CNN "Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees" - Transcript: Interview with Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut

Interview

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COOPER: Well, tonight that's a question that for the president at least answers itself.

Now, in just a few moments, you'll be hearing exclusively from one of the attorneys for Deborah Ramirez. We invited every Republican member of the Judiciary Committee to come on the broadcast tonight, got no for an answer. Right now, we are joined by Democratic member, Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut.

Senator Blumenthal, so the fact the committee has now tentatively scheduled its vote for not even 24 hours after Thursday's hearing, I'm wondering to you what does that say about this process?

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT), SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Scheduling this hearing even before hearing Dr. Blasey Ford on Thursday demonstrates exactly the disregard and disrespect for assault survivors that shames and silences so many before they come forward.

[20:05:16] And the message is very clear. They are less interested in the truth, in the facts and evidence, than in putting ideological extremists on the court. And these insulting, demeaning, disrespectful comments by the president, by the majority leader are an insult not only to Dr. Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez but to the entire survivor community.

COOPER: The flip side of that, of course, from the Republican standpoint is if Judge Kavanaugh, if people are lying about him, doesn't he deserve to have a vote one way or the other?

BLUMENTHAL: He deserves to have a vote, if it is concluded he's telling the truth, if his veracity is established after this hearing. But even before the hearing, if he really wanted to clear his name, he would demand that the White House order an FBI investigation of these serious credible allegations. If he really wanted his name cleared, he would demand that Senator Grassley schedule other witnesses like Mark Judge, who was in the room when this credible allegation of assault occurred.

And he would also do other kinds of steps that would get at the facts and evidence. But in fact, the pattern here is one of concealing and hiding. Even before these allegations came forth, they concealed and hid millions of pages of documents that bore on his credibility. And that's one of the central issues, his veracity, his truth telling or lack of it that will be at issue this Thursday.

COOPER: We should point out Professor Ford is alleging that Judge was in the room. Obviously, we don't know that for a fact.

The hearing on Thursday, do you have any understanding as to how it's going to work? I mean, the choreography of it? Because when your colleague senator Dick Durbin was asked about it today, all he could say was that, quote, the table and chair situation has been resolved.

BLUMENTHAL: We know more about it now. But still, the details are unresolved in final form.

But here's the way it probably will work. The sexual assault survivor Dr. Blasey Ford will appear and be questioned by a prosecutor selected by the 11 male Republicans. She is said to be a woman. We have no idea as to exactly who she is.

And we as Democrats will do our constitutional duty. We will be asking questions of both her and then of Judge Kavanaugh. And there will be five-minute rounds for each of us as senators, which is barely adequate. In fact, it should be much longer. And it will be carefully choreographed.

But the really significant news tonight is scheduling this vote the day after, literally the day after this hearing, leaving no one really time to consider the testimony and no time for witnesses including Deborah Ramirez, who has just come forward, let alone the FBI investigation, which really should be done before a hearing, let alone a vote.

COOPER: Do you think it's appropriate that it's not going to be Republican senators asking questions but what they described as a career sex crimes prosecutor?

BLUMENTHAL: The question really is, Anderson, why are our Republican colleagues hiding behind a prosecutor? And the answer I think was given earlier today by Bob Corker, our colleague, who said they feared saying something insensitive I think was the word they used that would then be repeated 24/7.

We're not afraid of questioning witnesses. That's our constitutional duty. I think that they should do their job.

COOPER: You know what Republicans will say, though, that look, if it was all-male Republicans asking Professor Ford questions, that Democrats would have been critical of the fact that there were no female Republican senators on the committee to ask questions.

BLUMENTHAL: The lack of diversity on that committee is their doing, not ours. And there is nothing about that excuse that justifies their ducking their constitutional duty. What's really important, though, is the goal of uncovering the facts and evidence. If Republicans were really serious about that goal, they would have

asked for an FBI investigation. I know that it seems like common sense, but no prosecutor, and I was a prosecutor for many years before coming to this job, would put a witness on the stand, not to mention a crime survivor, without first investigating the allegation. And all of the facts, because we ought to have a common goal of investigating the facts.

And this process now has become so partisan, sadly and regrettably, it is almost another nail on the coffin of a non-partisan Supreme Court. And it will I fear stain and cloud not only this nomination, Brett Kavanaugh, but the court itself.

COOPER: Senator Blumenthal, I appreciate your time. Thank you very much.

BLUMENTHAL: Thank you.

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