Several weeks after delaying the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh only to vote in the judge’s favor, Republican Sen. Jeff Flake on Tuesday admitted that he’s not actually sure who he believes: Kavanaugh or his accuser, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.
“You know, she was very compelling,” Flake said during an interview on ABC’s The View, in response to being grilled over his eventual support for Kavanaugh after calling for a week-long delay to allow an FBI investigation into the sexual-misconduct allegations leveled against the judge.
The retiring Arizona senator continued: “[Kavanaugh] was very persuasive. I don’t know. I don’t know. I wish I had the certitude that some of my colleagues expressed. But I said on the [Senate] floor before that hearing, we’re likely to hear the hearing with as much doubt as certainty. And that’s how I felt afterwards.”
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Co-host Joy Behar asked the conservative lawmaker why Kavanaugh was the only option and not another nominee previously included on Trump’s shortlist. Flake explained that a “mere allegation” was not sufficient evidence to disqualify Kavanaugh from serving on the Supreme Court.
“If the mere allegation with no corroboration is sufficient to disqualify someone, we’ve entered a new phase that we probably don’t want to enter,” Flake added.
During his confirmation process, Judge Kavanaugh was accused of sexual misconduct by three separate women, including Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who said that, in the early '80s, when they were teenagers, he allegedly pinned her down on a bed at a house party and attempted to sexually assault her.
Following the FBI investigation, brought on by Flake’s request, Kavanaugh was confirmed in a 50-48 vote, despite widespread protests.
And when View co-host Sunny Hostin asked Flake, point-blank, whether he believed Ford, he delivered a stunning response.
“I don’t know,” Flake admitted.
“I don’t know if I believed him either.”
