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Trump Appointments Tag

Fresh off his victory in confirming Brett Kavanaugh, Mitch McConnell forced stalling Democrats to agree to 15 more federal judicial confirmations in exchange for putting the Senate in recess so vulnerable Democrats could return home to campaign.

Brett Kavanaugh was sworn in at the White House today, by Justice Anthony Kennedy, whom Kavanaugh replaces on the Court and for whom Kavanaugh clerked. Also in attendance were the other members of the Supreme Court.

Mitch McConnell dropped a political nuclear bomb on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace. In discussing Senate confirmation of Supreme Court nominees, McConnell discussed how he did not allow Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland to go forward. He contrasted the Republican position with Democrats' attacks on Brett Kavanaugh by pointing out that Republicans didn't try to destroy Garland, they simply followed Senate tradition of not voting on a nominee in a presidential election year.

Brett Kavanaugh has been confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, 50-48. He has been sworn in, with a ceremonial swearing in likely Monday. He will take the bench Tuesday.

(Updated by WAJ) Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) voted to invoke cloture on the debate on Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh this morning. In one of the most extraordinarily intelligent and thoughtful speeches I've ever heard from the Senate floor or elsewhere, Collins announced that she would vote in favor of Kavanaugh.

The Senate voted 51-49 to invoke cloture, which limits the debate on Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh to 30 hours. This sets up a final confirmation vote on Saturday afternoon. Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski voted no while West Virginia Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin voted yes. Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) also voted yes.

The FBI handed over its report on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh to the Senate Judiciary Committee. A source familiar with the report said that "it shows no evidence corroborating the allegations of sexual assault or misconduct against the nominee." The FBI also interviewed nine people and received a sworn statement from another.

Richard Vinneccy, the ex-boyfriend of Julie Swetnick, a woman who has accused Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, told Laura Ingraham last night that she threatened his family and never spoke of any incidents involving Kavanaugh. He also said:
He added that while he was not aware of Swetnick's political tendencies, "She always wanted to be the center of attention. . .. She was exaggerating everything. Everything that came out of her mouth was just exaggerations."
If you missed Professor Jacobsen's write-up of Swetnick's awful NBC interview, you need to read it.

The drama surrounding Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh will continue for at least another week due to an investigation into the sexual assault claims against him. But it also means that every aspect of his life will now fall under the microscope, even if it has nothing to do with the sexual misconduct claims. Now people have materialized out of the woodwork to claim that Kavanaugh lied about his heavy drinking, yet it's nothing he denied in front of the committee. Also, Paul Sperry, a Hoover Institution media fellow, tweeted on Sunday night that one of Kavanaugh's classmates from Yale sent a tip to the Senate Judiciary Committee that a fraternity brother may have exposed himself to Deborah Ramirez, the second woman who accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct.

The examination of Christine Blasey Ford by Arizona Sex Crimes Prosecutor Rachel Mitchell failed as a television event, but revealed many important details, casting serious doubt on Ford's claim that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in the summer of 1982. Mitchell has now produced a detailed analysis, and it devastates Ford's credibility and reliability.

Someone leaked Christine Blasey Ford's letter to Dianne Feinstein to the media, setting off the current firestorm surrounding Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation. Kavanaugh has denied the accusation of assault set forth in the letter, and vigorously defended himself at the hearings. Each of the people Ford has identified as being present during the party in question has denied being at such party.

Brett Kavanaugh's testimony is over. I assessed Christine Ford's testimony earlier, Mid-Hearing Assessment: Christine Blasey Ford believes an untruth. I heard Kavanaugh's opening statement, but missed over half of his question and answer because of another commitment. So I've been catching up via Twitter, highlights and reports. I think I have a good sense of how it went.

At 10:00AM ET, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and his accuser Christine Blasey Ford will testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Ford has accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault back in high school. I will update this thread as it goes. You can follow along and watch a livestream.

Embedded below is an interview (pdf.), under oath, with Brett Kavanaugh conducted by the Senate Judiciary Committee majority (Republican) staff, regarding the allegations by Yale classmate Deborah Ramirez, and the new allegations by Michael Avenatti's client Julie Swetnick. The denials are categorical and unequivocal, as they were as to the Christine Blasey Ford accusations. (Prior interview pdf.) Kavanaugh left no gray zone.