MSNBC "All in with Chris Hayes" - Transcript: Interview with Sen. Richard Blumenthal
Interview
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HAYES: All right, Alexis Goldstein and Barbara McQuade, thank you both. For more on the Senate battle over this nomination, I`m joined by Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut who was a member of the Judiciary Committee. Senator, can you give us some details if you have been filled in about what is taking shape for this Thursday?
SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D), CONNECTICUT: What`s taking shape for this Thursday is two witnesses, Judge Kavanaugh, and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford probably in reverse order. She`ll go first and then he`ll follow, but that has not been finally determined. And what we are pushing to do is have that FBI investigation before there`s any hearing because otherwise, this hearing is going to be more of a show in a sham than a real effort to elicit the facts and evidence.
And what we`re seeing is really a demeaning and degrading of these courageous survivors, sexual assault survivors who come forward at great cost to themselves and they are asking for an FBI investigation. The administration, the White House, Judge Kavanaugh simply are blocking it and that is reprehensible against these very credible allegations.
HAYES: Do you have a response to Orrin Hatch who is your colleague on that committee who says this is the kind of thing that our Democrat friends have done in the past, that this is all essentially a kind of conspiracy, a trap created by some set of political interests to spring upon Brett Kavanaugh and the Republican Party?
BLUMENTHAL: How demeaning to these brave sexual assault survivors to portray them as puppets essentially under the thumb of some Democratic cabal. They`ve come forward at great personal, physical risk, not to mention the emotional trauma that they have to relive and the cost is not only to them as individuals, it`s to the entire survivor community. And so, I would just say to my Republican friends, really this hollow hypocrisy about acting respectfully towards survivors really has to be for real. They have to understand what is at stake for them and really authorize an FBI investigation so we can see all of the facts in real time before we undertake these hearings.
HAYES: Two questions about the hearing. The first is there have been reports Republicans were looking into hiring a lawyer, a woman who would do the questioning out of fear I think of some of the political optics of the 11 men of the Republicans in the judiciary committee question Dr. Ford. It appears they have done that. Do you have confirmation that the questioning is going to be done by a third party lawyer?
BLUMENTHAL: That`s the direction that they`re moving to have a third party lawyer do their question for them. My view is we have a constitutional responsibility as senators to do our own questioning. And for them to resort to this extraordinary delegation in effect ceding their responsibility I think shows something about how hollow their claim of wanting to get to the truth is.
The question is what is the White House hiding? Why are they concealing it? What are they afraid the American people are going to see? And why this rush to judgment setting arbitrary deadlines when there is no time pressure. We`re dealing with the highest court in the land, a lifetime appointment that will affect real people`s lives in real time for decades to come.
HAYES: Final question. Mark Judge, and my understanding is there was a push from both Dr. Blasey Ford and Democrat from the committee for him to be testifying under oath as well. He`s given a letter to the committee saying he doesn`t recall anything like what is described. Do you expect him to be there or is that just not going to happen at this point?
BLUMENTHAL: That`s a really key question, Chris. We`ve been pushing for Mark Judge to be a witness because he was in the room when Christine Blasey Ford according to her allegations, and I believe her, was molested by Judge Kavanaugh, then Brett Kavanaugh, a 17 year old person. And we`ve been pushing as well for other witnesses who can offer facts and evidence as well as documents.
The more evidence and facts, the more likely it is we will uncover the truth. And for a survivor who has taken a polygraph, who has named witnesses, who has therapist notes from six years ago, well before Brett Kavanaugh was even contemplated for the United States Supreme Court, this kind of evidence really has to be considered in another hearing along with testimony from Deborah Ramirez. These women survivors, courageous survivors coming forward should be heard.
HAYES: All right, Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and the Judiciary Committee, thank you for making time this evening.
BLUMENTHAL: Thank you.
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