senator grassley: senator blumenthal. senator feinstein. then -- senator feinstein: if i through the chair could ask a question of senator flake. does your amendment include continuing the investigation during this period of time? senator flake: if i could respond. there is no amendment. i am simply stating the discussion that we had between us all is that i would hope and i think we had some agreement before that the democrats who have been, i think, justifiablely uncomfortable moving ahead, could publicly, in an effort to bring this country together, say that we would feel better. i'm not expecting them to vote yes, but not to complain that an f.b.i. investigation has not occurred. and i -- this is what i'm trying to do. this country is being ripped apart here, and we got to make sure that we do due diligence. i think this committee has done a good job, but i do think we can have a short pause and make sure that the f.b.i. can investigate. my understanding is that some of us would have to, and i'm prepared to do it, make a request to the

senator hatch: well, i think one of our senators, one of our better senators in the u.s. senate, did do exactly that, and he is a democrat, as a matter of fact, one of the fairest people and i think one of the best new people in the whole senate. this is a statement that was made on the floor of the senate in this record by my distinguished colleague, senator lieberman, a man i have a great deal of respect for. senator lieberman's staff conducted a survey of various women who have worked for you over the years. he was concerned. he has been a supporter of yours, and he was one who asked for this delay so that this could be looked into because he was concerned, too. but as a result of the survey, senator lieberman made the following statement: he said, "i have contacted associates, women who worked with judge thomas during his time at the department of education and eeoc, and in the calls that i and my staff have made there has been universal support for judge thomas and a clear indication by all of the women we spoke to that there was never, certainly not a case of sexual

senate. it's the decision that i made with careful and thoughtful deliberation. can imagine i received a lot of advice from people about this selection. most of it unsolicited. however, the best piece of advice that i received was from another governor. who said, just do the right thing. persone best possible regardless of politics. it was really good advice. and clarifying advice. and it made my job easy. bestcontemplated who could serve our state in the u.s. senate, i kept coming back to one name and one person. jon kyl. in arizona with the stature of senator john kyle. he is a man without compare or p eer. with nearly two decades experience in the senate serving alongside john mccain, senator kyl is prepared to hit the ground running. over the last few months, senator kyl has been working closely with the white house on the senate confirmation of president donald trump's nominee to the u.s. supreme court brett kavanaugh. kyl can cast a vote for kavanaugh's confirmation. deacon ofl is a int

coons from delaware has pulled senator flake, senator flake is good friends with senator coons. there may be a change here. since that time they've had a discussion on the side, you can kind of see people gathered in the corner of the room. senator coons has come back into the committee room and has been whispering to senator feinstein, senator durbin. about what, we don't know. one of the assumptions was that democrats are really pushing for this delay for at least a week to let the fbi back into the investigation. are they talking about that? we don't know. senator flake is now back in the room and now this vote is seven, 8 minutes till eight and senator grassley is pretty time oriented when he said 1:30. >> harris: let me ask you about senator amy klobuchar from minnesota, because she laid it out like the former prosecutor we know her to be in terms of why you would want that fbi investigation to even happen now. and speaking to a delay. if democrats haven't been able to get a delay, we saw yesterday, what about yesterday would aid them in getting a delay? >> bret: of the emo

the presiding officer: the senate is adjourned until senate is adjourned until >> today the senate approved eight u.s. district court judicial nominees. live coverage of the senate when they're back in session here on c-span2. also today the senate judiciary committee has been meeting on supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh. after the hearings are complete, the committee will vote on confirmation and send its recommendation to the full senate. >> frankly, when i walked into thes room, how that would work. and it worked great in terms of the reaction i got and also in terms of, i think, the real world results. the way i thought about it is if i make a difference even for one clerk or one student, it's worth it -- >> o sure. >> and i've kept it up year after year. i also teach at harvard law school, and i'm proud of the results. i think, i think it's made, you know, again, a small difference, but it's one person at a time, one clerk at a time, one student at a time. andne i think hopefully by talkg about it in this forum, i can efforts of that nature which are really just recruiting efforts

senate and all of us together, democrats and republicans, northern senators and southern senators, eastern coast, western coast, heartland, all of us should defend our responsibility under the constitution provided advice and consent which means ability to review the record of the nominee. there is a third occasion, defendant work proceeded to label documents being presented to the senate as committee confidential. in fact the committee consulted with him during the process, to see what the extent of this was and why they were done. there is no index that provides information to the senate on why so many documents were blocked by burke from ever getting to us. that index doesn't exist saying we looked at this document, that is why executive power prevails, there is no record or log why 145,000 pages of documents relabeled committee confidential, preventing senators from proceeding to talk about the contents, to have the contents examined by experts, examined by the public, take feedback from the citizens of the united states, have staff look at these documents, to fulfill our responsibilit

one, senators love to talk. two, they are saying, chris coons is saying that he doesn't control if other allegations come forward. i mean, that is a -- if there is not a signal they don't. we have seen the fires that the kavanaugh team has had to put out and address: i think there is a real question about how an fbi investigation works and goes forward. they are very confident. they can ask questions. if they come back and there is no witness or information to corroborate dr. christine plazablasey ford does anyone believe any one of the democrats on the senate judiciary committee would somehow change their vote? that's one thing. the other thing is just context. just the time line. i mean, if you just look at the process, senator dianne feinstein gets this letter in july there is a whole slew of things that happen including her advising dr. christine blasey ford to get an attorney. saying you should get the katz law firm. then comes forward with the anonymous letter that passes it off to the fbi but doesn't brin

i talked to senator mcconnell. i talked to senator schumer. i talked to senator durbin. i talked to everybody, including the presiding officer, everybody on our committee. so we made great progress, and i want to thank again the people, starting with senator leahy, senator mcconnell, senator schumer, senator durbin, that really helped this come about. i want to take a second and thank some of the staff of the defense subcommittee. brian potts and eric rainch and long with senators blunt, durbin, murray, for their work on these bills that are eminent here today. this is a good start with us. we're not there yet, mr. president, but we're getting there. and if we keep on the road, keep the trains running, we're going to make the appropriations committee work again. thank you very much. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, i thank the distinguished senior senator from alabama. before i start, i should note we have votes scheduled for 12:00. i may go a little bit over that, so i ask consent that i be allowed to finish my whole statement.

it will be up to senator schumer and senator mcconnell.y. iwant thinkjeff has made himself very clear. senator leahy. i want to make sure because this is sort of unprecedented. i agree with the senator from arizona that we should have this further investigation. so my understanding is during the week that that is taking place, there will be no action on the floor of the united states senate. on this nomination. is that correct?|j cannot nomination. is that correct?” cannot say that... i cannot make that commitment for the leadership. ican that commitment for the leadership. i can only say that i would only be comfortable moving forward on the floor, i will move it out of committee, but i will only be comfortable moving on the floor until the fbi has done more investigation than they have already. it might not take them a week. i understand that some of these witnesses may not want to discuss anything further, but i think we owe them due diligence. just a minute. all i have said to senator flake is that i would advocate for the position he

senator kennedy, senator whitehouse and senator -- >> and mr. chairman, i would like to also be a -- >> so this is the last day. so we will be here till midnight if you all want to be here. but i've been told that the senate minority leader for somebody in the democrat party invoked aa two-hour role. so with the two hour rule is invoked, nobody on this committee, republicans or democrats, going to have an opportunity to do what they want to do today because this is the be here andgoing to so i hope you don't invoke the two-hour role. so if you want to talk now before youon start to us start o essay questions, i'll do it. senator whitehouse was the next one and then senator kennedy. >> i would also like to be recognized. >> senator whitehouse. >> i think he asked before a you did. >> mr. chairman, you recognize me for 302nd and i will take it. last i apply consent, speaking for myself i want to make it absolutely clear that i do not accept the process of this committee confidential routine that we want to -- went through. i do not accept its legi

senator kaine? senator kaine: i think senators need to approach all the witnesses with respect. and i say all the witnesses. i don't think this is just a matter for judge kavanaugh and dr. ford. if we're going to be respectful of the seriousness of the allegations, i think you have to hear from ms. ramirez and ms. swetnick, you need to subpoena mark judge to come. and there may be other witnesses as well. the most respectful thing to do s treat people with respect. remember, our children are watching. if an allegation of serious sexual assault gets swept under the rug, it will make it harder for people who are suffering sexual assault to come out and seek help. let's hear from everybody. do the f.b.i. investigation that should be done, do it in a respectful manner. that's what a deliberative body like the senate should do. >> mr. stewart. mr. stewart: if the senate treated each other and other members the way that they are treating judge kavanaugh, they would all be in jail for getting counseling. 268 charges of harassment, sexual harassment against you and other members of the

senator patrick leahy: i think the senate should be working the way it should be. i voted on 19 people over the years in the supreme court, republicans and democrats are . i voted for some, but not all. you have republicans and democrats talk about what is best for the country. what i worry about is that there is destruction in the integrity of the federal courts if any president can just politicize it. when president trump says i'm going to have this advocacy group give me the names of who they will accept and i will pick from there, no. you are picking not for a single issue or inefficacy advocacy group, you are picking for the united states, and i think that is what is hurting the country. also, the senate should stand up and do what they should do. i've heard senator saying look at this terrible thing. we forget republicans, a number of republicans voted against robert borer. some democrats voted for him. it all the republicans voted for him, he would have been confirmed. ronald reagan hoped he would dry his name. republicans said no, he should not be there and

senator hatch: well, i think one of our senators, one of our better senators in the u.s. senate, did do exactly that, and he is a democrat, as a matter of fact, one of the fairest people and i think one of the best new people in the whole senate. this is a statement that was made on the floor of the senate in this record by my distinguished colleague, senator lieberman, a man i have a great deal of respect for. senator lieberman's staff conducted a survey of various women who have worked for you over the years. he was concerned. he has been a supporter of yours, and he was one who asked for this delay so that this could be looked into because he was concerned, too. but as a result of the survey, senator lieberman made the following statement: he said, "i have contacted associates, women who worked with judge thomas during his time at the department of education and eeoc, and in the calls that i and my staff have made there has been universal support for judge thomas and a clear indication by all of the women we spoke to that there was never, certainly not a case of sexual

senator mccain really standing out. part of his legacy was being very much a foil to vladimir putin of russia. he has here on this list the president of ukraine, the head of nato. he's got the former president of georgia. all countries, small countries, countries that wouldn't necessarily be, john, you know, on the list of world powers, but those who felt that they needed a strong ally and found one in senator mccain. >> that's right. and he would -- and he did this while he was sick, while he was -- i mean, really, until he went to arizona for treatment, he was still flinging himself across the globe to tell little countries and people, keep the faith, america won't forget you. and you know, something like nato -- for me, nato, the senate, his military career are all a piece. and what is that piece? you have these agreements, these institutions, these alliances that you tend because it's not always wonderful in the world and you need your friends in moments of crisis, and you need a beacon for small countries under opp

senator burr: senator lankford. senator lankford: i want to follow-up on a statement that senator king was mentioning as well as about deep fakes. that's something i've spoken to both of you about before in the past. it is a challenge for us and i would just reiterate some of the things he was saying publicly. when it's the possibility and now the opportunity to be able to create video that looks strikingly real but none of it is actually real, all of it is computer generated, there's a very different day for video sharing in the days ahead. i know as y'all have attacked issues like child pornography and other things on your platforms in the past, you'll aggressively go after these things. we're telling you we're counting on it because americans typically can trust what they see and suddenly in video they can no longer trust what they see because the opportunity to be able to create video that's entirely different than anything in reality has now actually come. so i appreciate your engagement on that. i want to talk

senator -- >> and then we also have senator whitehouse, but i want to let him comment. >> senator grassley, may i be recognized after senator whitehouse? >> mr. chairman, thank you. i was disappointed to see last night that some of our colleagues are unwilling or unable to conduct themselves in this hearing, with regular order and in accordance with the rules of the committee and the rules of the senate. i know last night some of our colleagues even tried to cross-examine the nominee about documents, but refused to let him even read them. members of the senate and members of congress generally are privy to sensitive information, including classified information on occasion. and were expected to protect that information for all of the obvious reasons. and it's inappropriate to raise these in an open session before the committee. and i think our colleagues understand that. but nevertheless, decided to go ahead, anyway. so i just think it's important that we remind one another that there are clear rules about the discussion of confidential material. and that there can be consequences to the v

i would think that presuming there are other senators who are backing senator flake such as senator collins not 51 votes or 50 votes to move the nomination through and that means senator conneu through and that means senator connell will go to the president and say please give these people they wa nt say please give these people they want limited to a week and that is how we get the nominee three and that president will reluctantly agree. a week is not long, was at a concessionary timeframe put forward do you think? i think he could not presumably asked for more time and have that in the republican caucus, the republicans are under pressure from their base to vote the nominee out, they believe the nominee has been subjected to unjustified personal character assassination and again, politics is often the art of compromise and a week is probably the most the republican establishment can tell their base the investigation will go on for and not have a voter revolt. in reaction to the motion from jeff flake and believe one of the senators made the comment for the good of the senate and the good

will take you like to use senate pick senate members today schedule on a number of judicial nominees at 1:45 p.m. eastern and now to live coverage of the senate here on c-span2. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. o god, the father of light, today give our senators the light to guide them, the courage to sustain them, and the civility to unite them. give our lawmakers humility in prosperity and patience in adversity. provide them with a quiet awareness of your presence, sustaining them with your great power. lord, make us all grateful for the blessings you shower upon us each day. increase our faith, until we experience peace that flows like a river in our hearts. we pray in your great name, amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer:

he said whatever the senators want to do, whatever senator grassley wants to do and the gop wants to do and the senate judiciary committee want to do is fine with him. it sounds like the president is on board with him. we have that caveat that you never know what's happening with president trump, he would tweet something at 6:00 in the morning saying he wants that vote. moments after jeff flake did what he did, the president of the united states who put brett kavanaugh forward is saying he's open to a delay. >> that was very dramatic indeed. chris coons has been speaking, the senator from delaware. i want to listen in briefly. >> any questions? >> reporter: what happens if the fbi investigation is not -- [ inaudible ]. what will happen, based on your conversation with senator flake, what will happen at that point? >> here's what i can commit to. i don't control the fbi or whether or not other allegations i will say and am saying now i am deeply grateful to senator flake and others who i believe will join him in saying they are not comfortable in proceeding to a final vote on judge ka

we also know that this charge that senator mcconnell made, the senator schumer made up his mind on thekavanaugh nomination early is true in some respects. senator schumer announced his position on this nomination early. if you've b been listening to te speeches given by senator mcconnell on the floor from the start, he says he's looking forward to hearing the testimony on thursday boys made up his mind before he hears that natestimony. so to falsify or schumer for taking position on this nomination early, he's ignoring the obvious. so did another mcconnell. i will say at this point that we face an awesome responsibility. a nation divided politically come a nation where people are strong, strong feelings on both sides and an effort to find the truth. i don't know what the legal standard is t. for this hearing. we certainly know when it comes to criminal law the matter of probable cause which leads to investigation and prosecution and beyond a reasonable doubt to prove the guilt of someone. we know on the civil side there is different pandered. no one is quite spelled out what our standa

senator? >> mr. chairman. >> yes, senator klobuchar. >> there are other senators, as well who may be interested in this negotiation on the republican side. and there's not really a set agreement here. all of us already said we were voting no. it is simply senator flake working with all of us to say for the good of the senate and the good of the court, the american people deserve to have the facts followed up on. and i really appreciate his willingness to do that. and that is what this is about. this is simply about -- and by the way, if senator mcconnell wants to go forward in light of that and we still have several senators that haven't said how they're voting on this nominee, i actually think this is very important what just happened right now. so it doesn't have to have an agreement. it is one senator who is standing up. >> senator cornyn. >> mr. chairman, i just want to express my appreciation to senator flake for allowing this process to move forward. there's some difference of opinion among us

senator? >> well, let me just say i'm very proud of the house members who walked over to the senate 27 years later. 27 years ago i was part of a group that did that. we marched up the steps and we confronted our own party because they weren't going to look at anita hill's charges. and then when they did, it was ugly. it was brutal. but i think what you saw today, ari, is the beautiful messiness of democracy. you know, lawrence o'donnell always says we have a right -- i think it's chris lawrence you have a right to petition your government. and those folks in the hall, those women facing senator flake in the elevator, looking at him, that's what we're supposed to do. we're supposed to be of, by and for the people. people across this country, the women and the men who care about us are just so frustrated that women's complaints about not being taken seriously, wanting to be treated equally are completely ignored. >> senator, i promised breaking news. we're going to listen to mitch mcconnell maki

senator carr. senator carr, , i just asked yo. senator gallagher. >> thank you, mr. president. can the minister confirm that at this point leadership fellow of vote of a joint party that audible malcolm turnbull would not be prime minister? >> i remind -- order. on my last question time is generally -- if you take up your own time senator gallacher, you will be aware of standing orders that questions should not use hypotheticals. i will call the minister to address the parts of the question if she wishes to, but questions remain a question time -- senators should keep that in mind. send to mckinsey. >> thank you, mr. president. senator gallacher through you, mr. president, the coalition is made up of two separate parties. [shouting] -- nearly 100 years old -- >> order on my left. and for nearly 100 years -- >> order -- the liberal party has been in existence we don't vote on the leadership matters and we never have. we never will because we are two separate parties and that is how it should be. >> there was one figure in particular it was central to the prime minister's hopes t

on two occasions, from senator sessions, then senator sessions and senator kyle. those requests were granted. we're asking simply that that precedent be followed, mr. chairman. far from mob rule, far from contempt of the process. we're simply asking for respect here, to the normal regular order. >> mr. chairman -- >> go ahead. >> mr. chairman, i'd like to address this committee confidential issue one more time. because you've explained your point of view. here's what we know. the chairman, chairman grassley, who is my friend and i respect, said there's reason for unilaterally designating 147,000 pages of documents as committee confidential is because that was the condition that bill burke imposed on the provision of the documents. when judge kavanaugh was in my office, meeting with us, i asked him who is bill burke? by what authority can he restrict the information given to the senate judiciary committee and to the american people? is he a government employee? no one knew, this mysterious bill burke who is filtering these documents. so i figured since the nominee

senator mccain: hm. [humming] >> i think it is safe to say this is a c-span first -- at wrigley. >> [indiscernible] [cameras clicking] >> why is the tower legacy so significant to you? senator mccain: i believe that john tower was a great patriot and i think he served his country honorably, and he was a dear friend to me. but i thought the unfairness of his treatment was so wrong that i felt that it was unjust and he was mistreated in a way that was clear he did not deserve. >> now, in that chapter, some of the most mccain-like statements, the sort of stuff folks you deal with privately m might believe a guy who is a bastion right hashristian been a bit of a player. there is a page and a half about his involvement in the tower case. in open session and in closed session, you say the stuff in closed session was almost worse. he said he saw tower with long hair at a washington bar. you then basically portray him as a smug, self-righteous "son of a bitch." senator mccain: yes. >> there are a few people in y

senator gallagher? senator carr. senator gallagher. i just asked you, senator gallagher -- >> thank you, mr. president. can the minister confirm that -- had been a vote of a joint party room, the honorable malcolm turnbull would not be prime inister. >> order. if you take up your own time. senator gallagher, you will be aware of standing orders. not hypotheticals. i will call the minister to ask the part of the question she wishes to. the questions for the remainder of question time, senators should keep that in mind. enator mckenzie? >> thank you, mr. president. the coalition is made up of two separate parties. -- 100 years old. > order. >> and for nearly 100 years, the 45 odd years, the liberal party. we don't vote on the leadership atter. we never have. we never will because we are two separate parties and that is how it should be. >> there is one figure in particular who was central to the prime minister's hopes of holding on to the job. the finance minister. a leading conservative within he government. he stuck by malcolm turnbull

how blindsided was senator grassley, chairman of the senate judiciary committee, and senator mcconnelljority leader of the senate, when flake made the announcement he would not vote for the nomination on the floor unless he had a one-week delay and investigation? guest: it was amazing to watch 1:30, when they were supposed to come in and it looked like they were going to push the nomination through and the drama had already happened. circumspect,retty he doesn't display a lot of emotion other than occasionally irritation. when they came in, he essentially gaveled in, and he said senator flake has something to say, flake said his peace, and it was amazing, none of the sensors could figure out what the next move was. -- none of the senators could figure out what the next move was. they didn't know what he was demanding. some of the democratic senators thought flake was going to propose an amendment that would a week delay for an fbi investigation, but instead he voted to approve the motion to advance him out of the senate. that removes some of his own leverage, but even the democrats on

i don't want to hurt -- senator biden: senator, let me -- senator hatch: i am not senator hatch: let me finish. senator biden: no, i will not. senator hatch: yes, you will. yes, you will. senator biden: let me just make one -- you are entitled to use the statement under the rule. no one, the chair cannot stop you from using the statement. senator hatch: well, mr. chairman, how can it be admissible to everybody? everybody in this country is going to see it. senator simpson: mr. chairman, how can she request confidentiality at this point, when she said she -- senator biden: i can answer that question. professor hill saysthat she -- hill says that she wants to tell her story. she did not release the statement, she says, and she wants her story told by her. because we have given the opportunity to the judge to speak first, if he so chose, and he has. she wants to be able to present her thus-far unreleased statement in her own words. she will not have spoken to publicly, when she comes and addresses the committee. now, why don't we get on with this process? senator thurmond: mr. chairman,

that wouldn't make much sense. >> senator klobuchar -- >> well, senator coons and senator flake have been working together on this for quite awhile and a number of us have been urging them along. but this was kind of a surprise to all of us, senator flake has expressed including in his speech yesterday his about the divide in this country that is being exacerbated by what's happening here. and, of course, we have been asking over and over again for follow-up on the evidence. and so senator flake is basically saying to his leadership, i want to see this additional investigation before i vote for this nominee. and if he is joined by one or two other republicans in that request, then they would be the have the votes unless the investigation occurred. and it's that simple. >> is anybody else committed? >> i don't know. you'll have to ask them. it is one week given -- one week is what senator flake was interested in. and you can do a lot if you have the whole fbi looking at things in one week. >> did senator flake bring this idea to the democrats or did the. >> you'll have to talk to him

senator coons, senator whitehouse, senator hirono, senator blumenthal, now senator feinstein, i hope they will bring charges against us. and i'm ready to accept the full responsibility for what i have done, the consequences for what i've done. and i stand by the publics right to have access to this document and know this nominees views on issues that are so profoundly important, like race in the law, torture and other issues. >> mr. chairman, may i make -- may i read the senate rule 29 -5, steny was of the senate for benefit of all senators? any senator, officer or employee of the senate who shall disclose the secret or confidential business or proceedings of the senate including the business proceedings of the committee's come subcommittees and offices of the senate shall be liable if a senator to suffer expulsion from the body and if an officer or employee to dismissal from the service of the senate and to punishment for contempt. >> bring it on. >> i would correct the sender cr statement that there is the rule. there's clearly a rule that applies. >> then apply the rule and bring

that is a question that they would discuss, i suspect, with senator feinstein and senator grassley. kellie: i usually have my head buried an appropriations, as you know, senator. [laughter] sen. leahy: you work very hard. sometimes i am sympathetic because numbers of subsection three and section five, blah , blah, blah. kellie: i read all of the sections. [laughter] kellie: my question is, given that these allegations have been around, and judge kavanaugh has gone through other confirmation processes, have you ever heard about this issue at all? i wonder why it did not come up. sen. leahy: i have not heard. i am just referring to what we have seen in the press. i have not heard about this before. greta: is it appropriate that senator feinstein now, at this moment, a week before the senate judiciary committee is going to vote, makes public this letter and asks the fbi to investigate? sen. leahy: it is not the fbi, i thought it was the people who did the background check. but whoever it was, what would be inappropriate is if she had an allegation sent to her and did not ask somebody l

a 355 navy senator kaine voted not. senator kaine voted no. he votes not against the president out of spite, he's still hurting from 2016. we have no room for that. he's been voting now against the president, now against you, now against for genia and that is why on november 6, i'm asked you to vote no to senator kaine. thank you much. >> and inclusive and innovative people. it's not just an expression of what i tried to do but it's an expression of what i deserve from virginians. that's how i've led all along, that's how i've led in the senate getting bill after bill passed. they think it's nothing to build the ship. he things it's nothing to expand career and technical education. but virginians think it's something. when it stewart says take virginia back, virginians don't want to go back. there's nothing in the rearview mirror that looks better to virginia than what we can see in the windshield going forward. if you will support me and continues to support me, i will continue to work for that virginia that works for all together with you to

we have senator leahy speaking right now. let's listen in to the senator. we'll be back to chat momentarily. >> jeff flake -- >> what do you mean by mud did did -- muddy the waters? >> what you would be saying. we have a vote on monday and have a fbi investigation on tuesday. that wouldn't make much sense. >> senator klobuchar? can you tell us what just happened? what happened -- >> senator coons and senator flake have been working together on for for quite a while. a number of us have been urging them along and but this was kind of a surprise to all of us. senator flake has expressed, including in his speech yesterday his concern about the divide in this country that is being exacerbated by what is happening here and of course we have been asking over and over again for follow-ups on the evidence. and so senator flake is basechy saying to his leadership, i want to see this additional investigation before i vote for this nominee. and if he is joined by one or two other republicans, in that request, then they wouldn't have the vote unless the investigation o

it is not the one that senator leahy new, senator feinstein, senator grassley, or senator hatch. it is a different committee. it is committee we have created with changes and roles. if we are going to say to our people back home that we are committed to civility, we have to prove it. we have to stick by basic rules that give the minority a voice. i think what was done this morning sadly is a step in the wrong direction. i have a motion for a subpoena that i will withhold until ranking members make statements. senator leahy: the senior senator from texas is back in the room, i want to correct some things he said about elena kagan. we got 99% from a democratic administration. the followed a letter from me as chairman and jeff sessions as ranking member, we agreed on that jointly. republicans, democrats joined together. the 1%, we were shown with that was and agreed to it. those are the facts. we had all of the records. considerably more than we ever had before. a democrat was chair of this committee, the democratic administration, we got all the records that republicans and democra

, senator coons, senator whitehouse, senator hirono, blumenthal, now senator feinstein, i hope they will bring charges against us. i'm ready to accept the full responsibility for what i have done, the consequences for what i have done. i stand by the public's right to have access to this document and know this nominee's views on issues that are so profoundly important, like race and the law, torture and other issues. >> mr. chairman, may i read the senator rule 295, standing rules of the senate? any senator, officer or employee of the senate who shall disclose the secret or confidential business or proceedings of the senate, including the business and proceedings of the committees, subcommittees and offices of the senate, shall be liable if a senator to suffer expulsion from the body and if an officer or employee to dismissal from the service of the senate and to punishment or contempt. >> bring it. >> bring it on. >> i would correct the senator's statement there is no rule. there is clearly a rule that applies. >> then apply and bring the charges. >> all of us are ready to face that rul

, so did senator mcconnell. i will say at this point that we face an awesome responsibility, a nation divided politically, a nation where people have strong, strong feelings on both sides and an effort to find the truth. i don't know what the legal standard is for this hearing. we certainly know when it comes to criminal law, the matter of probable cause which leads to investigation and prosecution, and beyond a reasonable doubt to prove the guilt of someone. we know on the civil side there are different standards. no one has quite spelled out what our standard of proof is, but this much i know, no one, not any single american is entitled to a seat on the supreme court. they've got to come before the american people first and certainly the senate under the constitution and make their case for the advice and consent of the senate to that nomination. it's a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land. the person who fills that seat can make decisions which swing history one way or the other. decisions wh

chairman. >> senator durbin or senator feinstein, whichever one wants to go first. >> i'd defer to senator feinstein. >> i will accept it. thank you. it's my understanding that by agreement with private lawyer bill burke the chairman has designated 190,000 pages of kavanaugh's records committee confidential and by doing this republicans argue members can't use these documents at the hearing or release them to the public. unlike the intelligence committee, and i've been a member for about two decades, the judiciary committee doesn't have any standing rules on how and when documents are designated committee confidential. previously the judiciary committee has made material confidential only through bipartisan agreement. that has not been done in this case. so this is without precedent. republicans claim that chairman leahy accepted documents on a committee confidential basis. it's my understanding that those documents were processed through the national archives, not private partisan lawyers and republicans agreed. 99% of kagan's white house records were publicly available and could be used

senator? yes, senator? >> there are other senators as well who may be interested in this negotiation on the republican side. and there is not a set agreement. we already said we were voting, no. saying forator flake the good of the senate and for the court, for the american people, they deserve to have the facts followed up on. i appreciate his willingness to do that and that is what this is about. it is simply about -- by the way, if senator mcconnell wants to go forward in light of that, and we have several senators who have said -- who have not said who they -- how they are voting, this does not need an agreement, it is one senator standing up. >> mr. chairman, i want to express my appreciation to senator flake for allowing the process to move forward. there is difference of opinion on what exactly the fbi investigation would consist of. some of us think that it has been concluded and supplemented by this committee's investigation, others disagree, but i respect the fact that not only senator flake advoc

the power that senate rules instill in each senator individually. that deal was undone by friendship and trust. and that deal was undone by citizenship. citizenship lived to its fullest today by the people who took their demands to the halls of the senate and made their voices heard and moved the unmovable mountain that is the united states senate. they forced the president of the united states to do something he was never going to do, order a new fbi investigation of brett kavanaugh. the deal on the kavanaugh nomination was done, all done this morning when jeff flake became the final republican on the judiciary committee to publicly announce his decision to vote to confirm brett kavanaugh to the united states supreme court. senator flake's office announced that decision in a press release at 9:25 a.m. that announcement ended all hope that the brett kavanaugh nomination could be stopped or even slowed down. that announcement came as a blow to flake's closest friend on the judiciary committee who learned it from a news reporter. saying that reporters

senator grassley: senator . umenthal bloomum: thank you for -- loom i'm going to be remarking further on what procedurally i think is appropriate here. ut i want to begin by thanking judge kavanaugh and your family to your commitment to public service. i thank the many, many americans who are paying attention to this hearing, not only in this room, but also across the country. i want to thank them for their interests and indeed their sustains at is what democracy. ordinary tment to every day americans participating. there is a t-shirt worn by a number of folks walking around this building saying i am what is at stake. is proceeding could not be more consequential in light of what is at stake, whether women can decide when they want to have children and become pregnant, whether the people of america can decide whom they would like to marry, whether we drink clean water and breathe clean air, whether consumers are protected against defecttive product and financial abuses. and whether we have a real system of check

>> i am, senator. and secretary mattis, one of the fundamentals is problem definition, one of his reasons for traveling to the region recently was to get an eyes on assessment of the challenges we face. >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> senator, mr. nelson. senator sullivan. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and gentlemen, congratulations and thanks for your service to you and your families. it's decades that you've been serving our nation. and we very much appreciate it. admiral, i want to touch on this issue that you are seeing from a bunch of senators on the drugs and opioids. and fentanyl in particular. it's one thing we look to countries that are sending fentanyl, like mexico that may not be able to control what goes on in the country. another thing to look in china, isn't it true you were in china with mattis, couldn't they stop it tomorrow if they were killing our citizens, couldn't they stop it tomorrow? >> there are ways china could be more helpful in getting after this. >> well, when senator king talk

, senator, senator whitehouse, senator blumenthal, now senator feinstein. hope they will bring charges against us. i am ready to accept the full responsibility for what i have done, the consequences for what i have done, and i stand by the public's right to have access to this document and know this nominee's views on these issues are so profoundly important, like race and the law, torture, and other issues. >> mr. chairman, may i read the senate rule 29.5, the standing rules of the senate, the vented dough-like benefit of all senators? and a senator, officer, or employee of a son who shall disclose the secret or confidential business proceedings of the senate, including the proceedings of the committees, subcommittees, and offices of the senate, shall ber exposure from the body, and dismissal from the service of the senate and punishment for contempt. >> bring it. >> i would correct the senator's statement that there is a row. there is clearly a row. >> then bring the charges. >> all of us are ready to face that rule on the bogus designation of committee c