Senate Judiciary Committee advances Kavanaugh nomination, Flake requests weeklong FBI investigation

The Senate Judiciary Committee today voted along party lines to advance the nomination of Hon. Brett M. Kavanaugh to the full Senate.  Sen. Jeff Flake, the only swing vote among Republicans on the committee, said he would be reluctant to vote yes on the floor without a weeklong investigation by the FBI into current allegations of sexual assault and misconduct by Kavanaugh.  The vote came just one day after a public hearing in which a woman testified that she had been sexually assaulted by Kavanuagh when the two were in high school.  Two other women have also come forward with accusations of sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh in high school and college, but neither woman was called to testify. Kavanaugh denied the accusations.   The ABA, which previously had endorsed Kavanaugh, has also requested that the vote be delayed until the FBI could conduct an investigation of the charges.