Senate

Flake says he is ‘not comfortable voting yes’ yet on Kavanaugh

by Emily Birnbaum - 09/16/18 7:05 PM ET

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) on Sunday said he is “not comfortable voting yes” on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh until the Senate Judiciary Committee learns more about the sexual assault allegation against him.

“We need to hear from her,” Flake told Politico hours after Kavanaugh’s accuser identified herself publicly. “And I don’t think I’m alone in this.”

{mosads}Flake told The Washington Post that he does not believe the Judiciary Committee should move ahead with its Thursday vote on Kavanaugh until the senators hear more from Christine Blasey Ford, the California psychology professor who went public with her accusation against Kavanaugh in a Post article published on Sunday.

Flake’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.

“For me, we can’t vote until we hear more,” Flake, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told the Post.

Flake, who is retiring in January, has displayed increasing willingness to break with his party in recent months. He is a frequent and outspoken critic of President Trump.

Kavanaugh’s nomination would be stalled if Flake joins with Democrats on the panel in opposing the judge. Republicans have a slim 11-10 majority in the Judiciary Committee, and multiple Democrats have already vowed to vote against moving forward following Ford’s accusation.

Ford in the Post article accused Kavanaugh of attempted sexual assault in the early 1980s, when they were students at neighboring high schools in the Washington, D.C., area. She said Kavanaugh held her down and attempted to take off her clothes at a party, at one point holding his hand over her mouth to prevent her from screaming.

In the article, she said the incident has haunted her for decades and provided notes from therapy sessions with her husband in which she details what happened.

The White House and Kavanaugh have denied the accusations.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday also voiced willingness to allow Ford to testify before the Judiciary Committee.

“If Ford wishes to provide information to the committee, I would gladly listen to what she has to say and compare that against all other information we have received about Judge Kavanaugh,” Graham said in a statement.

Democrats throughout the day have called on the Senate to postpone the vote on Kavanaugh.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the ranking member on the Judiciary Committee, have both called for further investigations into the accusation.

“Senator Grassley must postpone the vote until, at a very minimum, these serious and credible allegations are thoroughly investigated,” Schumer said in a statement, referring to Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).

“For too long, when women have made serious allegations of abuse, they have been ignored,” Schumer added. “That cannot happen in this case.”

Ford originally made the accusations in a letter sent to Feinstein’s office earlier this summer.

Feinstein last week sent the letter to the FBI, though the bureau declined to open an investigation into the allegation.

Tags Chuck Grassley Chuck Schumer Dianne Feinstein Donald Trump Jeff Flake Lindsey Graham