Republican Senator Jeff Flake and Democratic Senator Chris Coons have both agreed that if Brett Kavanaugh is found to have lied to the Senate Judiciary Committee it should be the end of his Supreme Court nomination.
The two senators sat down side-by-side for an interview with 60 Minutes on Sunday night as they spoke of how their bipartisanship had resulted in an FBI investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations leveled at Kavanaugh.
They were both asked if Kavanaugh’s nomination should be over if the investigation uncovers that he lied under oath during his Senate hearing on Thursday.
‘Oh, yes. I would think so,’ Flake and Coons responded.
Senators Jeff Flake and Chris Coons have agreed that if Brett Kavanaugh is found to have lied to the Senate Judiciary Committee it should be the end of his Supreme Court nomination
Flake upended his GOP colleagues’ plans on Friday to move quickly to confirm Kavanaugh by saying he wanted an FBI investigation into the allegations made by chief accuser Dr Christine Blasey Ford.
Coons, from Delaware, hailed his friend Flake as a hero for essentially forcing the week-long investigation into the allegations.
‘I cannot tell you how grateful I am. Jeff’s the hero here,’ Coons said.
Speaking specifically about Kavanaugh’s testimony, Flake and Coons agreed that the nominee was ‘too sharp’ with some members of the committee and that it ‘went over a line’.
‘He had exchanges with Sen. Feinstein, with Sen. Klobuchar, with others, that I thought went over a line. He was clearly belligerent – aggressive, angry,’ Coons said.
Flake upended his GOP colleagues’ plans on Friday to move quickly to confirm Kavanaugh (above) by saying he wanted an FBI investigation into the allegations made by chief accuser Dr Christine Blasey Ford
Trump ordered the FBI investigation after Thursday’s Senate hearing, during which Dr Christine Blasey Ford detailed her claims that Kavanaugh tried to rape her at a party in 1982
‘There were some lines that he delivered that were sharper, more partisan, more ‘this is the Clintons paying me back. This is a democratic smear campaign’, that I was surprised, struck, to hear from a judicial nominee.
‘In my case, yes, it made me wonder about his suitability to serve on the bench.’
Flake, who is not running for re-election, noted that there was ‘not a chance’ he could have done this if he was trying to run.
When asked about the possibility of being in the same place when the FBI completes its week-long investigation, Flake said: ‘There’s a chance and we knew that’.
After listening to both Kavanaugh and Dr Ford’s testimony on Thursday, Flake had committed to supporting the Supreme Court nominee when he was confronted by two protesters in an elevator.
The two women, who had both been sexually assaulted in the past, berated him after he announced he was voting to confirm Kavanugh.
It was then that Flake sought out Coons – his friend and colleague across the aisle.
An event featuring Flake that was due to be held in Boston on Monday had to be relocated for safety reasons due to a planned protest related to Kavanaugh.
Flake had committed to supporting the Supreme Court nominee when he was confronted by two women (pictured above) in an elevator who had both been sexually assault in the past