if you stuart to lose susan collins and perhaps others, this nomination could be in real trouble. 's the key and that's why, you know, someone like collins or maybe lisa murkowski from alaska if they try to forge ahead without doing due diligence and just because you have a phone call with brett kavanaugh at 5:30 and unclear when they will hear from christine ford that this resolves. this again, let history be our guide. look at what happened in 1991, where it took several days to get the witnesses in. they just didn't hear from clarence thomas and anita hill. they brought in scores of other witnesses throughout the weekend and rebaked this entire pie in 1991. that's the type of question that senators will be looking at and keep in mind, the midterm elections. republicans are mindful that if they misplay this in the me too era, that they could be perceived as saying as not doing due diligence, not addressing this in the proper fashion. not giving proper respect to christine ford and taking the allegation seriously. that could have repercussions at the ballot box in november, neil.

we have got susan collins.'ve been waiting for here she is. >> i have said in order for me to assess the credibility of these allegations that i want to have both individuals come before the senate judiciary committee and testify under oath. reporter: if this continues to be he said,-she said is the allocation disqualified? how do you adjudicate something almost 40 years old? >> that does it make it very difficult. that is why it is important that there be a very thorough interview and that we see both individuals respond to the allegations. there are an awful lot of questions, inconsistencies gaps and, that's why to be fair to both we need, we need to know what happened. it is my understanding that the staff is doing interviews, or has proposed to do interviews and then i assume would be the prelude to some sort of appearance. >> senator collins -- >> do you believe dr. ford? >> i don't know enough about dr. ford and her allegations yet to reach that kind of judgment. that's why having the opportunity to obser

we know exactly how susan collins feels at this point. >> reporter: certainly we know how susan collinsabout that. that's an important distinction here when we're listening to the words, her picking up about president trump's tweet there, saying, you know, the fact that she said she was appalled. that's a very strong word, but appalled by the language and the way in which she referred to the accuser dr. ford over twitter today. still outstanding is what susan collins' decision will potentially be when she is faced with the decision potentially to vote on brett kavanaugh when and if he reaches the full senate for a vote. certainly we have been watching every little thing that she says very carefully. she has in the last few days says that she is in support of dr. ford coming before the senate judiciary committee. she says it's important that they hear from her. and notably at the end of last week when it was a question whether or not -- excuse me, at the beginning of this week the question of whether or not she would appear and of course it still is an open question, susan collins saying

i think susan collins' tone was right.service to judge kavanaugh who i'm told urged the white house to take the they took with kellyanne conway. to say, look, we cannot -- this is not true. kavanaugh says to his friends, this is absolutely false, but we need to treat this respectfully and let the hearing go forward. >> there's a possibility, angela, i want to say, that we had don't ever find out more beyond the testimony of these two individuals, both of whom may prove to be completely credibly saying what they think is the truth. and it's possible that there is no contemporaneous individual who remembers her because professor ford has already said she didn't tell anybody until i think six years ago in marital therapy. she finally said this, that she went decades without telling anybody, as you know. that's not uncommon with survivors of sexual assault. we might be in the same place in a week or two with two individuals and basically i hate to say the cliche but basically he said/she said. >> yeah. and one legal standard a

so this is senator susan collins district. what are people saying?> reporter: fred, this is not unfamiliar territory for susan collins. she has been a key vote on so many issues through the course of her more than to years in the senate. and yet one voter here in maine told me he believes this could be the biggest decision of her career. now, she and her fellow undecideds bought themselves some time with the help of this fbi investigation that will be forthcoming as well as the cooperation of mark judge, the former high school friend and classmate of brett kavanaugh hoping that will help bear nor information to help they are make their decisions. meantime, susan collins is back home in maine after that wild week in washington and here her constituents are actively trying to share their concern for the decision she'll make. >> there are several people in the hallway. so some wouldn't mind kind of trading places. >> reporter: tensions so high in senator susan collins' portland office today, cops were called to keep the peace. >> the quite full at the m

we mentioned susan collins a second ago. we can listen to what she had to say about this issue of will there be a hearing. let's listen to susan collins. >> i want to have both individuals come before the senate judiciary committee and testify under oath. obviously, if judge kavanaugh has lied about what happened, that would be disqualifying. >> and i think if you listen closely there, maybe not clear if she wants public hearings. i guess if you read that, listen carefully, that could be private hearings. but if there were public hearings in this case, i think everybody's point of reference, as i said at the top, is going back to 1991. clarence thomas and anita hill. obviously the culture has changed enormously since then. what happened then had something to do with the evolution of culture after that. but when you go back and look at those hearing, tens of millions of people watched them. everybody was talking about them. the public opinion polls didn't move much afterwards. and when you look at them, everybody walked away

susan collins republican of maine has not made any comments one way or the other whether she echoed theent of heidi heitkamp who welcomed something like this to get an independent law enforcement agency to do its job. no way of telling. just as satisfied those folks who seem to be saying we either do this or we could risk being no votes is enough to obviously get the administration's attention. as i mentioned the judiciary committee has already requested the administration to instruct the fbi to conduct this fbi background investigation. so, that would be up to president trump. to john roberts at the white house on what they are going to do. john? >> well, right now they are in the middle of meetings trying to see if they can put humpty dumpty back together now. with the request from the judiciary committee to the white house to do a supplemental fbi background investigation of the current credible allegations. i don't think the president is going to have much choice but to instruct his white house counsel don mcgahn call over to the fbi and say please talk to everybody involved here re

susan collins is the key. she has way too much power nowadays. >> i worked with bret and his wife ashley. we are facebook friends, keep up on the children. this is so out of whack with what i know about bret. he's a perfect pick for this. i focus on susan collins because four republicans said she needed to hear more from this woman. book corker, jeff flake, susan collins and missa murkowski. mr. cork and mr. flake said if the woman doesn't show up monday she should go ahead with the vote. susan collins and lisa purchase- murkowski. the democrats want to delay until after the election. kennedy: if they didn't, they would have gone to the fbi much earlier. >> they want to do that because they cannot defeat the kavanaugh nomination. only errant republicans can defeat it. kennedy: if you are looking at some of the problematic things he has written for civil libertarians, that wasn't enough to turn senators like ted cruz and rand paul. talking about the emails he may have written while secretary in the bush white h

so susan collins was forcing this subject on a room that didn't want to hear about it. it was more organizational for what they're doing on other legislative fronts. and apparently according to this report senator collins said that the fact that it was a sworn affidavit gave real weight to the allegations, and in her mind it now made sense subpoena brett kavanaugh's friend mark judge. now, that is a strong position that all of the democrats have been holding publicly. and the notion that susan collins has that position herself, but so far is unwilling to say it publicly, must be pretty scary for the republicans that she's possibly a breath away from saying it publicly. >> that's right. and she may not be the only one. they're much more willing to share their doubts away from the cameras, away from the reporters. and what we saw senator coons speaking about is many more senators are uncomfortable with this process. they don't want this rush to judgment and being perceived they're railroading dr. ford, ignoring these serious allegations. it's complicated when you have whi

her mother has called susan collins office every week.y say phone calls are threatening. some even profane, more than any other issue they have had to discuss with their constituents. beyond talking and protests, there is one liberal activist group who is crowd funding to support an opponent so susan collins should she run for re-election. we have encountered various attitudes and tones. one man saying while he believes brett kavanaugh and ford are credible, he believes if susan collins votes yes, it will be the end of her political career. >> thank you very much for all of that. obviously, we are watching to see what we should do. >>> there was a surprise cameo on the premier of murphy brown's reboot last night. hillary clinton guest starred as a candidate for a secretarial position. watch this. >> hello. i'm here to interview for the secretarial position. >> hillary? >> yes. hillary, hillary clinton. >> my god, you look just like -- >> i know, hillary clinton. i get that a lot. but my name is spelled with one l. >> okay, hilary with one

cnn's kaylee hartung is in portland, maine, senator susan collins' district. what are you seeing?eporter: susan collins is back in her home state of maine for the weekend after being right in the middle of so much of the drama we saw unfolding in washington over the past week. the streets of portland right outside of susan collins' portland office, they're quiet, but there's no doubt even about ten states away, collins heard the voices of her constituents here yesterday. >> there are several people in the hallway so if someone wouldn't mind kind of trading places would be great. >> reporter: tensions so high in the senator's portland office today, cops were called to keep the peace. >> it's quite full. >> reporter: in maine -- >> we say hell no! >> reporter: and alaska, home of senator lisa murkowski. >> kavanaugh has got to go! >> reporter: tears and bull horns. >> just vote no! >> reporter: part of the public campaign to convince the two undecided republican senators to oppose brett kavanaugh's nomination to the supreme court. >> it's huge in some ways because, you know, it all

and susan collins says that's not good enough, they should come in and be sworn to testify. >> well, i agree, as kellyanne said earlier today, we should take the time for a full and fair and appropriate process. the right way to investigate dr. ford's allegations against judge kavanagh is for the fbi to investigate it to make it part of the background investigation that the fbi professionally does on every nominee, to a federal court. look, we're talking about here a lifetime appointment to the supreme court of the united states. i think we should take a few more days and make sure that dr. ford has an opportunity to come forward, to be fully heard and for this to be handled ploeptly by law enforcement. first and then by the judiciary committee as a whole. >> and that could take some time, we know that investigations take a long time. what they're talking about is go ahead with the vote and have them each testify and have a he said/she said and put it to the committee would stand at least going into this, perhaps susan collins would change her mind based on this? >> reporter

could it rest on susan collins? or is it a done deal?> it is not a done deal republicans got a boost this morning when jeff flake, arizona republican senator came out in favor of brett kavanaugh but i spoke to susan collins, republican senator from maine moments ago, she has not made up her mind on brett kavanaugh and this could hinge on senator collins and senator lisa murkowski of alaska. if both of them vote no and all the democrats vote no, brett kavanaugh will not have the votes. republicans have a 51-49 margin and they can only afford to lose one vote. news from moments ago, joe donnelly, the democrat from indiana up for a tough reelection battle in november and who voted for neil gorsuch to the supreme court just came out against brett kavanaugh for the supreme court. this is a very tight margin and will come down in all likelihood to susan collins and lisa murkowski. vonnie: at this point, there are a couple of other democrats that potentially could vote for brett kavanaugh. are they likely -- anything that may benefit them by do

emotions running high outside senator susan collins office as well. protests are erupting there around the brett kavanaugh hearings. what they're demanding from their senator. we take you live to maine, next. you're in the "cnn newsroom." don't go away. people tell me all the time i have the craziest job, the riskiest job. the consequences underwater can escalate quickly. the next thing i know, she swam off with the camera. it's like, hey, thats mine! i want to keep doing what i love. that's the retirement plan. with my annuity i know there's a guarantee. annuities can provide protected income for life. learn more at retireyourrisk.org bloating? pain? rovide protected income for life. you may have ibs. ask your doctor about nonprescription ibgard for the daily dietary management of ibs. ibgard - daily gut-health gard >>> the future of brett kavanaugh supreme court nomen aches may hinge on to women. both are republicans. senators susan collins of maine and lisa murkowski of alaska are under intense pressure from voters back home. crowds of protesters g

senator susan collins... some sporte dozens gathered judd of the office of republican to susan collins of maine. she is an un decided vote in kavanaugh's nomination. a former yale classmate of judge brett kavanaugh gave an interview with the new yorker magazine where she alleges he exposed himself at a drunken dormitory party. some claim they were told at the time about it. >> we compared the accounts of these two people who have never spoke on the each other, they were identical, all the same details, same location. it seemed that there was something to this. >> reporter: ca gnaw himself called ability smear and said this alleged event from 35 years ago didn't happen. the people that knew me then know this didn't happen and have said so. >> these are highly unsubstantiated statements. >> reporter: the new accusation came out after the first woman to acause kavanaugh of sexual misconduct agreed to testify about her allegations this week on capitol hill. california democrat dianne feinstein is calling for thur

we don't know it's happening. >> harris: i can say this about lisa murkowski and susan collins particularly because it's been reported and we have heard directly from senator collins that she wanted a subpoena of this mark judge, this friend of brett kavanaugh. would that be a sticking point they would talk about? we know he's given an affidavit, you mentioned the third woman who made an accusation against brett kavanaugh, she had given an affidavit. are they have equal weight or could you see a situation where mark judge could be subpoenaed and would that be enough to keep this thing flowing and what kind of a delay that would cause? >> i think that would be unacceptable to republicans, they say -- there was a pushback from democrats that mark judge filed a statement through his attorney, then last night mark judge signed an actual letter that is, we should point out, punishable by felony if he's lying. it's a small room, this is a small committee room. you have not only democrats cornering flake in this little room but a lot of republicans, including now senator grassley going over to tha

this is a flash point for democrats and republicans, susan collins, susan murkowski and jeff flake feeling the pressure. >> i think at the white house, last week was prepping for the idea that other people might come forward. you know, sources stressed to me, don mcgahn, the top attorney, running the process on this, really believes that brett kavanaugh is innocent. however, last week they were doing mock hearings, murder boards and running him through tough questions and preparing him for the eventuality that another person, anonymous or a name attached could come forward. i think the white house, while it was surprised a bit yesterday, is not completely taken aback and sticking with brett kavanaugh. that's the key point. >> on the left, you are seeing the protests in the hallway. josh, does brett kavanaugh survive to thursday? past that? >> no one can say at this point. >> that's an unfair question. i was asking you to look into a crystal ball. my reporting says the president is ready to fight in a way we have not seen him fight so far. >> you can see from the public comments in the last

do it right. >>> senator susan collins is speaking now. we're going to take that. >> senator, do you need to see a public hearing featuring ford before you can vote on kavanaugh? >> i have said that i believe in order for me to assess the credibility of these allegations that i want to have both individuals come before the senate judiciary committee and testify under oath. >> if this continues to be a he said/she said, how do you adjudicate something almost 40 years old? >> that does make it very difficult and that's why it's important that there be a very thorough interview. and that we see both individuals respond to the allegations. there are an awful lot of questions, inconsistencies, gaps and that's why, to be fair to both, we need to know what happened. it's my understanding that the staff is doing interviews or has proposed to do interviews and then that i assume will be the prelude to some sort of -- >> do you believe dr. ford? >> i don't know enough about dr. ford and her allegations yet to reach that kind of judgment. that's why

lisa murkowski and senator susan collins, they all

it's susan collins, lisa america kousky.be you could talk about the calculations of somebody like flake or cork another aren't going to be there. who sort of is that introducer of a wild card possibility. but the politics are it's sort of where we've known them all along. i degree with the consensus emerging on your panel. a lot of republicans, it seems absent something something that rises to the level of i guess smoking gun. i think the vast majority of republicans have an instinct to stick it out. the question is on the edges there, susan collins, lisa murkowsky, one or two others. >> for those red state democrats you mentioned, donnelly and manchin and others, they've been running away from me in the holloways over the last week but i've had a chance to have some private conversations with those who are familiar with their thinking and i don't think we're going to hear from any of them until we hear from susan collins and lisa murkowsky. eddie glaude, the clarence thomas hearings and the way the senators thought through

this is something that susan collins has been indicating what looks like an openness to kavanaugh. murkowski has been more circumspect. of course, rand paul, who is often willing to disrupt the best laid plans of mitch mcconnell, but maybe not in this case. hows interesting to see brett kavanaugh response to questions about executive power and executive privilege. he has made comments that have raised eyebrows about whether or not a sitting president can be indicted, about whether or not he can be charged with crimes. that is all very relevant to the molar investigation. said coons, a democrat, brett kavanaugh should expect a lot of questions at the hearing on that question. >> the senate has been dealing with a lot of executive nominations, judicial nominations, how has the senate been able to really rapidly go through all these nominations? >> again, just because the filibuster is no longer with us, the democrats are really not as empowered as they were in the past. the decision was made when harry reid was the majority leader to do away with the filibuster. there are a few cases

it's susan collins, lisa america kousky.aybe you could talk about the calculations of somebody like flake or cork another aren't going to be there. who sort of is that introducer of a wild card possibility. but the politics are it's sort of where we've known them all along. i degree with the consensus emerging on your panel. a lot of republicans, it seems absent something something that rises to the level of i guess smoking gun. i think the vast majority of republicans have an instinct to stick it out. the question is on the edges there, susan collins, lisa murkowsky, one or two others. >> for those red state democrats you mentioned, donnelly and manchin and others, they've been running away from me in the holloways over the last week but i've had a chance to have some private conversations with those who are familiar with their thinking and i don't think we're going to hear from any of them until we hear from susan collins and lisa murkowsky. eddie glaude, the clarence thomas hearings and the way the senators thought throug

senator susan collins of maine, lisa murkowski of alaska, both under intense pressure from their voters. kaylee hartung is outfront. >> there are several people in the hallway. >> reporter: tensions so high in senator collins' portland office today, cops were called to keep the peace. >> it's quite full at the moment. >> reporter: in maine and alaska, home for senator lisa murkowski. tears and bullhorns part of the public campaign to convince the two undecided republican senators to oppose brett kavanaugh's nomination to the supreme court. >> it's huge in some ways because it all comes down to the senators from maine and alaska. and yet on the other hand, she just needs to do the right thing. like this shouldn't actually be a discussion. it shouldn't even be -- it shouldn't even be a difficult decision. >> i'm a democrat, and i voted for her. i was one of the people who signed in her name when she said she was going to stand up for women. i would never vote for her again. >> reporter: the effort to persuade collins and murkowski also playing out on television in their home states. >> su

you hear people like susan collins and lisa murkowski, those key senators say it is okay, enough for offer professor ford a hearing even if she didn't show up. it sounds like they could find a way to vote for him. they all come together, they don't need any democrats. scenario number two, maybe they lose collins, murkowski, some republican doesn't vote for him. they could only to get 50 votes and still confirm kavanaugh if mike pence casts a tie breaking vote if they lose a couple of their expected or maybe one of the red state democrats votes with them too. so that could happen. it is maybe a little bit less likely. third, maybe kavanaugh fails, maybe there is a hearing, the professor is extremely compelling. republicans won't vote for him. this is -- we're starting to get into worst case scenarios for republicans because they would have to maybe try to find a new nominee before election day. that would be really hard, traditionally it takes months to get through this process. remember kavanaugh was from july 9. so maybe after election day if republicans win it is not that big a dea

that's a problem for republican republicans. >> not one of those women in that ad will vote for a susan collinstter how she votes. >> she's an incumbent senator, she's won many times in maine so i disagree with that, i think she has a chance. women have like senator collins, they like her voting record. he might not be if she went the other way and that's why this is such a heated debate. >> harris: you think by bribing her -- >> it's not a bribe. >> harris: that's how she's taking it. >> she's taking it that way. that's not actually what they are doing. you can support an opponent if you want. >> they will do all they can to keep the progressive socialist agenda going and if that means putting them against susan collins, they are going to fund them. >> harris: majority leader mitch mcconnell wants republicans they could have a tough november and lists the states he's worried about. is he on to something or trying to motivate republican voters? our power panel stays. with less of the sugar you don't. i'll take that. [cheers] 30 grams of protein and 1 gram of sugar. new ensure max protein. in tw

susan collins said what he said to her on roe v. wade and what he said on health care has made her comfortable. that can't be forgotten. they basically need to be pushed toward no. and that will come from the fbi, not necessarily what they hear. they're always the last votes to decide. that's the way they'll look at this. polls are very effective and they're very dug in. but it's what they hear and what their personal decisions will dictate. >> very important point. you start with flake, collins and murkowski as a tentative yes. we get into the red states conversation later. that would be enough if nothing changes and if they accept the standard of what we hear from the fbi. we wait for friday at least for that. up next, more on the fbi. once again in the middle of a major political debate. nuts and bolts of the fbi background check. >>> "murphy brown" is back and needs a secretary. >> i guess you've heard this is a pretty demanding job. >> i have. your reputation precedes you but i want you to know i am not afraid of hard work, i'm

and susan collins saying she's apalled by the president's attack. that the american people haven't even heard from the accuser yet. cecilia vega tonight. >> reporter: after days of uncharacteristic restraint that surprised those in his inner circle, president trump no longer holding back. >> to see what's going on is just very, very sad. you say, why didn't somebody call the fbi 36 years ago? >> reporter: for the first time today, he mentioned christine blasey ford today, tweeting, i have no doubt if the attack on dr. ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local authorities by either her or her loving parents. that prompted outrage from countless women, who came forward with their own personal stories with #whyididn'treport leading twitter. susan collins publicly blasted d the president. >> i was apalled by the president's tweet. we know allegations of sexual assault are one of the most unreported crimes that exist. so, i thought that the president's tweet was completely inappropriate and wrong. >> reporter: ford

senator susan collins tweets: i support this sensible agreement. i am pleased to hear mark judge has indicated that he will cooperate with investigators. mark judge is the friend of brett kavanaugh that christine blasey ford says or claims was part of this sexual assault against her back in high school in the early 1980s. also one gig development, senator orrin hatch has written a letter to fbi director saying he wants to be notified if there are any witnesses who do the not want to testify the or who are blocking this, pushing the fbi to stay within this one-week time frame. mike? mike: rich edson live from capitol the hill, thanks a lot. for more, let's bring in roll call deputy editor jasonen dick. good to see you. supreme court is huge in our political system. leadership doesn't have the 50 votes just yet. talk to us about week ahead with in the hanging over washington. >> it should be a really interesting week, mike. one thing that i -- it strikes me that we just don't the know where this might be headed. we usually do know kind of what, where

. >> john, let me ask you quickly i know you spent some time with susan collins. i saw it on your show the circus sunday night. this story has been moving so fast, and what i heard her tell you was that she was as close to a decision on the vote, but that was clearly before anything that we're talking tonight. >> it was on friday night. she did an event in new hampshire where we caught up with her. that interview took place around 7:00 or so on friday night. so all of the kavanaugh and professor ford related stuff that had happened last week was all known to her. what was not known to her was the reporting by new yorker and michael avenatti allegations from the weekend. i will say to me the most telling thing about it was her flat out declaration, something she'd not done before i don't believe anywhere, that she was certain that brett kavanaugh would not overturn roe v. wade. and we understand that was one of the important things for senator collins where she stood in this nomination. she said dr. ford needed to be heard, but she said she was at that point -- aga

you heard susan collins saying

and frankly, that response from susan collins would not fill you with confidence if you were pushing the kavanaugh confirmation. >> maria. >> i think the challenge is before this weekend we did not have a name. now we have a name and someone coming forward and saying very explicitly she wants to be part of this conversation. and the republicans are in a really difficult spot, because if they don't take the totality where we are right now in the me too movement and you look back on how anita hill was treated, republicans, it seems they were pushing this through regardless of story and then i think it's going to hurt them in the mid-terms. >> and not just how anita hill was treated. remember both senators collin and murkowski, for example, called for al franken to resign when he was accused of sexual harassment. senator collins saying the person who was making this accusation was credible. you now have someone coming forward and she took a lie detector test, records she got from therapy years ago, things that bolster her credibility. >> and she's working with a lawyer and debracats who

trish: liberal left sinking to new low trying to bribe susan collins to voting against supreme courtminee brett kavanaugh. a crowd funding campaign raise a million dollars to fight the republican senator from maine and group, be a hero, put this message out. >> susan collins, let's have a chat. ♪ >> senator, i have called you. i have emailed. i have written letters. >> day after day, week after week. >> it has been pretty demoralizing to know that your elected representative is ignoring you. >> so we're trying something new and hope this will get your attention. senator collins, if you vote for bret cough gnaw we'll fund your future opponent. >> if you vote to confirm kavanaugh, we're not going to stop fighting until you're defeated. >> mainers need you to stand up be a here. >> be a hero. >> be a hero, and vote no. >> if you don't, we will replace you. trish: so all for the idea here they will not charge your credit card until it is revealed how she has voted. and basically, if she votes for him, well then, they will fund her opponent. can they even do this? joining me right now for

we mentioned susan collins.sting thing about susan collins is that she said she thought the process was unfair, both to professor ford and judge kavanaugh. a lot of women, women had a lot of time to come forward before. that's what this is about. the hearings are concluded the questions have been answered and now, we have an extra judiciary committee kind of media. chuck grassley didn't even know about this letter until a few days ago. neil: then it's the almost, you know, anita hill and her point of view, and a lot of people are like she seems credible. clarence thomas comes to testify afterwards, he seems credible and then it's always in the eye of the beholder and who you believe. i think it's a very bad precedent if republicans let the democrats get away with this. neil: we shall see it is delayed at the very latest it's not looking like a thursday vote at the committee so what happens next week is anyones guess. we'll have more after this. i can do more to lower my a1c. because my body can still make its ow

it was between two key senators here, susan collins and jeff flake.bviously a key vote on the senate judiciary committee and susan collins facing heat back home in maine. they were seen chatting in a little bit of a huddle a moment ago on the floor. i'm just wondering, obviously to be a fly on the wall, but also might all of this that is swirling create an out for them on this vote? >> well, it certainly could. jeff flake, susan collins and lisa murkowski is another senator to keep an eye on. jeff flake was saying he wants to hear thursday's accounts from kavanaugh and ford, actually kind of a crazy thing for a senator to say i want to hear from them first to tebefore i t you how i vote. the reason the attention is on them so acutely is republicans don't have much margin for error, in part because they haven't been ail to cble to con democrats from more conservative states to come forward and say they're going to vote for k kavanaugh. collins has said she's going to be glued to her television tomorrow like so many americans watching this and trying to

that my susan collins' own admission. it is something that's important to her and something that hatteha matters to her. today, somebody leaked to the new york times and nbc news, this e-mail written by kavanaugh, he argued roe v. wade is not recognized to be settled law. i am not sure that all legal san francis kavanaugh was writing that in 2003. right now there are certainly four justices who are expected to over turn roe and carver gnaw is the along awaited fifth row to do just that if they ever put him on the court >> the first e-mail made public raises a few questions. why was that e-mail marked confidential and not release todd the public? what if that was inappropriate for the public to know about judge kavanaugh and his views. that was him commenting on the proposed op-ed, that means we need to be protected from his edits to that document. also, how do senators look at that and explain to their constituents they are still confident that he'll treat roe and no chance he believes it could even be overturned. he does

we're still wait to go hear from susan collins, who is a critical voice. lisa murkowski said she supports the move and so did joe manchin. that's this coalition in the middle around this nomination because manchin had emerged in recent days as somebody who might be open to voting yes. he comes from a red state, is up for re-election, and the president will be campaigning there. joe manchin is at home talking to constituents about this. but together jeff flake and lisa murkowski on the republican side, that's two republicans that mitch mcconnell can't lose. he only has 51. he needs 50 to pass this nomination on the floor. so this was a message to him that, you know what, you don't have the votes for this and for mcconnell, that's everything. so we're still waiting to see what leadership are going to do. lindsey graham went over there. republicans are currently huddling as a group in mcconnell's office figuring out what to do next. the concerns that drove this stemmed from questions around what we didn't know about the corroborating evidence between -- of dr

ford as susan collins demands. >> you make a key point there. when the senate is as closely divided, every vote does count. that means power to these individual senators. i'm sure we'll be hearing a lot from you this week as the story unfolds. >>> coming up, more midterm polls. more reasons for democrats to be hopeful not just in the house but maybe the senate. >>> we'll check in on the carolin carolinas. florence still lingering. officials warning the worst have yet to come. >>> the next steps for paul manafort after his guilty plea and greagreement to work with b muell mueller's team. resh and delicio? only eggland's best. which egg has 6 times more vitamin d, 10 times more vitamin e, and 25% less saturated fat? only eggland's best. which egg is so special, i'd never serve my family anything else? for me, it's only eggland's best. better taste, better nutrition, better eggs. with large debris and stuck-on dust, so shark invented duoclean, replacing the front wall with a rotating soft brush. while deep cleaning carpets, two brush rolls pick up

so susan collins, prior to today's tweets, had actually been pretty clear. to get the show on the road. we need to hear from both sides. we need to have a vote. let's stop having this get drawn out and made into a political circus. and it seemed to me that that was the right position to take. let's move on, let's hear from both sides. let's take a vote instead of drawing this out. this takes it up to a level of political circus that is -- before unseen. that now you are adding the trump factor to what was previously already a very difficult and sort of divided situation. >> and lest we forget, president trump has been accused by more than a dozen women of sexual harassment or assault. and at one time, i think during the campaign, he actually suggested that one of his accusers was not attractive enough tofor him to have sexual assaulted. >> she would not be my first choice. that i can tell you. man, you don't know. that would not be my first choice. >> i don't know how to respond to that, honestly. i also have to say, what i think is most depressing about all

and we heard this from senator susan collins earlier in the week saying, hey, let's have lawyers do the questioning and the cross-examining. i've heard other lawyers to me, say lawyers who are sensitive to sexual harassment -- >> ron klain! >> that's why we're talking to you. ron klain says that. i know that's not unprecedented. do you think that that could be feasible here? >> well, i think it's not only feasible, i think it's advisable. look, it's happened before in other kinds of hearings, during the watergate hearings, this happened. during the iran contra hearings this happened. it did not happen during the clarence thomas/anita hill hearings and it was a mistake it didn't happen. some senators are good questioners, some aren't. that's not really the point. the point is, you really need questioners who are not looking to score political points, but are looking to get to the truth, who understand how sexual assault cases are built. who understand how to deal with witnesses in this kind of sensitive matter, and having just one republican lawmaker, one democratic lawyer ask the questi

he has to be hearing from susan collins.ll, even if he wanted it to move forward, along with donald trump on other side of pennsylvania avenue, they don't really have a large margin of error, do they? just one republican could make the difference. >> that's right. you can't just pay attention to those two senators. you have to also think about the retiring republicans who don't have any stake with the trump administration. senator jeff flake of arizona, senator bob corker of tennessee. they are already part of this chorus of republicans not only democrats who are saying it is time to take a pause in this nomination. it is going to be interesting the see if the accuser steps forward and decides to testify or give a revelation about her experience in an interview. maw mcconnell handles that will say a lot about how this nomination moves. >> kissy hunt, if you have flake and corker and lindsey graham already saying if ford wants to testify, we should let her testify, that's game over right there as far as rushing this through f

our team is reporting that susan collins huddled with republican leaders earlier today and during that, which was private, that collins appeared unnerved by these specific latest allegations and specifically it was the sworn statement that sew he swetnick gave that carries the weight of potential purgeer for lying to congress that struck a chord with susan collins tonight. she's such a key swing vote. she's not revealed what her vote will be. she did not reveal it to those leaders either. it still remains a mystery. this concern backed up what she said publicly today which was very little but very important. these new allegations seriously and believe they should be investigated by the committee and it's worth repeating her. the devil is in the detail in the math here on capitol hill. kavanaugh can't afford to lose more than one republican senator in all democrats vote against the nomination. >> the hearing, that begins tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. eastern. take us inside the room. what's going to happen? >> i think it's everyone's guess that the committee is trying to make sure they stick t

liz: those groups are accused of bribery and extortion by republican susan collins from maine.y will give more than a million dollars to susan colin's 2020 opponent unless susan collins votes again nominating supreme court judge pick brett kavanaugh. we bring in judge napolitano. what is your reaction? >> it is extreme but not unlawful. if it is anything it is more extortion. but it is weatherin legal underr system. you give money to people you like. liz: let me push back, is it a step further, take an action. if you take an action you will get money, that is influencing. >> not if you take an action you get money, it is if you take action we lone like. liz: backing up, campaign donations are free speech, they are trying to influence her to take an action either way with money is that not bribery. >> no this is a valid criticism of our system that -- remember tip o'neal, money is mother's milk of politics, this is an example. liz: this pushing envelope. >> progressives av her who said that brett kavanaugh wants to kill me, these people condemn influence of money in politics, an

you heard susan collins saying she was appalled by those tweets. are you okay with them? >> i've heard people ask the same question. what did the parents say? she must've told her parents, was there a police report filed? what information do we know? we go back to what the president said. we can't allow this to delay, to last forever. the vast majority of things the senate is handling this the right way in terms of asking her to come forward, telling her side of the story, but not allowing it to derail this nomination process and the confirmation process of brett kavanaugh. look, this is a major issue to conservatives. when you go back to the 2016 election, this is one of the top issues that led conservatives to be supportive of donald trump. it remains one of the top issues. they are eager for this process to move forward. i think if it goes into the election, it could back fire on democrats, supercharging republicans, reminding them what's at stake in the future. >> bret: you are definitively saying that christine blasey ford is not telling the truth? >> i think they do

>> yeah, the best way to look at somebody like susan collins is as a bellwether. when you get down to brass tacks, everything that we've seen, a fast developing story over the last couple weeks, it is a math equation for senate republicans. and that is do they have 50 votes to be able to move forward with or without a hearing and susan collins is a if not the key piece of that equation. you read what she said. basically making very clear that she believes that the hearing needs to happen saying that it would be unfair to judge kavanaugh if one didn't. what everybody is reading this, not just reporters but also aides, is she is making clear what a lot of other senators have many making clear. if the hearing didn't happen, this is almost certainly going to move forward. this nomination is going to move forward. and if susan collins is okay with that, then that is what is likely going to occur. now, you you obviously read off what blasey ford's attorney said last night, what they have said in the letter that they want an expanded fbi background investigation into the

you mentioned lisa murkowski of alaska, susan collins of maine. those red state democratic senators in re-election races, joe manchin, joe donnelly of indiana, and heidi heitkamp of north dakota in particular are the ones to watch. they need those trump supporters. >> absolutely. manu in washington, thanks very much. for more on the kavanaugh confirmation hearings, what we can expect, what to look for, let's bring in our guests. >> gloria, if i could begin with you, justice kennedy was for years the crucial swing vote in this court between left and right conservative and more liberal justices. kavanaugh more cut from the traditional conservative cloth. is it correct to say that this turns the court to the right for many years to come? >> definitely. i mean, if he is confirmed, not only does it turn it to the right, it turns it to the far right. at this moment, justice clarence thomas is the most conservative justice on the court. however, when we talk about justice kennedy, there were things that he did with social justice, for example voting righ

lisa murkowski and susan collins.r base. >> is that number more reflective of the times the president selected kavanaugh or his record? i guess if you walk down new york city you would not find much. >> i would say brett kavanaugh's fav favorability rating has dropped during the process. >> rachel, we know the president from the beginning wanted to hit back hard here. he thought that the defense of kavanaugh was too weak. now he thinks he is justified and wanting to be tougher. you talk about the hit-back strategy. we have seen kellyanne conway who is saying this is a left wing conspiracy. we heard you not to fall for this. now they understand they are being played. this is an op-ed in "the wall street journal." turning me too into a political weapon undermines that cause. cheapening me too. is that a good defense here? >> listen, it is too early to say people are turning this me too moment into a political weapon. republicans still have not investigated the claims. that is what certain senate republicans know. i know