CNN "Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees" - Transcript: Interview with Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut
Interview
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COOPER: Well, in that case, the woman who accused him was apparently not in the now president's estimation attractive enough to sexually assault. The president also threatened to sue every one of his accusers for defamation. That hasn't happened. It seems to be the president's go-to response. Believe the man, and above all else, deny.
Bob Woodward writes in his book, "Fear," about a conversation between the president and a friend who acknowledged some, quote, bad behavior toward women. The friend was not named, but according to the book, the president said, and I quote, you got to deny, deny, deny and push back on these women. So, why all of a sudden with his choice for the Supreme Court under fire are the president and the White House talking about a process playing out and hearing out the accuser?
[20:05:05] That's, frankly, just not clear. Could be they truly believe she should be heard. Could be because they're concerned about the midterms. There's new CNN polling showing Democrats have an advantage in races in two states, Tennessee and Arizona, that are critical to Democrats taking control of the Senate. Could be they're concerned about women or given the president's track record, at least about how they'll vote in the midterms in 2020.
In any event, the president finds himself in another she said/he denied situation with another person he's championed, one that will play out in front of the American public one week from today. A late statement from the White House reads, and I quote: Judge Kavanaugh looks forward to a hearing where he can clear his name of this false allegation. He stands ready to testify tomorrow if the Senate is ready to hear him.
Joining me now is Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, a member of the Judiciary Committee.
So, Senator, the public hearing next week, both Ford and Kavanaugh, going to be under oath when they speak to you. If Ford stands by her accusations and Kavanaugh continues to say they're completely false, how exactly can you determine what the truth is?
SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Your question, Anderson, points exactly to the need for a full and fair FBI investigation before there is a hearing. Otherwise, we're going to be asking those questions in the dark. We'll be shooting, in effect, blindfolded.
We need the FBI to interview these witnesses under oath, and not just Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh, but also other witnesses who should be at this hearing as well, like Mark Judge, who was the other person in the room. So, that is precisely why this hearing should take place only after the FBI investigation. And the vote in the committee and on the floor of the Senate should be delayed until there can be a full, fair process here.
COOPER: We should say, the other person who was allegedly in the room, according to the accuser. Who do you think has the burden of proof here? Ford or Kavanaugh?
BLUMENTHAL: To talk about a burden of proof is to analogize it to a trial. Here we're making a choice about the next Supreme Court justice, whose integrity and qualifications really have to be established. And this claim -- and by the way, I believe Dr. Ford, this survivor. There's every reason to believe her. She has come forward knowing that she faces a nightmare of hostile and probably vicious scrutiny.
There's every reason to disbelieve Judge Kavanaugh after his evasive and seemingly misleading responses at the testimony last week. I believe that we need to look very carefully about the qualifications of this nominee, based not only on what Dr. Ford has to say, but also those questions about how he will effect real people, their real lives in real time, when he takes a position that Roe v. Wade can be overturned, that the Affordable Care Act can be struck down by the president, unilaterally, that consumer rights and working rights can be abrogated, not just now, but for decades, generations to come.
And I believe that this nominee should be opposed by my colleagues. I hope my Republican friends and colleagues will step forward and speak out and ask for a truly full, fair investigation by the FBI before a hearing.
COOPER: Well, who determines whether there's an FBI hearing before the investigation and who determines whether those people or anybody else who may have knowledge or who's been accused would actually testify?
BLUMENTHAL: The chairman of the Judiciary Committee has the gavel. But I hope that he'll listen to his colleagues because he would do a disservice to Judge Kavanaugh, as well as Dr. Ford, and the members of the Senate and the American public if he rushes to judgment here without an investigation. And it will cast a shadow and a stain on Judge Kavanaugh, if he is confirmed, as a result of this broken process that shattered the norms. It will cast a shadow on the Supreme Court as an institution.
COOPER: Senator Blumenthal, I appreciate your time.
BLUMENTHAL: Thank you.
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