but that's not jeff flake. and so jeff flake decided to do this his way. >> i have been speaking with a number of people on the other side, had conversations ongoing for a while with regard to making sure that we do do diligence here, and i think it would be proper to delay the floor vote for up to but not more than one week in order to let the fbi continue to do an investigation, limited in time and scope to the current allegations that are there. and limit in time to no more than one week. and i will vote to advance the bill to the floor with that understanding. >> and so tonight the train has stopped and the fbi is investigating brett kavanaugh again. after jeff flake and the rest of the republicans on the committee voted to send brett kavanaugh's nomination to the senate floor, jeff flake created a mini republican stampede for an fbi investigation. senator susan collins and lisa murkowski quickly tweeted they too wanted an fbi investigation. and then mitch mcconnell knew the deal was completely undone. and

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 imagine they do not have what they want, which is to have the votes to confirm brett kavanaugh. and to concede to a one-week delay and, frankly, that if the president will not get his key supreme court justice confirmed will not acquiesce and say, fine, the fbi can investigate. but we don't know. what we know is the votes are there for brett kavanaugh but -- >> i think jeff flake made it very clear in the committee that he voted yes

if that's what jeff flake wants, that what jeff flake gets. >> how much his tone has change inside the last 24 hours. he was the most visibly upset. he was devastated. what jeff flake has carefully and artfully asked for is he's supporting chuck grassley. he's respecting sort of the chain of command and saying just a week. let's get some more info. what's your take here? >> i think this all comes down to whether or not the president re-opens this. senator graham said just as much. someone has got to explain this to the president. he's got to agree to re-open it. i think that's still a very big question of whether he will do it. i don't think that senator flake, who the president doesn't like very much, saying that in the committee hearing or the committee meeting is necessarily going to convince him. i think it would take more republicans saying firmly, we will not vote yes for this nominee unless you re-open the investigation. that still remains to be seen. i wouldn't rule the other option out which is that flake says a week from now, i asked. he didn't want to do it. what can i do. i

jeff flake was expected to speak as well. nevertheless, this panel is bitterly, bitterly divided over this nomination. it has been hugely contentious and the key question, where do the moderate senators come down and does jeff flake have a change of heard. we don't have any indication that's the case yet, but curious him not delivering remarks announcing support after he put out a paper statement earlier today. >> after he voted to confirm judge kavanaugh, he was going towards an elevator. let me play the clip of what happened then. >> what you are doing is allowing someone who actually supreme court.an to sit on the - this is not tolerable. you have children in your family. think about them. i have two children. i cannot imagine that for the next 50 years, they will have to have someone in the supreme court who has been accused of violating a young girl. what are you doing, sir? >> noble believes me. i didn't tell anyone and you are telling all women they don't matter and they should stay quiet because if they tell you what

does senator jeff flake count? yes, he did. >> i love lindsey graham and he said i'm a very practical person. i'm sure he is not happy at all with this development, he stands if the votes to put the demonstration over the top and we know at least one of them jeff flake flaking one week delay has to take them seriously. then they are going to talk to lisa hour can you ski. and susan collins. if they jump on they don't neat jeff flake's vote and ignore it if they also say we want a week delay at most for an fbi investigation, then they are going to have to listen to that and they are going to have to delay. i will say this though, you know, i do believe that jeff flake is acting in good faith. i'm not sure that all the democrats are. and you heard him say at most a week delay. i suspect you are going to have some republicans a week from now, some democrats really. >> harris: chris,ville to cut in. president trump is speaking. let's watch. >> looked like a very fine woman to me. very fine woman. and i thought that bre

jeff flake is. murkowski has said that she supports jeff flake's request for an fbi investigation and a one-week delay. >> reporter: correct. you've got it all right. but let me bring you breaking news from my colleagues inside the capitol seeking out that meeting with mitch mcconnell and senators murkowski and flake. senator cornyn telling us that there will be an fbi background check investigation lasting no more than one week so we're not sure what they know that we don't, if they have been in communication with the president who would have to authorize that, but that is a marked difference from leadership who had previously until this time been saying there was no need to do that, that they were going to push full steam ahead no matter what. this is the result of what we have seen unfold over the course of the past few -- i was going to say past few days. it's actually been hours maybe but over this afternoon as jeff flake seemed to suddenly change his mind. he went into this judiciary committee

jeff thwaites say he boat was conditions —— jeff fla ke say say he boat was conditions —— jeff flake say he boat was conditioned on a one—week and investigation supporting the democrats views. but thatis supporting the democrats views. but that is only a personal opinion, it's not binding on the republican leadership in the senate especially mitch mcconnell who vowed only one week ago to push through the confirmation of brett kavanaugh as soon as possible. the problem is that if he proceeds goes ahead and has the pull bought in the senate before the fbi investigates there are certain key republican senators that might affect. there is only a 51-49 that might affect. there is only a 51—49 majority for the republicans and jeff flake is one of the 51, so our senators, lisa murkowski of

you can see it on jeff flake's face. he later then tells jeff coons that he's concerned that they are tearing the country apart, this whole thing, i think. do you think he's right? do you think this episode is doing that? >> yeah. well, i think our politics is more emotional and vitriolic than ever and you see more of these personal confrontations. these women, obviously, they weren't threatening but you see things like ted cruz in a restaurant where you have goonz confronting him and you're a couple inches away from some sort of physical confrontation so i think we're going down a road where public officials will probably need almost constant security and it's a very bad thing for this country and a sign of how the political debate is going off the rails. >> do you think it's a bad thing for the country? yesterday you were arrested protesting outside the capitol in between the supreme court and the capitol. do you think it's a bad thing where this is headed? >> i think there are a lot of things headed a bad direction. i

he said they are certainly exploring jeff flake's proposal. he is not in support of it but he gave an assurance that he would look into this. he emphasized the promise made to senator flake was to look at specifically the fbi reopening the allegations based around dr. ford. so that seems to indicate that republican leadership could potentially go along with that very limited in scope fbi investigation, not including these other allegations. all of this lisa murkowski's voice, senator manchin's voice are such key voices here, adding their voices of support to jeff flake's proposal, increasing the pressure on republican leadership at this moment, who have summoned many members into mcconnell's office as well as obviously these key republican voices like lisa murkowski, who is still in there right now. >> a short while ago the president spoke out about this week delay and the fbi investigation. high gave his first on-camera reaction to the gut-wrenching testimony of his supreme court pick brett kavanaugh and his accuser christine blasey ford. her

flake about a point very important to jeff flake. and jeff flake is one of the senators who brett kavanaugh needs to survive. he's one of the senators who donald trump was trying to convince today. but he did some real damage today, donald trump did. up next, exactly how much damage did donald trump do to brett kavanaugh today? ♪ not long ago, ronda started here. and then, more jobs began to appear. these techs in a lab. this builder in a hardhat... ...the welders and electricians who do all of that. the diner staffed up 'cause they all needed lunch. teachers... doctors... jobs grew a bunch. what started with one job spread all around. because each job in energy creates many more in this town. energy lives here. start with 100% cleancheese? ingredients. like vermont white cheddar. then... add bacon, bbq chicken, or baja blend. catering and delivery now available. panera. food as it should be. ♪ the new capital one savor card. earn 4% cash back on dining and 4% on entertainment. now when you go out, you cash in. what's in your wal

jeff flake, senator coons and rod rosenstein. that conversation was had before the big announcement. rosenstein said they could do the investigation in a week but they would not learn more than we know. shannon bream and the fox news might team up next. shannon: brett kavanaugh makes it out of the senate judiciary committee as donald trump calls for an fbi investigation and latebreaking news, maybe holding back. delay for the weekend, brett kavanaugh's nomination to the supreme court takes a big step forward but also facing a delay as donald trump orders the fbi to conduct an investigation because of a last-minute condition set by republican jeff flake. we talk to a former doj prosecutor worked closely with the fbi who knows about the background check process and tells a what the fbi will or won't be doing next, mitch mcconnell vowing brett kavanaugh's nomination will soon go to a senate vote. and henry with what happens next and but breaking news. >> the times of northwest indiana just posted a story on its website saying joe do

how unexpected was jeff flake's moment? does this all stem from the elevator moment or had this been sort of percolateling before then? >> keep in mind there were four republicans on the fence essentially until yesterday after the hearing. jeff flake, bob corker, lisa more cow skirks and susan collins. i haven't seen them being so vocal until this issue. even with the daca debate, there were a lot of protesters but not quite in your face as the anti-kavanaugh folks. number two, jeff flake is ons he way out. he's retiring and not seeking re-election. he did have concerns about this nomination moving forward, and after thursday's hearing he was one of the first to call -- to hear from dr. ford when the allegations came public. after that hearing listening to both dr. ford and to brett kavanaugh, he said, i came away with as many questions as not. so what was more surprising was hearing friday morning when it was announced he was going to vote for the confirmation. in fact, e was listening to some folks. i overheard anti-kavan

and jeff flake of arizona is a key swing vote in this nomination process.

jeff flake wants more time. a number of his colleagues here on capitol hill think that would be a very good idea. trace? >> yeah. all the attention right now is focused on young senator flake, mike. but there are other key senators to watch. >> absolutely correct. assuming senator flake stays a yes on judge kavanaugh, there are really four key senators to watch very closely. republican susan collins of maine and lisa murkowski of alaska and democrats from conservative states heidi heitkamp of north dakota and joe manchin of west virginia. manchin said moments ago he supports a delay. this call for delay has left some senior republicans scratching their heads. >> all i can say is right now what jeff is saying is makes sense to me. i'm not speaking for mitch. i'm going to talk with jeff. somebody has got to explain this to trump. i guess that will be my job. >> some sources close to this confirmation process that i have spoken with in the last few minutes say this could be a blessing in disguise if it gives some o

flake about a point very important to jeff flake. and jeff flake is one of the senators who brett kavanaugh needs to survive. he's one of the senators who donald trump was trying to convince today. but he did some real damage today, donald trump did. up next, exactly how much damage did donald trump do to brett kavanaugh today? (vo) when bandits stole the lockbox from the wells fargo stagecoach, agent beekman was one step ahead of them. because he hid his customers' gold in a different box. and the bandits, well, they got rocks. we protected your money then and we're dedicated to helping protect it today. like alerting you to certain card activity we find suspicious. if it's not your purchase, we'll help you resolve it. it's a new day at wells fargo. but it's a lot like our first day. moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis was intense. my mom's pain from i wondered if she could do the stuff she does for us which is kinda, a lot. and if that pain could mean something worse. joint pain could mean joint damage. enbrel helps relieve joi

listen, this is jeff flake. i mean, this is why i actually like about the guy, susan, all these people take it really seriously. jeff is not a lawyer. this is hard. again i've been in the legal system. you have a lot of emotional decisions to make but the fact pattern here leads itself, i'm sorry there is not enough we've got to move on, having said that, this is jeff flake, very sincere in what he is trying to do, i respect the hell out of this, democrats a week matter. some of them would. some would go own and on. a few say week longer would make it a better process he probably done -- >> republicans agreed to one-week delay. >> if i could quit talking to y'all come out. >> please do. come on back, senator. trish: all right, senator graham, talking rather optimistically about a one week delay. the hope maybe you get some democrats to reconsider and maybe they would actually vote to confirm judge kavanaugh if they had the peace of mind would come from an investigation for one week by the fbi. i'm joined again b

who wrote i won't celebrate jeff flake for acting to delay the floor vote i'll celebrate the bravery of maria gallagher and anna maria killer for confronting senator flake with their own stories of assault and demond ing. and of course there were some people who impressed by what they did. there was a twenty one year old american man who saw it very differently he wrote jeff flake he got her wrist today and manipulated by a protester in the elevator this was no random protest this was a young lady who's at the top of an organization that george soros heavily funds you can't make this up. and with that he was alleging that the center for popular democracy which anna-maria kilo one of the women is the co executive director of and the man who tweeted that is suggesting that that's funded by the billion billionaire philanthropist george soros who is of course well known for his anti trump views but i think what has really caught people's attention here is you know what these women have gone through the sexual abuse that they've talked about how that reflects what so many people fellow su

jeff flake was the outlier. remember, he was in a meeting late last night with susan collins, lisa murkowski and joe manchin talking about this hearing, talking about a path forward. he came out with a statement this morning after much consideration he decided that he did not hear enough to make him feel as though he could not vote for judge kavanaugh. he felt that it was time to make a decision to vote yes and that vote could come in the next 30 minutes. as for the floor vote, you laid out those four senators. of the four remaining, undecided senators, for judge kavanaugh not to be justice kavanaugh, all four have to vote no. any other combination allows him to be passed on a party line vote or a 50/50 tie with mike pence breaking the tie. those remaining senators are all holding their cards very close to the vest. susan collins not spoken publicly today. lisa murkowski, not sure if she came to the office on capitol hill today. we have not heard a word from joe manchin and heitkamp not required to say anything

reporter: the white house was blindsided by this from senator jeff flake. the senator coming out saying he wants what is best for the country. the judiciary committee itself would like the administration to request reopening that fbi background investigation for a limited credible allegations. david? david: i can't tell you how many emails i received in the past couple hours, we thought it was finally going to be over and now another week. edward, thank you very much. melissa. melissa: here is greg nunziata, former chief nominations counsel to the senate judiciary committee. thanks so much for joining us. greg, the problem all these politicians on both sides, everyone out there have zero credibility i think with regular people at this point. if it was really about what he just said, a limited scope in time, limited scope in time to the current allegations, that would be one thing but it is hard to actually believe that when everybody keeps changing what they're saying from jeff flake, who said yes, then later no to what ebb else is asked for. what is your t

jeff flake voted for that. now mitch mcconnell has brought the nomination to the floor and they have approved the entire senate technically because they did it by voice vote a procedural motion to get on to the amendment. but details here are what matters. the key vote where senators will come to the floor, casting vote, and that will decide whether or not brett kavanaugh is the next supreme court justice for the united states, those won't come until later next week. a final vote, mcconnell told senators today behind closed doors, won't happen until they get the fbi supplemental background investigation. the reason why is this, wolf. we talked about this a little earlier, i think it is an important point. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell does not want the expanded fbi background investigation. he wants to move forward now. he had fully planned to have a final vote as soon as tuesday. he does not have the votes, and so a simple mathematical reality comes into play right now. until his senators are comforta

jeff flake had an agreement with the democrats in the background. and then came out and the democrats could have held a quorum. they could have done a number of things but they thought they had an agreement. turns out there is no agreement unless the majority really goes along with it. this is the kind of things where the democrats get rolled time after time by the republicans who continue to out with them in these political games and it's a shame. personally, i'm embarrassed to be a man in this country. men watching this hearing purporting to lie afterwards about what was said, making stuff up. not taking responsibility for how they act. keeping the boys will be boys attitude going, when this is the most important body that makes decisions and our daughters and sons will have to and they lie -- you had a caller just a second ago said the woman lied because she said she had a fear of fearing. she said she wouldn't fly. she had a fear of flying. they make this stuff up. it's an embarrass to live in a country -- it's an embarrassment to live in a coun

but, jeff flake asked for more time. senator john cornyn a member of the republican leadership team praised jeff flake for voting to advance the nomination while asking for more time. >> there is some difference of opinion among us as to what exactly the fbi investigation would consist of. some of us think the -- it has been concluded and supplemented by this committee's investigation. others disagree with that but, i respect the fact that not only senator flake advocated to give dr. ford a chance to appear in front of the committee, which was the right thing to do, but also that he has allowed this process to move forward. >> the kavanaugh nomination was passed by the committee 11 to 10 along party lines. it comes a day after a very emotional hearing when members of the judiciary committee heard from his accuser christine blasey ford and kavanaugh. there are also many mostly cloudmentionsof kavanaugh's cloh school friend mark judge, he sent a letter to the committee under oath denying allegations against him and kavanau

and one of them, jeff flake making this move. libby casey, listen to senator koons detailing someone he calls a friend across-party lines today. >> let simply say this. senator flake is a genuine conservative. he has written a book about the conscience of a conservative. he and i do not share a lot of political views. senator flake and i share a deep concern for the health of this institution and what it means to the rest of the world and to our country if we are unable to conduct ourselves respectfully and in a way that hears each other. >> libby, i want to ask you a hard question as a narrater, but that's your job at "the washington post." what did today mean as a kind of an unexpected shift from what we saw that i think was painful for so many americans yesterday? >> yesterday was all about partnership, and it certainly took the tone as the hearing went on, especially when we saw lindsey graham deviate from having the woman prosecutor represent questions for the republicans when he jumped in, and he was so outraged, and he rea

he's friends with jeff flake. and he's talking about how flake in his view is trying to serve as a role model. >> someone who is willing to take a real political risk and upset many in his party by asking for a pause so that the american people can hear that we are able to work together on some things. that even though he and i are from different parties with different values and different backgrounds, we respect each other and we can work together. >> what do you think? >> i think this is exactly what the senate needs, frankly. i think the damage to that institution was terrific. and the damage to the court will be lasting, should judge kavanaugh go through and become justice kavanaugh. i think what senator coons and now senator flake are trying to do is find some way to put this back together. we also have the footage this morning, after senator flake said i'm going to vote to confirm kavanaugh. women confronting him. women who had been victims of sexual violence, confronting him, tearfully. and i don't know jef

jeff flake is a very conservative senator. he says he admires judge kavanau kavanaugh's judicial record. shares his philosophical world view. he's concerned about the allegations. he's eager the hear from mark judge judge. he wants the former friend of kavanaugh's who was part of this alleged assault. he wants to hear from him and he wants more details around dr. ford's allegations and that experience to surface. flake did say that if there are new details that come out that seem to corroborate, he's open to changing his mind and voting no. as of now he's planning to vote yes unless the fbi surfaces new information that the troubis tro him. >> thank you very much for the time. i appreciate it. >> thank you. >>> the hearing this week was emotional and astonishing. i'll talk to a lawmaker who was there in the room where it happened. in the room where it happened for your heart... your joints... or your digestion... so why wouldn't you take something for the most important part of you... your brain. with an ingredient originally

voicing disapproval of jeff flake as one longtime republican political analyst put it, jeff flake's not going to gain anymore supporters as result of what's happened. take a look. >> jeff flake's move, calling for this delay, how is that sitting with constituents in arizona? >> i think jeff's having a bad day back home. i don't think he can show his face in the local grocery store right now. i think it's -- it's a fresh wound. i think he's out of step with his own hometown constituency that think rightly or wrongly that kavanaugh's being smeared by the democrats unfairly, and jeff, senator flake, is enabling this smear by going with the one-week delay. so back home i think he's out of step with his constituency. >> reporter: we don't know how jeff flake is spending the weekend. if he's returned here to his home state of arizona. i can tell you he's been a polarizing figure in the state largely because of the criticism he directed towards president trump. it's against that backdrop, fred, that jeff flake decided no the to run for re-election fearing that he would lose a primary, but

he said to jeff flake, you have the leverage. and he's right. because the other key thing that senator flake said right there was that he has spoken to other members of his conference about whether they would support a move like this. and so what we here on the hill are going to be looking for now is, are senators susan collins and lisa murkowski also going to draw this same line in the sand? because if they do, mitch mcconnell will not have the votes to take kavanaugh to the floor for a final vote. he will essentially have to acquiesce to their demands. now, obviously, a lot can happen behind closed doors. there will be a lot of arm-twisting and trying to convince them to move forward, because the reality is, there is a sense among some republican leaders that a delay of kavanaugh's vote is essentially a death sentence. that either the allegations might come forward, or that the nominee himself and especially his family, might simply lose their taste for the process. and that ultimately, it could all fall apart. so just to take everybody back t

jeff flake is a senator with a conscience. there's a question if there's room in politics for a senator with a conscience. this weighs on him. i think he wants to do the right thing. he understands his time is running out in the senate. he wants something, some sort of legacy that he can be proud of. i don't think he wants to end it on a note that kind of feels bad. >> he is not running for re-election but hasn't ruled out the possibility of running for president. how much do you think that may factor his decision making this week? >> kind of hard to say. if you're using a calculus of presidential politics, you might say he would be better off doing one side or the other. standing up and saying he is going to vote against kavanaugh obviously would give him a lot of attention when he returns to new hampshire monday. he lives in new hampshire, back in march i covered his appearance there. definitely has been flirting with a possible presidential run. i don't know how this is going to play out. republicans in new hampshire when i

that didn't move jeff flake, but his boy did. look, what we saw over the course of the week was the unvarnished contempt -- and i will put this on republicans -- that the republican party has for women in this country. what we saw this week was lindsey graham and chuck grassley and orrin hatch trying to the build the "me too" fire wall as if to say to all women this far and no further, right? you got harvey weinstein, you got les moonbeam, but gosh darn it, you're not taking our nominee away. there are judges waiting for kavanaugh's job. they could pick another guy but they don't want another guy and that's because the sexual assault allegations against brett kavanaugh are a feature for them, not a bug. they want to prove that they can shove this guy through and tell women to shut up and that's what we saw today. and i hope that's what murkowski and collins saw. >> and add on to that that if you continue to have this conversation as though it is purely about politics, that it makes it very easy. as you you shape this as a culture

jeff flake is basically a mercenary, that's what's wrong with jeff flake. jeff flake has no spine. nobody can say that right now, they are under this allusion that jeff flake is going to back them up on the floor when there is a floor vote. here is what jeff flake in fact did. the democrats needed a moment of clarity to get past lindsey graham's explosive volcanic floor statement that provided everybody with a real account for once of what is actually going on. the democrats had to desperately get past that they needed a delay. they know damn well this fbi investigation is going to do nothing to provide any clarity in this situation at all. and jeff flake gave it to him. he sold out the g.o.p. everybody is afraid to say it on some desperate hope that this man is going to grow a spine over the next few days on the floor vote. is he finished. it's time to move on. you have to convince murkowski, collins and manchin. flake is over. it's done. that's exactly what happened yesterday. that's the truth however painful it is to hear. rachel: dan, i was going to say our viewers love you bec

what is going on with murkowski and collins and jeff flake? >> i agree with what thing that president trump said, which is the process has been a sham. if you have the american bar association stepping in, and if you have the fbi willing to investigate but standing by without orders from the white house. this was set up to be a he said she said, and i hope the senators considering this think about what many american women went through yesterday. i mean, speaking for myself, i can say that i was traumatized and gutted. i am a journalist but also a human being. to see her pain and to see his fury and to see the deference that his fury got. jeff mentioned that men are allowed to get angry in a way women are not, and imagine senator sotomayor, and some implied she was racist and grilled her about her temperament and intelligence, and imagine if she reacted in that kinds of rage. i am sure there were a lot of people that cheered his performance, but to me it was absolutely getting. >> you are not alone. there were so many people on social media, so

dave bossy, jeff flake, we are going to get into the meat of this part of it later on, but jeff flake wasaccosted in a liberal smear storm. they wanted to surround him in the senate. somehow security s doesn't exist anymore. and stopped him in an elevator and the man looked like, you know, he couldn't stand the heat. after that, he walks back into the senate after just having written a letter saying he supported the judge's nomination, and he comes up with a new thing, a new little idea. a week delay. >> it looks and feels like he got bullied by some of these protesters, but the senate democrats bullied him. you can see those behind the scenes pictures of him being accosted by those senate democrats. what his decision has allowed brett kavanaugh and his family to be terrorized for the next week. it's counter productive to our country, to, to the supreme cout and to the process. they have thrown the rule book out the window, the democrats. i think they are going to pay dearly for that in the long run. >> laura: joe, this is what flake said today as he was making his historic pronounce

moderate republican senator jeff flake met with democrats for hours and it worked. >> i think it would be proper to delay the floor

you could see that clearly jeff flake had heard the testimony from dr. ford and sat through the entire day of testimony, but those women going in there, in the elevator, and really making him sit back and take a stand, clearly that was the -- that was the tipping point, for him to say, okay, stop, time-out, let's let the fbi come in and listen to this, and hear -- >> the big question is going to be whatever the findings are from this fbi investigation, how impactful will it sway -- >> right. >> any opinion that senators have right now today, prior to that investigation, will it in any way sway them. >> i'd like to hear from the republican women. where are the republican women senators? they've kind of been hiding in the corners here. i think that's unfortunate. they do have a lot of sway. it is important i think for their male colleagues to hear from these republican women about what women go through, validating the seriousness of what dr. ford has gone through and what others are going through and why we have to take a step back and take a breath, that

>> yes, i asked jeff flake these exact questions once he left the committee room. he said the women who were confronting him in the elevator didn't play a role in his decision, but what he did say is that he -- when he put out that statement this morning saying that he was going to vote yes for kavanaugh, he thought that that would be enough for republicans, but then he felt that the process was completely broken. and so he reached out to senator chris coons and said, look, the american people do not have a good feeling about this. they do not like where the senate. they don't like how this is unfolding. so even if we have a partisan vote, he told chris coons, he said let's try to get a bipartisan process. and he realized that so far the process has been completely broken. no one had trust in it. and so that was really his motivation. he has been talking for months ever since he announced his retirement about the degradation of the senate. and so this has been a mission of his. and so trying to bring some comity to the process, collegiality. so he started huddling

that is arizona retiring republican senator jeff flake. the judiciary committee has 11 republicans, 10 democrats, and so tonight the committee vote on brett kavanaugh is all up to jeff flake. if jeff flake votes no along with all of the democrats, then the kavanaugh nomination will be defeated in the judiciary committee. but that does not mean the end of the road for brett kavanaugh. majority leader mitch mcconnell could still bring the nomination to the senate floor for a full vote even if the judiciary committee has voted against recommending that confirmation. we will be reviewing the testimony of dr. ford and judge kavanaugh throughout this hour. here is some of what they had to say. >> brett and mark came into the bedroom and locked the door behind them. there was music playing in the bedroom, it was turned up louder by either brett or mark once we were in the room. i was pushed onto the bed and brett got on top of me. he began running his hands over my body and grinding into me. i yelled hoping that someone downstairs might hear me,

and jeff flake of arizona is a key swing vote in this nomination process. he is seen a a republican who might vote yes, and he might vote no. and with the republicans holding on a 51-49 advantage in the

jeff flake said all i can tell you is we're prepared to move forward within a week. they should get it done by that time. lisa murkowski, i asked her that same question, wolf. she would not say. she said we'll just deal with it at that point. and as for judge kavanaugh, he issued a statement just moments ago, wolf, saying he will, in fact, cooperate with the fbi investigation. wolf? >> all right. dramatic developments indeed. manu raju on capitol hill, thank you. president trump has now ordered an fbi probe into the kavanaugh allegations. let's go to our chief white house correspondent, jim acosta. so jim, what's the latest over there? >> reporter: that's right, wolf. a statement just came in a few moments ago from the president, ordering this supplemental investigation into judge brett kavanaugh's background. we can put up this statement from the president on screen. it says, i've ordered the fbi to conduct a supplemental investigation to update judge kavanaugh's file as the senate has requested. this update must be limited in scope, and completed in less than one w

jeff flake who had been the deciding vote. the 11th republican to give the senate republicans a majority for judge kavanaugh came out this morning and said he was voting yes, but after a series of negotiations through the morning appears to have said now and he tried to explain it there that he'll agree to send the bill to the floor. we'll keep our ears on senator feinstein, grassley and leahy as well. but he appears -- flake appears to be saying that he will not vote to let this bill be passed on the floor. unless he can get some agreement for a one-week investigation. fbi investigation with the firm deadline. so they can examine the allegations already on the table. unclear, if this has been >>> are there enough that agree to not go forward? >> i don't know any other senator's position on the republican side. >> mystery deepens. the number two democrat jeff flake is speaking for himself. we have not heard from senator susan jeff flake had been listening intently all through the testimony yesterday. the day before the testimo

obviously jeff flake called for the delay. they would like to be able to say to their constituents, we had the fbi look into the allegations. there's also thoughts that a lot of those democrats up for re-election in conservative states could get to yes. and this may give them the political cover to come around and say, you know, the fbi looked at it. it was nonpartisan, and in the end i decided to vote for his nominati nomination. there's certainly hope. >> listen, the fiery speech that we saw from senator graham yesterday in front of judge kavanaugh. he confirmed to us later he was talking to jeff flake. how do you think those two are feeling about each other today? >> i just had a chance to ask senator about that and he said there's no ill will towards jeff flake. he said that he likes the attribute that flake has and that senator susan collins has, that they take things so seriously. and so i asked if any republican senators after they got out of that meeting were seen at the senator from arizona who is retiring, who is act

and that voice changed jeff flake's mind. it's going to have an enormous impact in the days ahead. >> but what if they vote to confirm him, and all these women said, oh, the hell with you. >> it may well happen that way. but, listen, it was incredibly important not to totally ram this thing through. the republicans were about to do one of the worst things you can do in american politics, and that is be completely dismissive of millions and millions of voters and have -- and at least opening the door, and i think flake deserves a lot of credit for that. but had it not been for those women in that elevator today, would we be here tonight? i don't think so. >> and as you said, professor ford certainly. david gergen, dana bash, jeff toobin, thank you. >>> coming up, new york senator kirsten gillibrand's take on the hearings and today's stunning developments. hi, kids! i'm carl and i'm a broker. do you offer $4.95 online equity trades? great question. see, for a full service brokerage like ours, that's tough to do. schwab does it.

that from senator jeff flake. and in a cnn exclusive interview, i spoke with the d co-founder of the women's maran talked about the debate around nominee brett kavanaugh, that it is galvanizing women and survivors of sexual assault. here's part of the conversation. >> we're coming back out and announcing today to the american people to join us around the country and in washington, d.c. on january 19, 2019. we are outraged that we are talking about and putting victims on trial and talking about dr. ford in the way in which she was treated at that hearing. brett kavanaugh was disqualified before christine ford came out with her allegations and we still think he is disqualified, and we're going to do everything we can to keep him off the supreme court chlts. >> january 19, 2019. women across the globe will march again. >>> rescues are happening now in indonesia after a powerful earthquake triggered a tsunami. massive destruction there. nearly 400 dead, hundreds injured, even more still missing. >>> and dozens of airl

did jeff flake save the republicans in a sense? >> he saved them tactically in that they need 50 votes, and vice president mike pence would break a tie, to get kavanaugh confirmed -- >> did he save them from a public standpoint from not having this vote when they wanted to have it? >> look, i think the only thing that matters is whether they get to 51 votes. they weren't going to get there without this. flake put them in a position to have an investigation for a week to put them to where they get 50 or 51 votes a week from yesterday. that's all that matters to the white house and the senate leadership is tactically speaking, we have to have enough votes to clear the guy. and we don't have them. what do we do to get there? >> maria, if the fbi investigation produces nothing definitive, will democrats accept it? >> i mean, if what you mean is will democrats vote yes on kavanaugh? i think that majority of them will still vote no. you might have a couple of red-state democrats vote yes given what the fbi investigation shows. we don't k

path to 50 could look like without senator jeff flake. possible but really, really difficult. thank you. stay with us and stay close because this is all going down in just minutes. >>> so the white house was pleased with brett kavanaugh's performance yesterday. we heard that from the president. he took to twitter and called his testimony powerful, honest and riveting. abbie phillip joins us this morning. the white house standing by brett kavanaugh, really happy with that aggressive, defiant performance last night. what more are you hearing this morning about how confident the white house feels that they have the votes here? >> reporter: that's exactly right, poppy. we saw this morning white house officials fanning out to defend brett kavanaugh, to reinforce that the president saw him as giving a strong performance, a strong defense of himself yesterday in that testimony and they're saying they feel optimistic about where we're headed in terms of the final vote in the senate. but they were asked this morning if they have the votes of some

so that footage of republican senator jeff flake being cornered by two women in a lift is really resonating with women and men across social media hours of tape happened as we've reported said it's a flake insisted on an f.b.i. investigation into the allegations against governor and my colleague you know now joins me for more on that story so i knew what is it about what these women did that has caught people's imagination and attention it's it's the is the guts it's the courage to stop a u.s. senator in his tracks they stopped him for about five minutes and they made him listen to them these two women ana maria maria gallagher they were tearful they very and they pleaded with him they pleaded for a flight to reconsider his decision to vote for cavanagh really hit home with people was how rule of their emotions were afterwards anna-maria killer said i wanted him to feel my rage and maria gallagher demanded when she was talking to him that he looked her in the arm and she was talking to him so literally demanding this u.s. senator to look at me and to listen to me and this is of course not e

we're looking at jeff flake as the swing vote on that committee. for a while it appeared yesterday, just sitting in the room watching the senator's reactions to what we are seeing, that maybe ben sasse, who's also on that committee, could be swayed. he was aghast watching dr. ford testi testify. now it seems flake is the only persuadable republican left on that committee. after committee votes, almost regardless of how they do this, they could report kavanaugh out favorably. they could report him out unfavorably. or they could report him out without a recommendation. mcconnell says he intends to start the process of moving towards a floor vote. basically you'd be looking at some procedural votes over the weekend and then a final decision vote on monday or tuesday. we know there's a lot of internal lobbying going on. a lot of discussions amongst senators about how this goes. the universe of undecides voters among senators has shrunk considerably. we believe now at this point it's really just susan collins, murkowski, flick and possibly some red stat

jeff flake arizona said he would be a yes vote. joe don't nelly, running for re-election in indiana with some folks with early indication he would vote no on brett kavanaugh. no word from joe manchin. it will come down increasingly to two republicans, getting closely scrutinized right now. sues can collins of maine and lisa murkowski of alaska. if they were both to vet yo, assuming all other republicans vote yes, the judge become as justice. they cannot afford, republicans to lose more than one vote. in the case of one vote, 51-49 republican senate. you would have to have the vice president of the united states be the tie-breaker. it is a moot point if two republicans vote against the judge. we know a vote is coming up in the committee. should go to form. after that anyone's guess. more after this. of women-owned businesses in the u.s. it's really this constant juxtaposition when you're a mom and an entrepreneur. with more businesses starting every day, how do they plan for their financial wellness? i am very mindful of the sacrifi