and i am grateful beyond gratitude and then a woman in hollywood who wrote to fab girls maria gallagherna maria killa they caroll jeff flake in an elevator with their voices and mess stories they urged him to stop cavanagh the magic of girl power now of course many one is impressed like this twenty one year old american man he said just like a harris today manipulated by a protester in the elevator. it was a young lady who's the top of an organization the george soros funds you can't make this up. and yes some really strong reactions to what these two women managed to do. thank you for that and i can't think of a better way to wrap up this show you all watching d.w. news from berlin we have more coming of the top of the hour with my colleague christine went to a do stay tuned for that in the meantime you can log on to the calls for around the clock news and information thank you for watching. we make up all but we want to have over three hundred thirty pipes. to several services. they want to show you the continents. are part of enjoying themselves as they share their stories their drea

i won't celebrate jeff flake for acting to delay the floor vote i'll celebrate the bravery of maria gallaghernd anna maria killer for confronting senator flake with their own stories of assault and demond ing. and of course there were some people who impressed by what they did. there was a twenty one year old american man who saw it very differently he wrote jeff flake he got her wrist today and manipulated by a protester in the elevator this was no random protest this was a young lady who's at the top of an organization that george soros heavily funds you can't make this up. and with that he was alleging that the center for popular democracy which anna-maria kilo one of the women is the co executive director of and the man who tweeted that is suggesting that that's funded by the billion billionaire philanthropist george soros who is of course well known for his anti trump views but i think what has really caught people's attention here is you know what these women have gone through the sexual abuse that they've talked about how that reflects what so many people fellow survivors have experien

maria gallagher and ana maria archilla put their bodies in front of the moving train that was the kavanaugh nomination this morning, and the miracle happened. the train stopped. jeff flake took his seat in the hearing room and we now know that he did something that senators in the middle of a partisan battle almost never do. you could work for years and years in the united states senate and never see this happen, but we saw jeff flake do it this morning. he listened. you never know when a senator is really listening because they're almost always pretending to listen. we didn't know jeff flake was really listening in that elevator, but the women looking into his eyes knew. and we didn't know jeff flake was listening in that hearing room, but we do now. and thanks to the experienced camera operators who knew jeff flake was the key vote, one camera stayed isolated on jeff flake when he was not speaking, and they never do that with the cameras, but they did today. when we watched this play out on live television, that was not the camera you saw. we were watching the normal shot of the camera on

ford yesterday -- i want to get these names right -- anna maria archela and maria gallagher, forever n as the two women in the elevator. >> uh-huh. that moment for the nation when anna maria and maria challenged senator flake i think spoke to what has been the most damaging part of this entire process, is it is the plowing through of the u.s. constitution in terms of the advice and consent provision of the constitution. >> yeah, there is that. >> there is that. and what that invites -- and this is why the american bar association did something unprecedented, something historic, which is said there must be an fbi investigation because there is no advice and consent if you just made a decision to rubber stamp. and when these allegations came forward for women -- and men, by the way. we talk a lot about women, but the truth is, you know, estimates are at least one in six men and boys are sexually molested or sexually assaulted in this country, that the stakes for the nation are very high because it is about whether or not we take seriously the allegations that for so many americans, far

i believe it's maria gallagher and then anna maria archila. archila. thank you.y deserve as much credit as senator flake does today. they put a human face, took it straight to the senator. we owe them a lot, i think. i think we also saw someone, how sad is it that senator flake isn't necessarily a hero, but he did the right thing today. >> due diligence. >> due diligence. he did his job, you know? imagine if his colleagues could muster that kind of courage. we'll see where it goes from here, but i just -- i think he's been an example of what we've been hoping to see from senators, which is actual leadership, and you know. >> john, this cuts exactly two ways. talk about the base that's fired up if this guy gets confirmed. talk about the base that's fired up if this guy gets turned away. >> both sides say that their bases are going to be fired up either way. what happens is if he gets confirmed the democratic base will be more energized. i think if he's defeated the republican base will be suddenly energized to come to president trump's aid. i think that's the way

protested today, the second woman you heard in that elevator confrontation tweeted the afterward, maria gallagher on the left wrote in part, i feel relieved. jeff flake seems to have heard mine and ana maria archila's voices. she's 23 and never told anyone about her assault before today. the other one is from colombia. she now lives in new york. she works at the center for popular democracy, a nonprofit organization. >> that was really a powerful video there. >>> a man brett kavanaugh is hoping to replace returned to his hometown talking to kids about the constitution, but the confirmation battle was never far from anyone's mind, even if they were reluctant to discuss it. >> this is justice anthony m. kennedy. >> reporter: retired supreme court justice anthony m. kennedy was born and raised in sacramento and served. he served on the highest court from 1988 until this past summer. brett kavanaugh is one of his former clerks and is now seeking his mentor's seat on the court. getting him to comment is nearly impossible but he could have been referring to yesterday's tense day of confirmation hearing

cornered in the elevator, unable to avoid hearing the raw pleas of anna may roo yeah archilla and maria gallagher who say they're survivors of sexual assault. >> what you are doing is allowing someone who actually violated a woman to sit in the supreme court. this is not tolerable. >> reporter: senator flake, a key swing vote, was on his way to the judiciary committee, planning to vote to confirm judge kavanaugh to the nation's highest court when the two women implored the senator to take a stand against the supreme court nominee. >> you have children in your family -- >> reporter: anna maria spoke by phone to abc news. >> we weren't really willing to let him go without actually looking at us and forcing him to listen to our stories and making him understand the gravity of the message that he was sending to the country. >> i'm going to call on senator flake -- >> reporter: hours later in a moment no one saw coming, flake put the brakes on kavanaugh's confirmation. >> i think it would be proper to delay the floor vote. >> reporter: calling for an fbi investigation into accusations by dr. christine

. >> maria gallagher and i believe anna maria akeelah, i apologize if i didn't get that last name correctomen confronted him in an elevator on camera and we told you about our sexual assaults, and how are you still going to put a man who is accused of sexual assaults on the supreme court? and i think that was such a human moment. and you can see jeff flake when he was actually talking later, he was sweating. i mean, this man was under a lot of pressure, and i think, you know, there are varying views about whether he did the right thing or not. but i do think it did -- it was a small human moment of someone who it appeared was trying to do the right thing. we'll see how this goes from here. >> oh, i have no doubt jeff flake was trying to do the right thing. and have i reason to doubt there is no other republican senator who would have done that we have senators only elevators in those buildings. >> sure. >> so that senators can walk on to elevators and never be bothered by people like maria gallagher who kept that door open and kept talking to him for the longest time. and remember you saw

>> reporter: ana maria archila and maria gallagher, both victims of sexual assault, imploring the senator to take a stand. >> look at me when i'm talking to you. you're telling me that my assault doesn't matter. what happens to me doesn't matter. and you're going to let people into power who do this. >> reporter: the protesters begging him to hold out for an fbi investigation of the sexual assault allegations against judge kavanaugh. >> why not wait for the investigation? >> i need to go to the hearing. >> reporter: when flake arrived in the committee room, it was clear, republicans were eager to move to a vote on kavanaugh. >> i found dr. ford's testimony credible, but i also found judge kavanaugh's testimony credible and sincere. >> reporter: but as flake looked on, democrats mounted an 11th hour appeal, calling for the fbi investigation president trump has resisted for weeks. >> where is the bravery in this room? what are you hiding? what would it hurt? judge kavanaugh could have easily said, "mr. president, for this to move forward, i want to at least clear my name, but mostly, i want

you and maria gallagher were very brave and i think you captivated the entire country. you very much for sharing your story and thank you for being brave. >> thank you so much. >> thank you. we'll have much more on the fbi investigation of brett kavanaugh coming up on "a.m. joy." ming upr and arms of steel ♪ ♪ he eats a bowl of hammers at every meal ♪ ♪ he holds your house in the palm of his hand ♪ ♪ he's your home and auto man ♪ big jim, he's got you covered ♪ ♪ great big jim, there ain't no other ♪ -so, this is covered, right? -yes, ma'am. take care of it for you right now. giddyup! hi! this is jamie. we need some help. kayak compares hundreds of travel and airline sites so you can be confident you're getting the right flight at the best price. cheers! kayak. search one and done. copd makes it hard to breathe. so to breathe better, i go with anoro. ♪ go your own way copd tries to say, "go this way." i say, "i'll go my own way, with anoro." ♪ go your own way once-daily anoro contains two medicines called bronchodilators that work together to significantly improve lung

anna marie and maria gallagher. maria is just 23 years old, local from virginia. recent grad. had never publicly told her story. she was a survivor of sexual assault. the older woman, anna maria is a self described activist and had been to flake's office earlier in the week on monday to tell her story to flake because they saw him as a potential ally. he was not there and she told her story to the staff. these two never met before. they met earlier that morning. they didn't know each other and decided they had a common pain and realized that portraying their stories and went up to flake's office that morning. >> they went that morning because as you were staked out they made clear he was going to vote. those ladies went there and when i saw the interview of anna maria later, she said she was hoping he would become a hero. this might be a moment, but she didn't know it would unfold this way. what happened? >> what happened was five minutes before the senate judiciary committee vote that was happening, we didn't know if he was in the office. coming and going and the office was d

maria gallagher and anna maria.ever told her story before, not even to her own mother. >> you're telling all women that they don't matter, that they should just stay quiet because if they tell you what happened to them, you're going to ignore them. that's what happened to me, and that's what you're telling all women in america, that they don't matter. they should just keep it to themselves because if they had told the truth, they're just going to help that man to power anyway. that's what you're telling all of these women. that's what you're telling me right now. look at me when i'm talking to you. you're telling me that my assault doesn't matter, that what happened to me doesn't matter, and that you're going to let people who do these things into power. that's what you're telling me when you vote for him. don't look away from me. look at me and tell me that it doesn't matter what happened to me. >> after that, flake called for an fbi investigation of the kavanaugh allegations. joining me now, jessica valenti, and s

and then the other one from virginia, maria gallagher, who had never shared her story publicly ever. a recent graduate. and she told me that she had no intention of doing that, she brought a little sign that she showed, she was going to hold up her sign in the back. so it was very raw and very visceral. and it essentially happened at the time we all were getting a message on our cellphones right before the senate judiciary committee was going to meet that he was a yes vote. and the gasp from these two ladies who had joined us outside his office was audible. they were very emotional when they found out. >> and so that was stunning. and you're informing the people who have gathered there hoping that they -- they were hoping to somehow influence senator floak. you and your crew see him leaving in a fast dash to the elevator. and what is it about that moment that compelled you to follow these women going after him? >> well, they felt flake was their ally. they had never met before. they just met that morning. and so they decided to join us and when they all -- when we all got the announc

when flake -- when senator flake was in that elevator and maria -- anna maria and maria gallagher saidme. are you telling me that my experience doesn't matter? women have felt that way for so long. and these two spoke for so many that the ability to have an investigation -- this is before -- of course, we knew that the investigation was going to happen, i cannot tell you the palpable pain that existed among people who felt like plowing over, plowing through women. we had the most credible witness we could possibly have and it wasn't going to be good enough. >> let's show that sound because you were referring to it and senator flad sake said it affec him. it was after he said he would vote for kavanaugh but before he pushed for the compromise leading to the fbi investigation. >> look at me when i'm talking to you. you're tell meeg that my assault doesn't matter, that what happened to me doesn't matter and that you're going to let people who do these things into power. that's what you're telling me when you vote for him. don't look away from me. look at me and tell me that it doesn't mat

. >> those women, ana maria and maria gallagher, ready people who stood up. give them a round of applause for fighting for what they believed in until very bitter end. give them a round of applause. regular folks. just people. they put a personal face on the pain that so many people have been feeling watching this stuff, and that might have been the key to slowing this whole train down, and i'm so glad because i really believe we need applause. you know, emotions are running high on all sides and the stakes are just too high, not just for the future of the supreme court, but for the future of the whole country. you know, this week, judge kavanaugh and professor christine blasey ford both took oaths before the nation and then swore to an opposite set of facts, and the messy truth is, people are going to choose who to believe based on what they believe politically, and that's dangerous in a democracy. you know, after all, democrats are now saying #believewomen, but a few democrats embraced or supported bill clinton's accusers, and they were women. so that gives

then moments later at about 9:31, he was confronted by ana maria archila and maria gallagher as he was on his way to the panel's scheduled vote. after listening, visibly uncomfortable, as those two women poured their hearts out, senator flake demanded a one-week fbi investigation of the sexual assault allegations against judge kavanaugh. and now president trump has agreed. but all this is really -- it's far from over. there are real questions still to be addressed here, questions about judge kavanaugh's truthfulness, his truthfulness about teenage drinking. >> the drinking age as i noted was 18, so the seniors were legal. senior year in high school, people were legal to drink. >> the legal drinking age in maryland where brett kavanaugh went to high school increased to 21 at the end of his junior year while he was still 17. so when he says it was legal for him to drink, it's not true. and then there are questions about how much he drank during the summer that christine blasey ford says he assaulted her, and i want you to listen to this exchange. it's with senator sheldon whitehouse abou

. >> reporter: the sexual assault survivors, ana maria archila and maria gallagher, imploring the republicansenator from arizona to take a stand. >> i need to go to the hearing. i just issued a statement. i'll be saying more as well. >> reporter: after that drama played out on live tv, committee republicans were eager to get to business. >> there's simply no reason to deny judge kavanaugh a seat on the supreme court on the basis of evidence presented to us. >> reporter: as some democrats walked out in protest, others refused to back down on their calls for the fbi to investigate the sexual assault allegations against kavanaugh. >> i look at it this way, if we want to show dr. ford respect, we give her the respect of having her case heard and the evidence looked at. >> reporter: 30 minutes later another plea, this time from flake's close colleague, delaware democrat chris coons. >> this committee has failed. >> reporter: a short time la le. when they return two hours later, flake dropped a last-minute bipartisan bombshell. he says he'll vote yes on kavanaugh but only if the fbi is allowed to

i'm very grateful to senator flake for coming forward and to those two brave women ana maria archila and march gallagher to confronting him in that elevator and it was a very hard day to be in that room, but i was proud to be a woman and i was proud to be a survivor, and i felt like i needed to be there for other survivors that couldn't be there. >> before they talk mob ar tre the hearing and your experience boog there, if this investigation doesn't provide clear answers about these allegations, will you at least be satisfied with the process that's taken place before the vote? >> i think so. i believe in the process. i believe in investigating. i believe in, you know, calling other witnesses, potentially complete disclosure of all documents. i do think they need to subpoena mark judge. you know, and i think this whole time when he was -- he was sort of accusing her or the democrats of being like a partisan operative, it was really him that came off as a partisan operative and to me when we're dealing with such sensitive issues like sexual abuse and assault, there is no place on the supreme court for th

maria archila. you'll also here from rhea gallagher. ms. archila is the co-director of a left-leaning advocacy group. ms. gallagher is a recent college graduate. they were among a larger group protesters who had been outside senator flake's office. >> you are allowing someone who actually violated a woman to sit on the supreme court. this is not tolerable. you have children in your family. think about them. i have two children. i cannot imagine that for the next 50 years, they will have to have someone in the supreme court who has been accused of violating a young girl. what are you doing, sir? >> i was sexually assaulted, and nobody believed me! i didn't tell anyone, and you're telling all women that they don't matter. look at me when i'm talking to you. you're telling me that my assault doesn't matter, that what happened to me doesn't matter and that you're going to let people who do these things into power. that's what you're telling me when you vote for him. don't look away from me. look at me and tell me that it doesn't matter what hap