FBI/GOP/NOMINATIONS/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP PEOPLE/WOMEN: “Republican leaders are preparing a controversial push to install Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court after a frenetic night of legal and political maneuvering in Washington that could reverberate for years to come. In a major twist to his confirmation saga, attorneys for Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers in the 1980s, said their client was not prepared to testify in a public hearing offered by Republicans unless the FBI first investigates her allegations. Kavanaugh has categorically rejected the claims. Ford’s decision, conveyed in a letter to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa, obtained by CNN, raises the political stakes for Republicans and Democrats however they choose to respond. Early signs are that the GOP will press on and try to get Kavanaugh confirmed, effectively bypassing Ford’s demands for an investigation by arguing that they offered her the opportunity to testify and she did not take the chance to have her case heard.”
–Stephen Collinson, “Kavanaugh’s accuser made her move — now Republicans have to choose,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, September 18, 2018 12:05 pm