Flake says FBI probe can't just give senators 'cover' to vote for Kavanaugh

Sen. Jeff Flake urged the FBI on Monday to investigate all "credible" allegations of sexual assault against Brett Kavanaugh, adding that he felt dismay that the Senate Judiciary Committee hadn't been "doing due diligence" going into its Thursday hearing addressing the allegations. "It does no good to have an investigation that gives us more cover," Flake said during a Forbes Under 30 event in Boston. Flake's comments projected over an audience pulsating with calls for him to "vote no." Flake expressed sympathy for both Kavanaugh and the woman who accused him of assault, Christine Blasey Ford, saying he and the rest of the Senate Judiciary Committee will likely never know what happened. Though Flake said he was upset with how Kavanaugh responded to some of the other committee members, including his rebuttal to Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) asking her if she'd ever blacked out from drinking, Flake said he probably would have reacted similarly had he felt he had been "unjustly accused." Flake also didn't name Mark Judge, Kavanaugh's high school friend who Ford said was a witness to the assault and has not been called to testify before the committee despite vigorous pleas for him to do so from Democrats. Still, the senator said it was necessary to interview "those that can and those who we can compel to cooperate," and "we’ve got to do a fulsome investigation." When Ford's allegations were first coming to light, Flake notably said he would not feel comfortable voting for Kavanaugh if Ford were not granted a hearing. Flake has long criticized President Donald Trump's actions, and he used his time on stage Monday to highlight his disdain for the president. "I could never warm to the president," Flake said. After recalling Trump's early insinuations that former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States, Flake said "that itself is disqualifying. You cannot do that." source: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/01/flake-kavanaugh-fbi-investigation-855380 #Headlines by: Matthew Choi

Original Post: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/01/flake-kavanaugh-fbi-investigation-855380