Judiciary Committee Set To Vote On Kavanaugh Following Emotional, Heated Hearing That Riveted Nation
It's unclear whether Republicans have the votes to get Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh through following the fireworks of Thursday's hearing, but the votes are set both for the committee and the full Senate, with procedural votes on Saturday and Monday and a final confirmation vote on Tuesday. Meanwhile, experts dig into the psychological trauma of sexual assault and Christine Blasey Ford's testimony.
The New York Times:
With A Key Vote Secured, Senators Will Advance Kavanaugh’s Nomination
Senator Jeff Flake, the lone swing Republican vote on the Judiciary Committee, said Friday morning that he would vote to confirm Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, ensuring committee passage and bringing President Trump’s nominee to the brink of confirmation less than 24 hours after a remarkable public hearing with a woman accusing him of sexual assault. Mr. Flake of Arizona announced his decision just moments before the 21 senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee gathered to hold the first of a series of votes on the nomination. As other Republicans lined up in support of Judge Kavanaugh as he denied the accusations, it had been unclear how Mr. Flake would vote after hearing tearful and compelling accounts from Judge Kavanaugh and the accuser, Christine Blasey Ford. (Fandos and Sullivan, 9/28)
The Washington Post:
Charges And Denials Fuel An Emotional Hearing As Kavanaugh Nomination Hangs In The Balance
The day began with an emotional punch as a self-described “terrified” Ford, her voice shaking at times, described in stark detail being pinned on a bed by a drunken Kavanaugh at a high school gathering. Hours later, the drama escalated as a seething Kavanaugh faced the Senate Judiciary Committee from the same chair and adamantly denied her charges. “You may defeat me in the final vote, but you’ll never get me to quit. Never,” the red-faced and defiant nominee told Democrats. (Barnes, Kim and Viebeck, 9/27)
The Wall Street Journal:
Stark Divide, Raw Emotion In Kavanaugh-Ford Hearing
The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote Friday on the nomination. Republican senators said they expected the full chamber would hold its first procedural vote Saturday, and a final vote is expected early next week. (Hook, Peterson and Andrews, 9/27)
The New York Times:
Not All Women Have A Clear Answer For How Sexual Assault Affected Them. That Doesn’t Mean It Had No Effect.
“Can you tell us what impact the events had on you?” Senator Dianne Feinstein asked Christine Blasey Ford during Thursday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. It was the first of several questions aimed at getting Dr. Blasey to outline the toll on her life of a sexual assault that she testified involved Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh. Many people who work in the area of trauma found her answers, which included “anxiety, phobia and PTSD-like symptoms,” familiar and credible. But they said it’s important to remember something Dr. Blasey, a research psychologist, drew attention to during her testimony. (Murphy, 9/27)
The Associated Press:
Experts Say Ford Got The Science Of Memory Mostly Right
In her testimony to a Senate committee, the woman who accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers dipped briefly into the mechanics of memory. Experts say she got it pretty much right. When asked Thursday how she could be sure it was Kavanaugh who put a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet, psychologist Christine Blasey Ford cited levels of chemical messengers called norepinephrine and epinephrine in her brain at the time of the alleged attack. (9/27)
Los Angeles Times:
Did Christine Blasey Ford's Account Sound Real? Here's What Experts Who Study Sexual Violence Have To Say
What Christine Blasey Ford remembers best about that night 30-plus years ago is the laughter. It came, she said, from Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge — two high school boys who drunkenly locked her into the bedroom of a friend’s house where she was sexually assaulted by Kavanaugh. (Healy, 9/28)
KQED:
A Psychiatrist's 5 Tips For Dealing With The Kavanaugh Hearing
Dr. Lynn Ponton, a psychiatrist in San Francisco and a professor of psychiatry at UCSF, said she wasn't surprised when she started getting phone calls from clients on Thursday during the Blasey-Kavanaugh hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. ...Ponton has advice for people who are feeling upset and emotional after watching and listening to Christine Blasey Ford describe allegedly being sexually assaulted by U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh, and the subsequent questioning of both Ford and Kavanaugh. (McEvoy, 9/27)