Earlier today during the vote on Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, Republican Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) stunned everyone by calling for a one week delay to enable the FBI to do a thorough investigation into the sexual assault allegations by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and several others.
Flake had originally stated that he would vote “yes” to confirm Kavanaugh. However, he had a change of heart today as he remained undecided and voted for the delay. No one expected this — not even his Republican colleagues. Flake has just opened up about what caused him to change his mind, and it’s terrible news for the president.
Flake has revealed that he second-guessed his choice to hastily confirm Kavanaugh after hearing from “close friends” who had been sexually assaulted. These accounts have caused Flake to question Kavanaugh’s innocence and put into perspective the claims of the brave women who have accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting them.
BuzzFeed News’ Lissandra Villa reported that Flake changed his mind because he said the response to Dr. Ford’s testimony against Kavanaugh was “remarkable.” Flake said:
It has been remarkable over the past week, the number of people who, you know, saw Dr. Ford … and were emboldened to come out and to say what had happened to them. And I’ve heard from friends, close friends, and had no idea.”
Flake to reporters after mtg in McConnell’s office: “It has been remarkable over the past week, the number of people who, you know, saw Dr. Ford … and were emboldened to come out and to say what had happened to them. And I’ve heard from friends, close friends, and had no idea.”
— Lissandra Villa (@LissandraVilla) September 28, 2018
This is such a powerful moment in history, in which women are coming forward and actually being heard. Just this morning, Flake was cornered by several women about his prior choice to confirm Kavanaugh, and he tried to hide in an elevator while a young woman told her about her own assault.
While having a conservative male actually listen to women and care about their experiences is certainly rare, we’re glad that Flake decided to open his ears and let the FBI look into the allegations. If more Republicans decide to follow Flake’s lead, this could be REALLY bad for Trump, who has been running from his own sexual assault allegations for years!
Featured image via screen capture
