difference between life and death. proposition 11 saves lives by ensuring medical care is not delayed in an emergency. proposition 11 establishes into law the longstanding industry practice of paying emts and paramedics to remain on-call during breaks and requires they receive fema level training and active shooters and natural disasters. vote yes on 11 to ensure 911 emergency care is there when you or your

of impropriety occurs when reasonable minds will conclude that the judge's honesty, integrity, impartiality, temperament or fitness to serve as a judge is impaired. confidence in the judiciary is reroaded by irresponsible or improper conduct by judges, end quote. and canon three explains a judge should be faithful to and maintain professional confidence -- competence in the law and should not be swayed bipartisan interest, public clamor or fear of criticism. we need to consider the rules and norms that argue against the kind of intemperate behavior we saw from judge kavanaugh because of the allegations brought against him by several sources, all of which deserve a full and fair investigation by the fbi. our to say senator flake and coons brokered an agreement to hold off on a vote for at least a week while a supplemental background investigation can be completed to look into these allegations. since the agreement, questions have arisen about the exact nature of that investigation. it is limited, and so how. will all leads be followed or will the fbi being ham strung in some way by instructi

he will be an independent and impartial judge. justice john paul stevens isn't buying it. now, what does a former attorney general think? michael mukasey is here next. -computer, order pizza. -of course, daniel. -fridge, weather. -clear skies and 75. -trash can, turn on the tv. -my pleasure. -ice dispenser, find me a dog sitter. -okay. -and make ice. -pizza delivered. -what's happened to my son? -i think that's just what people are like now. i mean, with progressive, you can quote your insurance on just about any device. even on social media. he'll be fine. -[ laughs ] -will he? -i don't know. -will he? (door bell rings) it's ohey. this is amazing. with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis, are you okay? even when i was there, i never knew when my symptoms would keep us apart. so i talked to my doctor about humira. i learned humira can help get, and keep uc under control when other medications haven't worked well enough. and it helps people achieve control that lasts. so you can experience few or no symptoms. humira can lower you

we didn't see judicial temperament, impartiality. he violates basically every standard you would set for someone who serve on the supreme court. -- to serve on the supreme court. and yet we're having a vote later today with an indication that he'll be approved. here's another letter. i am a sexual assault survivor. i watched today. the sex crimes prosecutor looked like she had nailed kavanaugh by his own calendar. dr. ford testified that it was early evening and casual. it appears the assault happened at the home that kavanaugh and friends worked out. this is when one of the majority judiciary members took over and became angry partisans. well, that's all she writes. but i think what bothered a lot of people was that the majority chose to bring in a prosecutor -- a prosecutor, a prosecutor to question dr. ford, as if dr. ford had committed a crime. she didn't commit a crime, my friends. she is a brave woman who came forward to share her story, hoping she'd be taken seriously and treated fairly, afraid she wouldn't, and it turned out,

it is up to us to reclaim our heritage of equal and impartial justice. it is up to us to rededicate ourselves to the traditions and wisdom of our founders. and it is up to us to renew the bonds of love, loyalty and affection that link us all together as one great american family. [applause] let us pray we are successful in this task. and let us pray that all of america's children would grow up in a country that is fair and just and safe and strong and free, and let us ask god to bless justice cavanaugh and his family as they embark on this incredible journey together. i now invite justice brett kavanaugh to come forward and to take the judicial oath. thank you very much. [applause] judge kavanaugh, please repeat after me. i, brett m kavanaugh do solemnly swear. that i will administer justice without with respect to persons. and with equal rights. and i will think fully impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as a associate justicef the supreme court of the united states. under the constitution and the laws of the united states,

and that i will faithfully and impartial impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as associate justice of the supreme court of the united states. under the constitution and laws of the united states. so help me god. [ crowd cheers ] >> mr. president, thank you for the great honor of appointing me to serve as a justice of the supreme court. i've seen firsthand your deep appreciation for the vital role of the american judiciary. i am grateful for your steadfast, unwavering support throughout this process. and i'm grateful to you and mrs. trump for the exceptional overwhelming courtesy you have extended to my family and me. mr. president, thank you for everything. i am honored to serve on a supreme court headed by chief justice john roberts. chief justice roberts is a principled, independent and inspiring leader for the american judiciary. as a country, we are fortunate to have john roberts as chief justice of the united states. i'm honored to serve alongside all of my new colleagues, each of whom i know, and each of whom i greatly admire and deeply respect. all ni

it is up to us to reclaim our heritage of equal and impartial justice. it is up to us to rededicate ourselves to the traditions and wisdom of our founders. and it is up to us to renew the bonds of love, loyalty and affection that link us all together as one great american family. let us pray we are successful in this task, and let us pray that all of america's children will grow up in a country that is fair and just and safe and strong and free, and let us ask god to bless justice kavanaugh and his family as they embark on this incredible journey together. i now invite justice brett kavanaugh to come forward and to take the judicial oath. thank you very much. >> justice kavanaugh, are you ready to take the oath? >> i am. >> will you please repeat after me. i, brett m. kavanaugh, do solemnly swear. >> i, brett m. kavanaugh, do solemnly swear. >> that i will administer justice without respect to persons. >> that i will administer justice without respect to persons. >> and do equal right to the poor and to the rich. >> and do equal right to the poor and to

they refused to gather evidence or do an impartial investigation into her allegations.o reluctantly came forward to tell her story. like dr. ford, ms. ramirez offered to speak to the fbi. both ford and ramirez submitted evidence to support their allegations. including naming over two dozen witnesses each. unfortunately, the limited investigation that was conducted by the fbi failed to interview any one of the witnesses these two women identified who could support her account. let me say that again. they refused to investigate, to talk with any of the 24 witnesses that could have supported their accounts. mr. president, i think it's important to remember why we're here today. we're here to determine whether judge kavanaugh has demonstrated the impartiality, the temperament, the even handedness that's needed to serve on this great high court of o

without fair and impartial courts of justice, as alexander hamilton put it in the "federalist papers," all the reservations of particular rights or privileges would amount to nothing. the courts guard our rights, and the senate guards our courts that, mr. president, is why today is such an important day. that is why the vote we take this afternoon, a vote to confirm a new associate justice of the supreme court of the united states, represents one of the most consequential decisions a senator ever makes. the members of this body are duty bound to make sure we confirm justices of the supreme court who are men and women of the highest character and the most superlative qualifications. so fortunately that is just the sort of nominee who stands before us today. 12 weeks ago the president nominated the jurist who's been described by legal peers of all political stripes as a super star, a serious scholar, and who is legendary for his preparation and possesses the temperament and judicial philosophy to be an excellent associate justice. the president nominated a brilliant student of the law.

that that he wrote, i am an independent, impartial judge.hat he wrote, i am an independent, impartialjudge. that is certainly what he was bringing across at the ceremonial swearing—in just now. well, that's right. in fact, during that senate judiciary well, that's right. in fact, during that senatejudiciary committee hearing, a very angry, visibly upset brett kava naugh hearing, a very angry, visibly upset brett kavanaugh said that he would never be able to coach is daughter ‘s sporting team again. —— is. verity was now, pledging to be an independent, impartialjustice, verity was now, pledging to be an independent, impartial justice, and he said he will also coach. what an extraordinary event, so formal and yet such brought emotion visible. with the president starting off by apologising tojudge with the president starting off by apologising to judge kavanagh, with the president starting off by apologising tojudge kavanagh, for the pain and suffering he had been forced to endure. he said there was a campaign of personal and political destruct

in any case, i wouldn't trust either country to come up with an impartial finding. you'd need an international body of the kind formed to investigate the murder of prime minister hariri of lebanon. >> pulling out of the summit, what do you think of that? >> i think it's a good move, a small move. it shows the administration does understand the serious of this. when we saw the video from riyadh yucking can up with mbs, the crown prince, laughing, that did not convey any sense -- >> they say those pictures don't tell the full story, that he was actually pretty tough when he talked to them. >> that may be the case. pictures communicate s a lot. i don't know what he said in private but certainly the message in public from mike pompeo and president trump is they do not regard this as something that is of a major concern to them. >> there has been growing pressure on mnuchin to make the decision whether he's going to the summit. we did see mnuchin's european counterparts from the netherlands, the u.k. and france pull out and then the announcement from the united states. >

party as an independent and impartial judge? what we party as an independent and impartialjudge?hat. he says there is no bitterness and he wa nts to says there is no bitterness and he wants to be a force for unity. i suppose, in fairness, wants to be a force for unity. i suppose, infairness, regardless wants to be a force for unity. i suppose, in fairness, regardless of how bruising the confirmation process had been, he has a conservative voting track record. those subjects you talk about, abortion rights, gay rights and voting laws, he would have gone to the conservative end of the court anyway. yes and that is why his platitudes are falling, i think, on deaf ea rs platitudes are falling, i think, on deaf ears for those who believe that the constitution is a living document that should reflect the abolition of social norms, as opposed to being liberally interpreted based on the original intent of 20 of these amendments we re intent of 20 of these amendments were passed, which included a time when blacks were slaves, women couldn't vote in the only people that can become american

known as a judge'sjudge, masterful and impartial reasoning.judge's judge, he is a fair—minded, and biased and evenhanded person. brett kavanahugh has been speaking about being confirmed as a justice of the supreme court. the senate confirmation process was contentious and emotional. that process is over. my focus now is to be the best justice process is over. my focus now is to be the bestjustice i can be. i take this office with gratitude and no bitterness. on the supreme court i will seek to be a force for stability and unity. my goal is to bea stability and unity. my goal is to be a greatjustice for all americans. our north america correspondent, peter bowesjoins me now. peter, a very different approach there, a different speech compared to what we saw at that confirmation process. yes, this was, in many respects, quite a unique ceremony. 0f respects, quite a unique ceremony. of course it was a ceremonial swearing—in, as opposed to the official swearing in, which actually took waste on saturday night. now we have had an opportunity here tog

judges are expected to be "even-handed, unbiased, impartial and courteous." however at the hearing last week, we saw a man filled with anner anger and aggression. he raised his voice, he interrupted senators, he accused democrats of "lying in wait." he even went so far as to say that doctor ford's allegations were nothing more than "a calculated and orchestrated political hit fueled with pent up anger about president trump and the 2016 election." "revenge on behalf of the clintons." how could he? this behavior revealed a hostility and belligerence that is unbecoming of someone seeking to be elevated to the united states supreme court. his display was so shocking that more than 2,400 law professors from around the country have expressed their opposition. they wrote, and i quote, instead of trying to sort out with reason and care the allegations that were raised, judge kavanaugh responded in an inflammatory and partial manner as he interrupted and at times was discourteous to senators. the professors concluded, and i quote, we have differing views about other q

i will be an impartial arbiter of the law. but i've had my other issues with the way kavanaugh and the republicans have behaved with this entire incident. but his behavior during that hearing, in and of itself, was disqualifying. you cannot be that much of a partisan and bring that to the supreme court and expect people to think the integrity of the court has been maintained. you just can't. >> rich, he says i hope everyone can understand i was there as a son, husband, and dad and that his main audience was his -- i think his wife, his kids and his parents. is that disengine wous? first of all, he was there, it wasn't testimony from his family. his family knows him. it was clearly an attempt -- it was a message to the president. it was a public statement in front -- you know, a televised statement. is it disingenuous to say he was there speaking as a husband and dad? >> no. his reputation is being torn to shreds in the most public manner possible in front of the people he loves most. again, any human being, if you subtract par

andjust position, and whether he can in fact be impartial.an idea for people not in the united states of the importance of the role of the supreme court will stop it's vital, it it ends up being the final arbiter and if the supreme court loses legitimacy it is a much bigger problem for this country as a whole. and is looking like this will be the narrowest vote for a supreme court justice in the history the late —— nation. we are expecting a final vote on saturday in washington for brett kavanaugh. in the united states still, a white police officer who killed a black teenager four years ago in chicago has been found guilty of second—degree murder. jason van dyke shot laquan mcdonald 16 times in a case that sparked outrage across the united states. the verdict has prompted celebrations in chicago, but van dyke's lawyers say he will appeal. this report from caroline rigby contains images you may find disturbing. we the jury find the defendant guilty of second degree murder. the momentjason van dyke, a white police officer, was found guilty of s

act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary and shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety. and i go back and i look to that. it is pretty high. it is really high that a judge shall act at all times, not just sometimes when you're wearing your robe, but a judge should act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence -- public confidence. where is the public confidence? so it is high. and even -- even in the face of the worst thing that could happen, a sexual assault allegation, even in the face of an overly and overtly -- overtly political process, a politicized process, and even when one side of this chamber is absolutely dead set on defeating his nomination from the very get-go, before he was even named, even -- even in these situations, the standard is that a judge must act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the independence, integrity, impartiality of the judiciary and shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety. and after -- after the hearin

he did not sound impartial as a judge should be. >> for 12 years judge kavanaugh has been an impartialindependent, fair-minded judge, and i expect that's the kind of justice he'll be at the supreme court. what happened at the hearing last week is judge kavanaugh expressed outrage about an outrageous process. and i'm glad he did. this process included hecklers interrupting the hearing constantly. it included a senator calling him evil. it included two leaks, one of dr. ford's name and her story, and the publishing of senators' home addresses and phone numbers. this is a process that included michael avenatti. liz: it appears brett kavanaugh answered more questions than any other supreme court nominee in lift. it was 324 questions for justice neil gorsuch. >> i think the questions he was asked are just one piece of evidence that show a strategy against him. they didn't inquiry into his judicial philosophy. the strategy has been delay for the sake of delay it's transparent from the start when there was complaining about how producing one million documents wasn't enough, we needed to wait

he promised to be independent, impartial as a judge. he did not apologize in that op ed.blican official telling cnn it's become clear to the white house that questions about brett kavanaugh's temperament and his independence were emerging as sticking points for those undecided senators. so will that op

i believe an independent and impartial judiciary is essential to our constitutional republic. if confirmed by the senate to serve on the supreme court, he will keep an open mind in every case and always strive to preserve the constitution of the united states and the american rule of law. if he is confirmed tomorrow, it is up to him to prove those words, to make them true, to prove them true. senator collins kind of issued a challenge to him, maybe more of a plea, and she announced her support. >> my fervent hope is that brett kavanaugh will work to lessen the divisions in the supreme court so that we have far fewer 5-4 decisions and so that public confidence in our judiciary and our highest court is restored. >> what happened with judge kavanaugh makes a lot of people question whether fairness and justice will be harder to come by in the future. but justice was done elsewhere are in america today. and maybe americans can take heart that there are signs of progress. a racially charged case was decided in chicago. police officer jason van dyke found guilty of second-degree murd

because of his judicial record his leanings and lack of impartiality. and to be inclined to turn back the clock for civil rights, civil liberty, reproductive choic choice, civil rights, equality, affordable care act, workers waterfr and corporate and political power as an independent check and balance not to understand the rule of law. and also to derail special counsel with russia's interference. the next justice of the supreme court should not be at expense of consumers over rich corporations as judge kavanaugh's record reveals. judge kavanaugh has advanced legal theories to overturn long-standing precedent to help people. with that expansive view of presidential power that should not be subject to civil or criminal actions. so mister president let me give a specific policy of judge kavanaugh'se record should he become justiceut kavanaugh. a look at the opinions and writings we are concerned the nomination could have a conflict of interest with the russian interference in the 2016 presidential election the supreme court would be asked to award special

they refused to gather evidence or do an impartial investigation into her allegations. deborah ramirez also reluctantly came forward to tell her story. like dr. ford, miss ramirez offered to speak to the f.b.i. both ford and ramirez submitted evidence to support their allegations, including naming over two dozen witnesses each. unfortunately, the limited investigation that was conducted by the f.b.i. failed to interview any one of the witnesses these two women identified who could support her account. let me say that again. they refused to investigate, to talk with any of the 24 witnesses that could have supported their accounts. mr. president, i think it's important to remember why we're here today. we're here to determine whether judge kavanaugh has demonstrated the impartiality, the temperament, the evenhandedness that's needed to serve on this great high court of our land. if confirmed, he will join eight other individuals who are charged with deciding how the laws of our land are interpreted and applied. he would be a deciding vote on the most important issues affe

ford, the other issue is one of temperament, the other is an issue of impartiality and blind justice.nd i think that adds to the case being made that a no vote is the appropriate vote. >> joining me now is democratic congresswoman sue delaney of washington. i know you were at a rally yesterday. is what heidi heitkamp said yesterday, is that a message democrats want to hear? forget she's in a red state and fighting for her job, right? >> i think heidi heitkamp saw what happened in the senate hearings and really listened. she saw a woman who was literally terrified, poised, honest and courageous. she also saw a man who was belligerent and angry, someone who screamed at senators and evaded tough questions, but also who was blatantly partisan. and she knows that we expect our justices, especially those who had received a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land, to be impartial and objective, and he was anything but that. so i applaud senator heitkamp for standing up, for being a leader and taking a strong stand against someone who should never be on the supreme court. >> how

that person must be someone who is fair and impartial and who demonstrates a commitment to the truth without consideration of politics or partisanship. so it has been our responsibility, every senator in this chamber to determine if judge kavanaugh would protect the careful balance of power among three co-equal branches that our founders designed. we must determine if he would stand up for the rule of law without consideration of politics or partisanship. if people leave and the simple idea that no one is above the law. we knew coming into the hearing that judge kavanaugh's views of executive power were among the most expansive we've ever seen and that he has been making the case for strong presidential power for decades. in a 2009 piece in the university of minnesota law review, judge kavanaugh wrote that a sitting president should not be the subject of an investigation or even be required to answer questions as part of a special counsel's investigation. in that article, he argued it's not a good use of the president's time to prepare for an interview or questioning by a special cou

an impartial justice was shottered by -- shattered by his opening statement at his last hearing. in that statement, which he emphasized he wrote in his own words, judge kavanaugh launched into an ultra partisan dia tribe and wild conspiracy theories. he suggested that dr. ford's compelling testimony from her sexual assault was somehow manufactured by democrats as payback for his investigation into the starr investigation. as if dr. ford was an actor in a bitter partisan battle rather than a brave citizen who had come forward to tell her story. while judge kavanaugh attempted the other day to walk back his words in his "wall street journal" op-ed, the damage he did is irreversible. if he is confirmed, hundreds of people who come before the supreme court and the millions of americans whose lives will be affected by his decisions will believe that judge kavanaugh has already put his hands on the scale of justice before they have their say in court. that is why, mr. president, hundreds of law professorsern personal friends with -- professors an personal friends withdrew their support

it's supposed to be impartial. recusal, you make the point, is going to come up much more than in the past. explain that. >> i do. during justice kagan's place on the board, she voluntarily dismissed herself. given this appearance of bias during his testimony before the senate judiciary committee, that partisan gerrymandering cases, for example, there will be grave questions about his ability to be impartial. >> he tried to put that to rest. here's what he had to say regarding being impartial and fair. watch. >> every american can be assured that i'll be an independent and impartial justice. i'll be devoted to equal justice under law. although the senate confirmation process tested me as it has tested others, it did not change me. >> look. i think judge kavanaugh needs to recuse himself from particular cases which involve gerrymandering. those words he says, what goes around, comes around, are words that will loom heavy for parties to be heard. >> both parties as we talked about them animating the parties, you look

but i knew that those men and women wanted to be impartial. when they put those robes on as brett kavanaugh has done, they left party and partisan interests at the door. and now when i go to the united states supreme court, if brett kavanaugh is confirmed, there can be no trust or confidence that he will be that impartial jurist. it is and will be a stain, a cloud on the united states supreme court. and all the supreme court has in the way of power is the trust and credibility and confidence of the american people, which will be diminished forever. so let me pose a question to my colleague from california, because she so well described the voir dire process. it's jury selection, where we make an effort to pick jurors who are impartial and nonpartisan. if brett kavanaugh came to a courtroom, senator harris, where you were trying a case as attorney general, and he were in the panel, in the jury pool to be picked for a jury, would you pick him as a juror? and after that appearance before our committee, would you allow him to sit on a case where y

we're here to determine whether judge kavanaugh has demonstrated the impartiality, the democrat perment, t me temperament, the even-handedness to serve on this great high court of our land. if confirmed he will join eight other individuals who are charged with deciding how the laws of our land are interpreted and applied. he would be a deciding vote on the most important issues affecting our country. and every american for generations to come. mr. president, madam president, based on all the factors we have before us, i do not believe judge kavanaugh has earned this seat. thank you. >> i'm hallie jackson in washington, you've been listening to dianne feinstein as all of this goes down this morning for one of the most controversial supreme court nominees in history. we expert to hear from chuck schumer momentarily and then mitch mcconnell as protests erupt on capitol hill and across d.c. buckle up, our a-list team is here for what is expected to be a jam packed hour of news. we're 30 minutes from that vote. i want to bring in chuck todd who is joining me here. chuck n th chuck, in this m