ford's lawyers and representative of the senate republicans, whether she testifies and answers questions from senators, whether she answers from outside counsel chosen by the senate republicans. to put her in front of the television and have the country watching is significant. >> shawn, your colleagues are reporting on some of these practice runs going on in the white house. three people familiar with the deliberations told your colleagues that kavanaugh grew frustrated when it came to questions on his drinking habits and other pro cliff tis. he said they were too personal. what are you learning about how judge kavanaugh plans to defend

senate republicans also said no to that. she further asked for senators to at least question her themselves rather than appoint outside lawyers to question her as if she was being put on trial herself for some kind of wrongdoing. republicans not only said no to that, they announced today that they've appointed an experienced former prosecutor to question dr. ford in front of the senate, and they won't say who it is. it's a secret. nevertheless, dr. christine blasey ford is now scheduled to testify before the senate judiciary committee on this matter on thursday morning. and now this evening, senate republicans have announced that they think they'll be ready to vote on kavanaugh's nomination the very next day, first thing friday morning. which apparently means they plan to move forward on a vote without ever hearing testimony from the second accuser who came forward after christine blasey ford with a second serious claim about judge kavanaugh. her name is deborah ramirez. ms. ramirez seinfeld out her allegations against brett

as we reported moments ago, the senate republicans, the senate republican chairman of the judiciary committeesley, issued a 10:00 p.m. eastern time deadline to attorney representing christine blasey ford telling her that essentially they needed to respond by 10:00 p.m. eastern as to whether or not she would aseed to senate republican demands of the circumstances they want her to testify next week on wednesday, no other witnesses besides her and brett kavanaugh. if she either did not respond by 10:00 p.m. tonight or rejected any of those terms, they said they were going to forget this whole issue, not pursue this allegation at all and just hold a vote monday morning on brett kavanaugh without hearing from dr. ford. we now had a response from christine blasey ford's attorney asking for one more day for her to consider her decisions. although no response although we are watching for it on the rest of the committee. the other story pertains to rod rosenstein oversees the muller investigation, he has come under withering criticisms from president trump and the media which has increasing existing t

senator susan collins is saying to other republican senators behind closed doors about the kavanaugh nomination, and about how these allegations against him are being handled. this afternoon, we also got this remarkable picture. look at that. of lisa murkowski, senator lisa murkowski on the right and senator diane fine stain on the left, having what one reporter described as an intense conversation. yeah, no kidding, in the capitol basement. these two senators reportedly hugged before diane feinstein waved everybody else away and the two began whispering out of earshot of nearby reporters. we just heard senator chris coons say he's having multiple conversations not only with his democratic colleagues but with republican senators across the aisle. he said many of whom are expressing misgivings about the way this process is being handled. we don't know what's going to happen with senators at that committee hearing tomorrow. we don't know what's happening among senators tonight as they all prepare for that hearing tomorrow. but we can at least be sure that whatever i

we had a long conversation with senator orrin hatch of utah, the senior most republican senator, one of brett kavanaugh's most vehement allies here. he had a private phone conversation with brett kavanaugh earlier today about two hours ago during which the conversation, judge kavanaugh told senator hatch, i did not do this. i am unequivocal. this is not something that i did. and senator hatch came out telling us that he believes that unequivocal denial, and he kept telling us over and over again about his reputation, about his sterling credentials. at the same time, you do have very credible allegations reported in our paper. and that's the interesting kind of struggle that we've seen because the main attack line for senate republicans right now, or the main line beyond defending judge kavanaugh is to attack senate democrats, particularly dianne feinstein, the senior senator from california for holding onto this information until essentially the 11th hour when we're barreling towards a committee vote this week. they're saying, if these allegations were so explosive, why did you sit o

tonight senate republicans said no. they are refusing to hear from any other witnesses. in a letter sent to dr. ford's attorneys tonight made public by senator grassley's office, grassley insist, quote, the committee does not take witness requests from other witnesses. quote, you said dr. ford wants to chance to tell her story in public and under oath. this is the country we have given her. we don't need to subpoena additional witnesses to do that. end quote. so that's the word tonight from senate republicans. that's how they want to handle this. they have told this woman, who is alleging this serious sexual assault by this nominee that she can take it or leave it. they'll allow her to testify on wednesday, alone, no witnesses allowed. it will be her versus judge kavanaugh, period. and then there is the deadline. the deadline from senator grassley, if she says no to those terms or if she and her lawyers do not respond by 10:00 p.m. eastern tonight, senator grassley is telling her fine, you're out. we're going to vote on it. we're going to vote on it monday morning unless

senate republicans said no to that. dr. ford also asked the committee to take testimonies from witnesses who she says could potentially corroborate elements of her story, senate republicans also said no to that. she further asked senators to at least question her themselves rather than appoint outside lawyers to question her as if she's being put on trial herself for some kind of wrong doing. republicans not only said no to that, they appointed and experienced former prosecutors to question dr. ford in front of the senate and they won't say who it is. it is a secret. >> dr. christine blasey ford is scheduled to testify on thursday. first thing friday morning, which apparently means they plan to move forward on a vote without ever hearing testimony from the second accuser who came forward after christine blasey ford with a second serious claim of judge kavanaugh. her name is debra ramirez. she personnelspelled out her al that was published this weekend. she said when she was in college and brett kavanaugh was a classmate of

and senate republicans are insisting on monday or nothing. like how tone deaf is it that in the case of a an alleged sexual assault the woman is saying i feel like you guys are moving too fast. and these dudes are like well, we're ready so we're doing this. and now to be honest i understand why senate republicans are in a rush. like they want to get the supreme court seat filled before the mid terms which they are afraid that they may lose, it is the same way i made sure to pose with every celebrity at the emmys before i lost to john oliver because i knew no one wants to pose with a loser but everyone likes you when you might win. i made sure. i made sure. (applause) now what is interesting is some people aren't even waiting for the testimony though. they have already decided there is something fishy about this woman's story. >> this was an early 1980, you in is now 2018. she was 15 years old, she is now 51. there is ground for some suspicion there, he was appointed to a federal appeals court or federal court where was she then when he was ap

what the senate republicans are saying they are going to do a process that is even worse. rather than listen to doctor ford's report of what happened and what they are really telling us, senator mcconnell seems to be saying from what i just heard, it doesn't matter. to him or to the senate republicans whether judge kavanaugh assaulted a woman. a crime. he committed a crime. it doesn't matter to them what happened. nobody has a right to a united states supreme court appointment. we need people who are highly qualified in the law to be sure, but we need people of impeccable moral character with the capacity for compassion and objectivity. judge kavanaugh does not demonstrate his capacity to be objective and to be compassionate in my view. i found many things about his testimony and the documents we reviewed concerning. he doesn't seem to suspect the constitutional rights of all americans, among other things. he favors corporations as opposed to individuals. beyond that, what we are seeing from the republicans is just unbelievable. they are saying that even if dr. ford comes f

none of the republican senators, none of the republican staff. that's just -- i mean, it's just -- it may be unprofessional. i don't know how the professional standards work here. it's weird. >> it's way beyond unprofessional. when we get started here, we have lisa graves, former member of the judiciary staff on the democratic side who is going to dissect that one for us. >> all right. >> thank you, rachel. >> thanks, lawrence. >> we're going to go straight to the phones now washington post congressional reporter sean sullivan joining us by phone, part of the reporting team who is delivering the news tonight about this mystery lawyer whom the republicans on the senate judiciary committee are engaging kavanagh's accuser. and at this point the leading candidate is rachel mitchell. she is a prosecutor in arizona. she's worked for the mayor cope a counsel tip attorney's office for 26 years and she is the sex crimes bureau chief for the mayor cope a county attorney's office. so she is somebody who has a lot of experience in areas of sexual assault and

but tonight senate republicans are under fire. but tonight senate republicans are under fire. me too protests outside their offices accusing them of trying to rush kavanaugh through. tonight, chuck grassley's office says they are happy that dr. ford's attorneys are now engaging with the committee, and late tonight, kavanaugh sent a letter to grassley saying he will be there on monday and wants a hearing as soon as possible to clear his name. lester? >>> most of what happens in washington happens in a vacuum. senate republicans navigating across rocky ground now and we're leaning new details about a possible strategy they may use to question dr. ford. let's go to kasie hunt on capitol hill for more on this. kasie? >> reporter: that's right, lester, and it's a strategy that hasn't been used in decades. someone who is not a senator leading the questioning. republicans are now searching for an outside lawyer preferably a woman to lead the questioning of judge kavanaugh and dr. blasey ford this, of course, because all of the republican

the map in the senate has changed so dramatically. it favors republicansyou look at the state and now we are talking about the prospects of maybe the democrats could win the senate. it's difficult, but possible. >> the state-wide races and in both of the polls, you saw both female candidates trailing with women independents. >> this is a persistent problem. i think they are running smartly because you have to run more towards the center despite the talk of the democratic socialism or far liberalism. that's the no the case in these states. he's a known quantity. sinema is attempting to pull it off. it can't be shown how favorable this is. they are totally blowing the opportunity. they may end where they were. surprisingly at the end of the day, things were set up this year to favor them. >> math was so tilted in their favor. the latest on the news that chuck grassley said judge kavanaugh's accuser should be heard. how is an open question. the day after chemo shouldn't mean going back to the doctor just for a shot. with neulasta onpro patients get their day

for some reason both the white house and senate republicans are blocking the investigation to question the purpose. let me ask a republican friendsr friends, president trump and america thiss question if president trump and senate republicans are so certain the allegations are not true, why are they welcoming the fbi to look into it? >> leader mcconnell spent five minutes pointing a finger at democrats that show someone in a pickle who has dug in a deep hole. if you really believe these allegations are part of a smear job leader mcconnell , why don't you call for an fbi investigation? >> what are you afraid of? >> what are you hiding? >> what is judge kavanaugh hiding? >> nobody knows. but people who want the truth will find the truth teller people who don't want the truth will run away from it. and instead point fingers of accusations wild and untethered allegations that is what leader mcconnell is doing. i know he prides his role to expand through the justice i don't think america will see their rulings if kavanaugh gets on the court but that is not the search for i truth. that is a

possibly three or four republican senators will hold this in their hand after the hearings. ou will see a lot of anxiety among republican consultants if this is bulldozed through by a gop caucus on the committee which is all male, you will compound this problem with college educated white women and erode the position with the blue collar women. >> they have to be very careful on monday. you see collins, murkowski, graham and flake and maybe corker? >> why are no other women republicans? jonie ernst. why they feel it is credible. i think -- >> you can't just include women. you have to give graham and flake. >> lindsey graham said we want to have the hearing on monday and vote on wednesday. graham has moved out of the maverick status. as you point out, if this is hanging out through november, tough on people like joe manchin and jon tester and democrats defending trump seats. if this is forced through where the democrats have a record number of women candidates where democrats are already on a path where the biggest margin ever of well educated white women. and african-american

it's not her fault that there are no fairway medal republican senators right now so they should have the guts to stand up and do this themselves. >> jeff, last question, about timing. something republicans are very conscious about throughout this entire process. give us a sense of how that continues toway on republican members. >> republicans want kavanaugh confirmed and seated in time for the october 1st start of next supreme court term. but look, there is no deadline to confirm a supreme court nominee. democrats know that all too well because it was senate republicans who never even gave merritt garland former president obama's a hearing. they held that seat open the seat left vacant by 444 days. but yet, you know, kavanaugh clock is tick being for republicans and they want this wrapped up as quickly as possible. >> great to speak with all of you on this saturday as this news breaks. that breaking news happening just a short time ago. christine blasey ford says she will testify next week on capitol hill. the conditions of that testimony still being worked out between her lawyers and

i want to commend senate republicans, particularly chairman grassley for giving her more time, but itrush this woman, and more importantly, what's the rush to get this confirmed. let's not forget, republicans spent enormous time and months blocking judge garland who should have been given a hearing. >> more than 400 days. let me come back with the statement, nothing she alleged disqualified him from the supreme court. even if it is true. even if he sexual assaulted her when he was 17 and she was 15, that's not disqualifying. he should be confirmed? >> there's one eyewitness to this and the witness says what she says happened didn't happen. both are named. they say it didn't happen. this was not a rape. everybody was fully clothed. is it inappropriate? absolutely. is that how any young man should treat any young woman, absolutely not. but if you went back, put this in a larger context, they were 17 years old, no crime was committed, something terribly inappropriate we should teach young men not to do for sure, this is not something for a 17 should disqualify them in 50s and have shown

republican senator lindsey graham blaming democratssen. lindsey graham / -r- south carolina: "this is the most unethical sham since i've been in politics."as senate republicans work to see if they have the votes to confirm their nominee to the supreme court -- kavanaugh emphatic he still wants the job.brett kavanaugh /supreme court nominee: "you'll never get me to quit. never."

ford's lawyers and representative of the senate republicans, whether she testifies and answers questions from senators, whether she answers from outside counsel chosen by the senate republicans. to put her in front of the television and have the country watching is significant. >> shawn, your colleagues are reporting on some of these practice runs going on in the white house. three people familiar with the deliberations told your colleagues that kavanaugh grew frustrated when it came to questions on his drinking habits and other pro cliff tis. he said they were too personal. what are you learning about how judge kavanaugh plans to defend himself? >> i think what his advisers are trying to do is prepare him for a different kind of hearing and different questioning than he faced the first time around. that mostly focused on his judicial record, his views on various issues of the day. this will be about him and his personal life. they're trying to get him into that mode. this is going to be a very, very different and pretty unprecedented type of setting that he'll face if this hearing does,

right now i think there are 49 republican senators who have said that they are a yes. without jeff flake, it could be 48. so it's simple math. the votes aren't there right now without jeff flake and likely the two other republicans who have been sort of comrades in arms with him on this issue. >> lisa murkowski -- >> and susan collins. so that is the simple math. having said that, that has to be something that mitch mcconnell, the senate majority leader, agrees with. he controls the senate floor, not jeff flake. he will control when the vote is, not jeff flake and certainly not the democrats. the other unknown here is the president of the united states. he just said in that bit in the oval office that he's going to listen to the senate, the senators are going to handle it but it is up to the administration. they have made it very clear to decide whether there will be an fbi investigation, which is part of what jeff flake is demanding. we heard lindsey graham say he's going to have to talk to both mitch mcconnell and the president of the united states. it's hard to imagi

senate ranking member dianne feinstein says the republicans are rushing this process. she is asking the fbi to investigate the assault claims first. >> judge kavanaugh spent nine hours at the white house monday huddling with the confirmation team. one official describes him as shaken but focused. the administration is determined to defend kavanaugh's integrity and bolster his public image ahead of monday's hearing. white house officials are contacting the women who signed the support for kavanaugh to see if they are willing to publicly back the judge next week. >>> president trump ordering declassification of the materials related to the russia investigation. that includes the sections of the applications for surveillance on former adviser carter page. the president's top allies claim without proof that the fbi wrongfully obtained its warrant for page and is hiding information to discredit the mueller probe. the president ordered the justice department to release text messages related to the investigation from four former top official and one justice official. all regu

>> sean, you've got a republican senator from arizona on the judiciary committee, jeff flake. you also have new republican senator jon kyl, actually a former united states senator appointed recently to fill john mccain's seat. jon kyl had been working as basically brett kavanagh's guide through the senate confirmation process as a friend of all the republican senators. any indication whether senator jon kyl or senator jeff flake were involved in the selection of an arizona local prosecutor to come 2000 miles to washington to do this job? >> you know, lawrence, there is no indication yet, but we're still reporting this story right now. and, you know, the senator that you mentioned certainly have played a key role in this overall process. as you mention, senator kyle was basically kavanagh's guide, attended meetings with him on capitol hill with senators. and jeff flake of arizona is a key swing vote in this nomination process.

. >> senate judiciary democrats though insisting all the extensions in the world won't matter. when republicans are blatantly ignoring dr. ford's original position, that a hearing prior to thursday isn't doable. senator feinstein writing in part. dr. ford is receiving death threats. had her identity stolen and e-mail hacked. she fled her home with her family. republicans want to rush her into a hearing and it shows no sime sympathy or empathy. >> and. >> and that it's arbitrary and to bully. >> and it will be decided if two, three hours from now, leland. leland: the president has certainly not been silent on this and while we await an answer about what comes next in the confirmation hearings, president trump is spending the weekend in bedminster, new jersey with reporters ellison barber travelling with the president. >> hi, the president is defending his decision for the supreme court and attacked the supreme court nominee's accuser. he was at a rally and he tweeted about dr. christine blasey ford asking why somebody didn't call the fbi 36 years ago. i have no doubt, the president writes, if th

senator, republican from georgia, thank you for coming on and sharing your views. >> thanks, chuck. >> joining me now with another perspective is patty murray from washington state. senator murray, welcome to "meet the press". >> great to be here, chuck. >> i remember covering your race and it was the reason you stated for running was your reaction to the anita hill hearings and i remember a lot of people didn't give you much of a chance and you've now been a united states senator since 1992. >> correct. >> you said this about the republicans 27 years later that the judiciary committee is leading us down the exact same place and an even worse one. how do you think worse? >> i think one of the things that i remember from the anita hill hearings was the way she was treated by united states senator, that she was presumed that she was lying, that it was a fantasy, that she was making it up. that's how the questions came from the united states senators and she was never given a full opportunity to be believed from the start. i sense that again, as i hear a number of the comments, the major

senators. but that came with a condition. republican senator jeff flake said his vote came with strings attached. and those strings were the one-week delay and the fbi investigation. flake's move coming after he was confronted by sexual assault survivors minutes after he announced he would vote for kavanaugh this morning. >> 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 just an 11-second excerpt of a nearly five-minute passionate confrontation where senator flake looked, frankly, wrecked. moments ago, president trump, who said on wednesday night that if it had been up to him, he would have voted weeks ago on kavanaugh. well, he deferred to the senate. >> well, i'm going to let the senate handle that. they'll make their decisions, and they've been doing a good job. >> bill mattingly on capitol hill for us on all the breaking news. we just heard the chairman, chuck grassley, put it

senate panel is not a fair process. >> this major development really does set up a direct conflict for republicans in the senate and the white house. the president and republican leaders have rejected the idea of having the fbi open brett kavanaugh's background check. they say there is nothing more to get from the fbi. the republican senate leaders are refusing to allow any other witnesses at the hearing, including the man in the room during the alleged assault. so who is going to blink here? will this hearing happen? joining us now cnn legal analyst, chris cillizza and senior kcorrespondent for new york magazine, orin. thank you all for being it was. i want to start with you here. on the show now, in this face-off that has developed over the 11 hours. she will not testify on monday unless there is an fbi investigation. the fbi says it's not going to do that. senate republicans said they will not ask for it. the president says he will not ask for it. what would the fbi background check do? what more could it provide here? >> one of the things that her attorney said very importantly last night on cnn is that the hearing

the white house with input from some senate republicans is maintaining the focus should exclude certain subjects that judge brett kavanaugh was grilled on during his testimony before the senate judiciary committee. they are indicating only a handful of interviews are a r going to take place. that questions about brett kavanaugh's drinking habits in high school will be avoided, something democrats pressed him on during his testimony. once the fbi concludes their investigation with these subjects, they will then pass along the information to the white house. they don't come up with any conclusions themselves. ultimately what we're hearing from sources is that typically that's the way this procedure is carried out but some democrats are raising red flags, notably senator amy klobuchar who definitely pressed judge kavanaugh during the confirmation process. she's concerned the white house may be having too much input in what the fbi is going to be asking. now press secretary sarah sanders was asked about this. she says they don't want to micromanage the fbi but she wouldn't answer if she kne

fact, they went so far as to hire a prosecutor for one day, a female prosecutor, so that the senate, the republican senators on the committee can hide behind her skirt, literally, and they don't have to reveal themselves to the american public. that is how far they're going. it is totally appalling. i have already called on the president, along with the rest of the democrats on the judiciary committee to have the president withdraw this nomination. >> there are -- there is testimony or transcripts released recently of judge kavanaugh's interview with counsel from the judiciary committee asking him about a number of allegations. there are two more anonymous allegations included there. there's reporting tonight about a fourth allegation, contained in an anonymous letter, an anonymous letter, we should be clear, nbc news reporting that, he is asked in the anonymous letter in 1988 he pushed a woman up against a wall, was sexually aggressive with her as he pushed her against the wall. he is asked about that in the judiciary committee transcript and he denies it. what do you make of that? >> he denies ev

a bay area law professor said that is because senate republicans are under pressure to give ford a chance to speak. >> a very serious moment for women in this country, and you have to believe there are women senators on the republican side who have told the leadership, "we are not ready to vote on judge cavanaugh. you need to work this out." >> that was professor rory little. he said he thinks ford's story is true, but he's not sure how it will affect cavanaugh's chances of being confirmed. >>> pope francis is in lithuania tonight. the pontiff greeted thousands of people as he made his way to the cathedral. the visit comes as the pope is receiving criticism over the sex abuse scandal. >>> a session was held today giving prisoner ins and victims a chance to speak. and kpux's devon feeley was there. >> the priest that abused me was transferred from parish to parish even after i reported the abuse. >> reporter: no cameras were allowed in to record the painful experiences and raw emotions of people abused by catholic priests by the church's cover up of the crimes. >> this needs to be addresse

senate. republicans cannot afford to lose one vote from their side of the aisle, but 10 senate republicans remain undecided. kavanaugh's fate especially rests with jeff flake, lisa murkowski and bob corker and the one to watch, senator susan collins, who will give cover, who could give cover to other republicans for how they may vote. others could follow susan collins' lead. susan collins is considered a moderate voice. she's voted no in the past on education secretary betsy devos. the epa scott pruitt and for overturning obamacare. let me clarify one thing. 49 individuals on the senate side who vote with the democrats. those include independents as well. bring in former federal prosecutor and fox news contributor andrew mccarthy, great to see you, thanks for coming on. >> my pleasure. liz: what's your take? >> i think we're so far away from what the purpose of this hearing is. i happen to be one of these people who's never been convinced that this thursday thing is going to happen. i never thought that dr. ford wanted to testify. i think at most what they were trying to do is generate video of a

senator hirono, thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you. >>> up next, breaking news. undecided republican senators force president trump to order an fbi background check into the allegations against brett kavanaugh after forcing a delay in the confirmation vote for his u.s. supreme court nominee. and what would this limited probe entail? how much ground could investigators cover in that short amount of time allocated to them a week or less? accept an incomplete job from any one else. why accept it from your allergy pills? flonase relieves your worst symptoms including nasal congestion, which most pills don't. flonase helps block 6 key inflammatory substances. most pills only block one. flonase. if you're waiting patiently for a liver transplant, it could cost you your life. it's time to get out of line with upmc. at upmc, living-donor transplants put you first. so you don't die waiting. upmc does more living-donor liver transplants than any other center in the nation. find out more and get out of line today. so let's promote our falle a homecomingtravel dealame, on choicehotels.com like t

that is the job of the senators on the judiciary committee. if the republican senators are unwilling to do that they shouldn't be on the committee. >> what do you think about the idea that apparently has been floated that republicans are considering using women who work for them on their staff, all-male group as you well know on the reasonable side, using women staffers to ask the questions in the hearing. >> i think that's an absurd idea. if they literally can't do their jobs as senators on the judiciary committee, and need to ask female staffers to do it for them, they should step down from the committee. it's their job. >> one thing i think that's unclear to a lot of people, what are we trying to -- what's the thing that gets determined and what's the standard of evidence that you're looking for? what -- as someone who's going to vote, and i suspect i know how you would vote even before this allegation, but as someone who will vote if this nomination goes forward, what is your understanding of the standard you're looking for? >> the question is, is judge kav

senator ted cruz. we all remember that brutal campaign primary and the republicans back in 2016. me up in last night's debate senator cruz said he had a choice to work with president trump or not. he says he does. i was struck by the economic case that o'rourke made particularly on immigration. we haven't heard many democrats make the economic case in recent months and weeks. obviously, there's been a lot of other cases that they made on the issue of immigration. he noted the importance immigrants play to the economy. i thought that was interesting. congressman o'rourke did something else. he tried to make a centrist argument on the issue of the second amendment. >> last question here. you look at the polling and i wonder what it tells you at this point. we have the cook political report moving this. many democrats in texas are optimistic think it can go their way. what your looking for >> turn out, turn out, turn out. and who gets their folks to the polls especially if the progressive left decide to back o'rourke with the fervor we've seen in other primaries. >> my thanks for you

someone who is not a senator leang the questioning. republicans are now searching for an outse lawyer preferably a woman to lead the questioning andjudge kavanaugh dr. blasey ford because all of the republicans o committee are men and those protest today under score how treacherous this terrain is for republicans, telling emotional me too stories and so clear dr. ford's allegations have really struck a chord with women ross america. lester? >> kasie hunt on the hill for us tonight, thanks. >>> now to that horrific shooting rampage at rite ate distribution center. police say a woman opened fire on her co-workers. four are dead including the shooter and nbc's catie beck mhas details fro maryland. >> reporter: a morning e.hift at a working wareho avhattered by gunfire. >> we the active shooter at perryman road. >> reporter: just after 9:00 a.m., calls for help. victims down. >> two number one females gunshot wounds to the head. >> reporter: a frantic text from worker inside. >> she text me and said there was a shooter in the building and she was di .

as for monday, the hearing date set by senate republicans, ford's lawyers saying it is not possible and the committee's insistence that it occur then is arbitrary. ford's lawyer emphasizes it's ford's preference that an investigation be completed before her testimony but does not demand an inquiry into her accusation. it >> i really hope that she doesn't pass up tt been a regular visitor all week. a source involved in the confirmation process telling nbc news on tuesday, kavanaugh spent about two hours behind closed doors with a small group of senior staff, preparing for a hearing, grilling him about his past, his dating life and ford's accusation. kavanaugh and his family have also received threats and hateful e-mails. but the source says kavanaugh remains determined and hopeful. top republican chuck grassley saying kavanaugh has already been interviewed under oath by staffers, grassley saying we have no reason to doubt his truthfulness. >> we believe christine ford! >> reporter: but senate republicans are under fire, protesters outside their offices, accusing them of trying to rush ka

it's been, what we've seen over the past few days, has been a tug-of-war, if you like, between senate republicans and senate democrats. senate republicans have said they're willing to have her testify but on their terms. and i think democrats want her to testify on the terms that she wants. so, really, what happens from here is whether or not republicans stick to their initial insistence that this happen on monday. i think we're arguing over procedure. it hinges on what she says and how she comes across and how she is received. >> that's what i mean by the scenarios. what do you think republicans are thinking right now? >> republicans are thinking they want this out of the way, if you like. you can see the messaging that i think senator dean had recorded on a phone call, saying this was a speed bump. they want to get this over and done with, if you like. imagining if she testifies and they can have a he said/she said situation, a vote can go through on party lines. it really will change things up. the truth is hard to determine in this. if you have a credible accuser putting the allegations acros

the republicans agreed to a one week delay on a final senate vote. so the fbi can investigate sexual assault allegations against brett kavanaugh. >> the delay of course the result of a last minute change of heart by republican senator jeff flake seen right there, he is seen as one of three swing votes needed by republicans to confirm kavanaugh. for more on the developments, manu ra u raju is in washington. >> reporter: republicans were confident that they had the votes to quickly confirm brett kavanaugh to the supreme court,

senate. apparently the republican-controlled senate is fine with that. have not heard back from lawyers from the senate judiciary committee tonight. but i also have to tell you that nbc news has not independently reported out this story. we do not know any more about these still anonymous allegations beyond what mr. avenatti has said publicly, but i think we do now have michael avenatti in place and trod take some questions about this now. joining us now i hope, i think, yes, is michael avenatti. mr. avenatti, it's nice to see you. thank you for your time tonight. >> good to see you, rachel. >> so you said online that you were representing a woman with credible information regarding judge kavanaugh and mark judge. what is the nature of the information that she has about judge kavanaugh and his high school classmate? >> well, rachel, i'm representing one client who i can describe as a witness and victim as well as additional corroborating witnesses to what she is going to allege publicly within the next 48 hours. as it relates to her particular allegation

that's four different ways she can choose to come. >> reporter: the chairman of the senate judiciary, republican senator chuck grassley, has refused to delay monday's scheduled hearing. last night ford's attorney lisa banks said in a statement the rush to a hearing is unnecessary and contrary to the committee discovering the truth. >> the republicans and the president is opposed to letting the fbi do what the fbi has done for decades, and that is background checks on nominees. >> reporter: democrats support ford's request to have the fbi investigate before a hearing, but republicans shut down that idea. >> you can't ignore the fact that this has come at the 11th hour. and every time we offer something to dr. ford's lawyers, they change the terms. >> reporter: president trump says ford needs to make her case. >> if she shows up and makes a credible showing, that will be very interesting and we'll have to make a decision. but i can only say this. he is such an outstanding man, very hard for me to imagine that anything happened. >> reporter: kavanaugh denies the allegations. >> reporter: grassley h

a republican senator on the call says republicans prefer the hearing on wednesday, like to have dr. ford go first and then judge kavanaugh which is dr. ford said she would prefer judge kavanaugh to go first. republicans say no, no, no. go first. republicans do want to have their own outside lawyer do the questioning. beyond that, they say, oh, excuse me, one other point. they don't be subpoenaing any additional witnesses. we had been told by other republican sources over the last day or so that was likely to be a nonstarter for the judiciary committee. they didn't like the idea of a witness telling them who else they had to require to be there. but beyond that, dr. ford's other requests, namely that her safety would be taken care of, she and kavanaugh not in the room at the same time and press conference limited, a pool situation potentially, no that the swarm of cameras we have gotten so used to seeing. those requests likely be ceded to and this is something of a moving target and told by a republican senator in the discussions this is what the judiciary committee is preparing to o

now the senate republicans attempt to investigate serious allegations. they are being stonewalled andv blocked at every corner. even after every single right consideration is offered to professor ford tonight.in all of this is to obstruct, disrupt, up-end justice in america. it's the let's playbook to destroy the trump agenda. on monday, the president ordered important fisa documents declassified. as is his constitutional right. again tonight, he is facing not only a wave of obstructionism. democrats seem to want to precipitate an absolute constitutional showdown. they are openly defying the president's constitutional powers. they don't want government transparency or government accountability. they don't want to see what they have been doing behind the back revealed. all right. stay tuned. we have a big announcement at the end of the show tonight. it's time for breaking news opening monologue. ♪ >> sean: we are now on day seven of the controversy that is swirling around the confirmation of judge brett kavanaugh. a professor from northern california name

lisa murkowski was asked if the senate judiciary committee should delay the vote. she said she was open to it. republican senator lindsey graham said in a statement, if miss ford wishes to provide information to the committee, i would gladly listen to what she has to say. me senate republicans believe so this is all a ploy by democrats to delay the vote. kavanaugh has denied the allegation saying, i did not do this back in high school or at any time. a spokesman for the committee's chairman, chuck grassley says the vote would proceed as scheduled, but some republicans like senator jeff flake say, they are open to delaying the vote so they can hear directly from ford. kendis, janai, back over to you. >> most of the senators are back on the hill today. stephanie ramos, thank you. >>> we turn now though to the remnants of hurricane florence swamping the carolinas this morning with punishing rain and treacherous flooding. >> and dams near their breaking point triggering new evacuation orders in north carolina overnight. many swollen rivers are about to crest, and hundreds of people have been rescued from the

trump going along with republican senate leaders who were forced to agree to the delay. publican senator jeff flake demanded the investigation, threatening to withhold his vote for kavanaugh in the full senate, a move supported by other key senators considered to be swing votes. it is another day of high drama after the emotional testimony by kavanaugh and his accuser, christine blasey ford. i'll get reaction from former u.s. attorney and first let's go to our congressional correspondent phil mattingly. phil, walk us through what happened and what happens next. >> wolf, in a nomination that led to twists and turns that have come at a mind-numbing pace over the course of the last couple days, another one. today, a nomination that was expected to move forward, republican leaders ready to push to the end of the vote, now it is being stalled and people are doing exactly what republican leaders said for days they would not. tonight republican senator jeff flake pivoting. >> i will only be comfortable moving on the floor until the fbi has done more investigation than they have

that is something that senate republicans have said no to. she wanted to have judge kavanaugh speak first. they said no to that. it does seem as if they're close. okay? and the questio now is, is somehow wednesday to thursday a dealbreaker? i could tell you this, thoug i know why senate republicans are nervous. they feel like every day it slips is another day that o opposition judge kavanaugh hardens. we have seen it in our poll. every d he doesn't get a chance to tell his side of the story. >> can he survive allf this? >> i don't know. in a normal political environment i think he would be gone. theeason he's here is the calendar. midterm elections. you have mcconnell worried the democrats get control. obviously, changes everything if democrats have control of the process and then a different type of nominee. so this is why they're all rallying aroaud judge kav here hoping that they can salvage this, t hopingt somehow that they get to a point where there's enough comfort, that maybe there's questions hi about whether incident happened or not

the whole rest of the hearing was angry war cry speeches from male republican senators interspersed with short stents of democrats asking judge kavanagh questions and him not answering. and i'm sure the republicans like the feel of how it ended much more than how it began. they headed into a big republican senators meeting tonight with some big new problems when it comes to this nominee. number one, there is a brand-new temperament issue with judge kavanagh that had not previously been an issue. how this is revenge about the clintons. that was him letting the mask slip, the partisan warrior he was his adult career before he got on the bench. that's why it took him years to confirm him to the bench in the first place more than ten years ago. that's why his initial nomination from the george w. bush administration was so controversial. that element of his resume and his temperament and his partisan nature, that has largely been absent from this debate over his supreme court nomination before now. but now that issue will very much be live. and it will be controversial for him for as long as

senators, the entire republican conference, in a private meeting, but before that meeting, most important meeting for the future of brett kavanaugh's nomination, a group of four senators, senator lisa murkowski, susan collins, jeff flake, and joe mansion, three republicans, one democrat, all undecided, all have raised significant concerns about parts of brett kavanaugh's record and also about the allegations, meeting privately in a capitol office. kate, they kicked staff out. basically, what they decide in that meeting and what those four senators decide to do going forward will likely dictate whether or not brett kavanaugh is confirmed as a supreme court nominee and will likely dictate how history kind of views this moment in time. an interesting element of all that, as that meeting was going on, kate, i was talking to a number of republican senators who were filing into their own closed door meeting, and what i heard repeatedly is, they want to move forward. they still plan to have the committee vote on friday. they could have a floor vote, a final floor vote as soon as t