Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) took to the Senate floor on Wednesday decry the "toxic culture" that has engulfed the hearing process for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
The retiring senator has walked a fine line in voicing support for Kavanaugh while remaining undecided as a key swing-vote lawmaker. The sharp partisan divide over whether to confirm Kavanaugh, especially now that the judge faces three separate allegations of sexual misconduct, could come down to just a few Senate votes, and Flake is being closely watched.
"I will have to listen to the testimony before I make up my mind," said Flake, referring to when Christine Blasey Ford testifies Thursday about her allegation that Kavanaugh forcibly groped her in the 1980s. "I don't believe that Dr. Ford is part of some kind of vast conspiracy from start to finish to smear Judge Kavanaugh, as has been alleged by some on the right." He said that he didn't believe Kavanaugh to be a serial predator, either. Flake chastised both sides for attacking the character of both Ford and Kavanaugh. "We owe you both a sincere apology," he said.
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Flake did not call for an FBI investigation or any other measures to clarify the situation, but scolded colleagues for suggesting that Ford's failure to report the alleged assault before now is proof of a lie. "How uninformed and uncaring do you have to be to say things like that?" he said.
While Flake didn't signal one way or the other how he would vote when the time comes, he said the voting process would regardless "forever be steeped in doubt" due to the allegations.
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