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President Trump Is Now Calling The Added FBI Investigation Of His Supreme Court Nominee A Blessing In Disguise; Senator Jeff Flake Confronted By Two Sexual Assault Survivors; Washington Post: Bush Whipping Votes For Kavanaugh Confirmation; Ford: 100 Percent Certain Kavanagh Sexually Assaulted Me; National Sexual Assault Hotline Reports Dramatic Uptick In Calls; Facebook's Massive Security Breach. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired September 29, 2018 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:00:15] ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York.

We begin with breaking developments on the nomination turmoil of Brett Kavanaugh. After more than a week of resisting, President Trump is now calling the added FBI investigation of his Supreme Court nominee quote "a blessing in disguise." You will hear from the President in just a moment.

But first, we are learning that this investigation is now looking into the allegations of Kavanaugh's second accuser. The attorney for Deborah Ramirez says the FBI contacted her and she will cooperate. Ramirez says Kavanaugh exposed himself to her when they were at Yale together.

Now, the FBI of course will also investigate the allegations made by Kavanaugh's first accuser, Christine Blasey Ford.

Today, the President repeated that he found Ford credible. As she testified Thursday, alleging Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her, the President did not waiver in his belief that Kavanaugh will sit on the Supreme Court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's never been anybody that's been looked at like judge Kavanaugh. I think that it's going to work out very well. But the FBI I believe is doing a really great job. They have been all over. They have free rein. They are going to do whatever they have to do, whatever it is they do. They will be doing things that we never even thought of. And hopefully at the conclusion, everything will be fine.

Actually this could be a blessing in disguise, because having the FBI go out and do a thorough investigation, whether it's three days or seven days, I think it's going to be less than a week, but having them do a thorough investigation, I actually think will be a blessing in disguise. It will be a good thing. I don't need a backup plan. We will have to see what happens. I think he is going to be fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: CNN White House correspondent Boris Sanchez is joining us now. He is traveling with the President from Wheeling, West Virginia, where the President has been holding a rally tonight.

Boris, what did the President say about Brett Kavanaugh there at this campaign event?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Ana.

President Trump called his nominee to replace Justice Anthony Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court, a brilliant man with incredible character, someone who has suffered tremendously at the hands of Democrats who the President says are doing anything they can to obstruct and destroy.

Notably, though, President Trump has said nothing about Christine Blasey Ford and her accusations against Judge Brett Kavanaugh. I want you to listen to exactly how the President sort of tiptoed that line, defending his nominee but not really going after his accuser. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The entire nation has witnessed the shameless conduct of the Democrat Party. They are willing to throw away every standard of decency, justice, fairness, and due process to get their way. They don't care how they get it. You see it happening before your eyes. I think it's actually an incredible thing that's happening. And I just hope you don't sit home, because bad things will happen if you sit home.

This week, America also saw something else. On Thursday, the American people saw the brilliant and really incredible character, quality and courage of our nominee for the United States Supreme Court, Judge Brett Kavanaugh. A vote to confirm judge Kavanaugh is a vote to confirm one of the most accomplished legal minds of our time, a jurist with a sterling record of public service.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Again, no mention of the allegations by Christine Blasey Ford.

Also no mention of Arizona senator Jeff Flake who sources have sold CNN the President blames for this latest delay in the confirmation process.

As you heard there, the President encouraging his supporters to go out and vote in the midterm elections in November. He is here campaigning for Pat Morrissey who is running against Joe Manchin, a Democrat. Obviously, President Trump won this state handily. But he believes that so much of his agenda is on the line in November. He actually said close to the start of this rally, I'm not running in November, but really I am -- Ana.

CABRERA: Boris Sanchez in Wheeling, West Virginia for us, thank you.

Joining us now, Supreme Court Analyst Joan Biskupic, CNN political correspond analyst and senior political correspondent for "the Washington Examiner" David Drucker, and CNN Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley.

David, I will start with you. The President says this FBI investigation will end up being a blessing in disguise. Meantime, "Politico" is reporting McConnell told senators Flake, Collins, and Murkowski, this investigation wasn't going to make voting for him any easier. So how are Republicans feeling exactly about Kavanaugh's chances?

[20:05:10] DAVID DRUCKER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, look. I think we are going to have to see how this unfolds over the next few days. Something interesting, though, Ana, on Friday, before the Senate was done for the week, the debate on his nomination on the Senate floor kicked off. So that means concurrent with this reopening of the FBI background check, which is really what this is, and while this takes place over the next two, three, four, five, or six days, up to a week, the Senate clock on Kavanaugh's nomination is running. And that means that if this thing wraps up by the end of the week and there are no new developments that cause problems for Republicans, there could be a vote at the end of the week.

And one of the things the President said about this being a blessing in disguise could be true. In that with this reopened background check, if nothing else comes back, this could be what Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski wanted, the sort of extra insurance policy and extra look at this they wanted to be able to vote for Kavanaugh's nomination.

And so it might end up working out for Republicans versus what they were going to do, which is they were going to try and get to the debate on the Senate floor while still whipping votes. So this gives them more time to whip votes and it might make the three senators they are really looking at a lot more comfortable with everything.

CABRERA: Which begs the question why didn't they do this to begin with.

But let me talk about the Democrats and sort of their calculation going into this upcoming vote, potentially a week from yesterday, Doug. The President says the FBI will have free rein, but let's say the clock runs out and the FBI isn't done, are Democrats going to accept the process?

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: If that happened, I think the Democrats would ask for more time if the FBI said we need an extra weekend. I just heard, with the clip you played of President Trump, you know, he is basically saying I think will have it at three days, by the end of the week, but if it's ten days, so be it.

The danger for Brett Kavanaugh and the Republicans is what the FBI discovers this week, the opening up of the investigation in a serious way of what happened at Yale University, the Deborah Ramirez piece of this. There are probably more witnesses to that incident than what occurred at the Georgetown prep. So that's the danger.

But right now, I think President Trump's correct, that this could work in his favor, because Kavanaugh very well is on the way to getting -- winning his Supreme Court spot. And I doubt you will see Murkowski, Collins, and Flake going in different directions. They are kind of a team of three right now. And whatever they say, they are controlling what happens here in a very real way. This gives -- particularly Murkowski and Collins a political fig leaf right now, that they could say, we just wanted Trump rubberstamp. We did our due diligence. And it will help them both with moderates in Alaska and Maine respectively.

CABRERA: Now part of the timing issue here, Joan, is Republicans wanted Kavanaugh confirmed before the other justices convened, which happens on Monday. That won't happen, obviously, that will go on without him. But what are the justices likely thinking about comments like this?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRETT KAVANAUGH, SUPREME COURT JUSTICE NOMINEE: My family and my name have been totally and permanently destroyed. This confirmation process has become a national disgrace. You have replaced advice and consent with search and destroy. This whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit, fueled with apparent pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election, fear that has been unfairly stoked about my judicial record, revenge on behalf of the Clintons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Joan, is that the language typical of a Supreme Court justice?

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN SUPREME COURT ANALYST: No, it's not. And I think that last clip especially will get the justices' attention.

Remember, they want to be seen as apart and above from the political branches. And, you know, chief justice John Roberts has already said before this moment that he feared that a politically charged process leads the public to think that any justice who emerges from that is naturally going to be a political justice. And then when you have Brett Kavanaugh come out as kind of a partisan warrior, to be sure, he did it because he believed -- you know, he had to do it, it was part of his argument here, but that just feeds into the idea that these are politicians on the bench, and that he will be a politician on the bench, not a neutral justice. And the reason this matters is that the court already is so sharply divided, 5-4, with the five Republican appointees in the majority on so many cases and the four Democratic appointees in dissent, and the chief justice and many of the other justices don't like that signal that it sends. And this confirmation hearing has reinforced that signal.

[20:10:22] CABRERA: David, we heard the President say he doesn't need a backup plan for Kavanaugh. What do you know? Is there a plan B?

DRUCKER: Well, there's always a plan B. Plan B is if he is not confirmed, you nominate somebody else.

But I think what the President is trying to communicate is that he has confidence in Kavanaugh and he expects him to be confirmed. And if the President communicated anything else, and if people would start to ask a lot of questions, and that's the last thing the President would want. You have got some Republicans that are probably going to vote to confirm Kavanaugh but be a little bit hesitant about it. And if he doesn't have confidence, they won't either.

So I don't think there's anything more to it than that. And I think that, you know, the President, and especially as we talk about some of the things, sort of the aggressive nature of Kavanaugh's defense of himself that we saw in that hearing, I think a lot of that may have been for President Trump's benefit, to say to the President, I'm fighting this thing, you should stick by me, and possibly understanding that what this particular President respects more than anything is somebody that's willing to fight.

CABRERA: Yes.

DRUCKER: And when the President after that testimony from Kavanaugh came out with a very positive tweet, I think that was a signal that this confirmation -- that this nomination was saved, maybe not the confirmation, but the nomination. And that's why I think Brett Kavanaugh is still fighting after very credible -- in other words, his nomination is still on the table after very credible, believable testimony from Dr. Ford.

CABRERA: And in fact our reporting here at CNN, sources inside the White House say the President really didn't like how he conducted himself in that FOX News interview prior to his testimony, that he looked wooden, was the word that they used, and wasn't as much on the attack or as angry and aggressive as the President thought he should be.

And now, the President puts out the tweet after his testimony saying he showed America exactly why I nominated him, his testimony was powerful, honest and riveting, as he described it.

Doug, this FBI investigation probably wouldn't have happened had senator Flake not had a change of heart and said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JEFF FLAKE (R), ARIZONA: I can only say that I would be only comfortable moving forward on the floor. I will move it out of committee, but I will only be comfortable moving on the floor until the FBI has done more investigation than they have already.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Doug, how do you think history will remember him in that moment? BRINKLEY: I think Jeff Flake had what we might call a John McCain

moment. Remember when McCain put his thumbs down, some people call it a profiles in courage moment, some after act of civility. He is obviously the bane of a lot of conservatives' existence right now, the anger level at Flake is coming from the hard right, not from Democrats.

But be careful, because Jeff Flake at the end of the week, if this FBI investigation goes forward and Kavanaugh gets a clean bill of health, you will see Flake, Murkowski, and Collins quickly jumping in on board with the rest of the Republicans. They might even get a democrat or two along with them. So -- and then the left will not like that Jeff Flake.

So I think Flake did speak from the heart, he's a devout family man, a Mormon. He doesn't drink. The behavior of Kavanaugh and the weirdness in the calendar about ralphing and all these things we've lived through this week I think disturbed Jeff Flake. And I thought Brett Kavanaugh was better being when on FOX than when he did his testimony invoking the Clintons and getting angry, his temperament seemed unhinged when he went after the senator from Minnesota.

CABRERA: Klobuchar.

BRINKLEY: About blackouts and all. Yes. I think it may have been he was -- Trump was right that he need to be a little tougher, but he went like Uber Trump, like I'll out-Trump Trump. And so, he may have overplayed his hand there a bit.

CABRERA: Joan, if Kavanaugh is confirmed, what kind of cloud do you think he'll have hanging over him?

BISKUPIC: I think he will have a cloud over him and I think he knows it. During his testimony on Thursday, he even said, you know, will I ever be able to teach anymore, or actually he said I won't be able to teach anymore. I won't be able to coach anymore. This has permanently destroyed me.

And you know, the truth is, no matter what the FBI comes back with in a mere week, which is not a very long time, it probably will not clear him in the public's mind, given how sensational these allegations have been.

So he will go on the court and a couple of things will happen. He will live like that and the justices will close ranks. He will not be ostracized in any public way, and probably not in any private way.

And let's just think about what's happened with Clarence Thomas over the last 27 years. People still remember it, people still bring it up. I think in Brett Kavanaugh's case, if he does get confirmed, he will probably take some steps to try to heal some of the divisions. I think he's just more of that sort of person. He is more concerned about his public reputation. Clarence Thomas basically thought, you know, I'm done with that. I'm going to be independent and exactly rule the way I want to rule. I think Brett Kavanaugh might speak to it in other ways, again, beyond his rulings, if he manages to get confirmed. But overall I want to say, if he does, the justices will consider him a full player among the nine.

[20:10:53] CABRERA: All right. We will have a lot more information in a week's time.

Joan Biskupic and David Drucker and Douglas Brinkley, thank you all for being with us.

BRINKLEY: Thank you.

CABRERA: Is it the moment that changed everything? Coming up, what Jeff Flake is now saying about the elevator confrontation that played out on live TV.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look at me when I'm talking to you! You are telling me I might as well not matter, what happened to me doesn't matter, and you are going to let these people who do these things into power. That's what you are telling me when you vote for him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[20:20:34] CABRERA: It was one moment in an elevator that may have changed history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was sexually assaulted and nobody believed me. I didn't tell anyone. And you are telling all women that they don't matter. That they should just stay quiet because if they tell you what happened to them, you are going to ignore them. That's what happened to me. And that's what you're telling all women in American, that they don't matter, they should keep it to themselves, because if they had told the truth, they are just going to help that man to power anyway. That's what you are telling all of these women. That's what you are telling me right now.

Look at me when I'm talking to you. You are telling me that it doesn't matter, that what happened to me doesn't matter. And that you are going to let the people who do these things into power. That's what you are telling me when you vote for him. So look at me and tell me that it doesn't matter what happened to me, that you'll let people like that go into the highest court in the land.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Senator Jeff Flake confronted by two sexual assault survivors just hours before his dramatic last minute call to delay the confirmation vote on Brett Kavanaugh so the FBI can investigate claims of sexual misconduct.

Flake later told "the Atlantic" that encounter struck a chord. He also told the magazine quote "the Supreme Court is the lone institution where most Americans still have some faith and the U.S. Senate as an institution, we are coming apart at the seams. Just these last couple of days the hearing itself, the aftermath of the hearing, watching pundits talk about it on cable TV, seeing the protesters outside, encountering them in the hall, I told Chris Coons, the Democratic senator from Delaware, our country is coming apart on this and it can't. And he felt the same."

Joining us now, former Democratic senator Barbara Boxer of California.

Senator, it is always good to have you with us. Do you believe Flake when he says he did this because he was trying to preserve the credibility of both the Supreme Court and the U.S. Senate?

BARBARA BOXER (D), FORMER CALIFORNIA SENATOR: I think he was tormented by the whole situation. And the truth is, frankly, this was the way to go, to take a pause, to stop, to bring in the FBI. That's the way it's always been done. And because of his friendship with senator Coons, because of that one on one with the woman who was filled with pain and frustration, I think it just said to him, I have got to do more than just make a speech, because he's broken my heart so many times, I hate to tell you. But this time he didn't just make a lovely speech that I said, great. But he actually took action. And now we will see if they are going to really do a real investigation here.

CABRERA: Well, it appears that is moving forward. Just a short time ago the President went after the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, senator Dianne Feinstein, questioning whether she was responsible for leaking Ford's letter about the Kavanaugh allegations to begin with. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Remember Dianne Feinstein. Did you leak? Remember her answer. Did you leak the document? What? No, no, I didn't leak. Wait one minute. Did we leak? No, we didn't leak.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Senator Boxer, what's your reaction to that?

BOXER: He is obnoxious. And, you know, they made up their mind before that they weren't going to go after Dr. Ford because they knew what happened and how they looked when they went after Anita Hill. So they found another woman to go after.

I want to say to you, as someone who served in elected life for 40 years, when a constituent comes up to you and says I'm going to tell you my darkest, deepest secret, I'm going to give you a letter, but I don't want you to say who I am, you don't do it. And she didn't do it. And she didn't leak it. And the bottom line is, he is obnoxious and going after another woman and being rude and despicable. And stronger language to follow.

[20:25:17] CABRERA: Now, if the FBI comes back one week from now and says there's no additional information to support Christine Blasey Ford's accusation, should Democrats at least be satisfied with the process even if they don't end up voting for him?

BOXER: Well, I can't really speculate. I want to know who they talked to, when they talked to them, if they told them they were, you know, under oath to tell the truth. I can't comment on that. I have to see the work product.

But I just want to say something, you know, to you and to your listeners and anyone who is going to have a vote on this. To me, there are a couple of moments that will always stick with me. The pain of Dr. Ford, the hurt on her face after all those years, the fact that she described this, of having this man in her face, holding her down, trying to get rid of her clothes, putting his hand over her face. It was face-to-face. And she knows who it was, because he was a friend of hers.

So the bottom line is, if you say she is credible, like everyone says she is credible, then you need to say no to judge Kavanaugh. And the second thing that I will never forget is the belligerent tone of judge Kavanaugh. He himself said, I ripped up the speech and I wrote it myself.

We saw the real Brett Kavanaugh. Privileged, you know, expecting that he was going to get this, a spoiled brat that something happened and he might not -- not telling the truth about his drinking, that was obvious. Attacking members of the United States Senate, saying to them, why, don't you like beer, don't you like beer? What is this, a frat party? He was unhinged. He doesn't belong in a courtroom. You can't have a judge who is so hot and so angry and so arrogant and so belligerent.

CABRERA: A lot of conservatives liked what they saw in the judge. They felt like he was being very raw and honest in fighting back accusations that he says are untrue. I hear what you are saying, though. I want you to also comment on something else the President had to say tonight.

CABRERA: Let me just say -- OK.

CABRERA: Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren. Let's listen and then I will let you respond.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They are so far left, they have been taken so far left, where Pocahontas is now considered a conservative. In the democrat party she's like a conservative person. Pocahontas, Elizabeth Warren, she is considered like a conservative person. These people, they have gone crazy. They have gone loco.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Well, Warren says she will think about a 2020 bid after the midterms. Do you think the President is practicing for what's ahead?

BOXER: No. I think it's more of his attack on women. That's what it's about. He couldn't attack Dr. Ford. They told him, whatever you do, don't do that, she is sympathetic. The people believe her. So first he goes after Dianne Feinstein. Now he goes after Elizabeth Warren. Who is next, Melania? Who knows where he's going to go?

The man has no respect for women. He wants to put -- the President, he wants to put women in jail if they get an abortion.

Let's be clear what's at stake here but let's not vote for someone who has the wrong temperament for the court. And if conservatives like that temperament, they wouldn't like it if they appeared before him and he didn't agree with them, I'll tell you that. That is wrong.

CABRERA: Former senator Barbara Boxer, thank you so much for joining us.

BOXER: Thanks.

CABRERA: The ties that bind. A former President whips up the votes for Kavanaugh behind the scenes, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:30:56] ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: There's a big name not on Capitol Hill or in the White House working to whip up the votes and get Brett Kavanaugh confirmed.

The Washington Post reports former President George W. Bush has been working the phone, and calling up senators still on the fence, and who have been comfortable distancing themselves from President Trump before.

Now, Bush and Kavanaugh go way back. Kavanaugh helped on the case that ended that 2000 Florida recount. And later served in the Bush White House, meeting his wife on the job and earning a nomination to the second highest court in the land, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

So let's discuss with Anita McBride, a longtime friend of Brett Kavanaugh and a former chief of staff to First Lady Laura Bush. Anita, thanks for being with us.

President Bush, he reaffirmed his support for Kavanaugh even after Christine Blasey Ford's testimony. Was that pressure considering -- what was that pressure like do you think? And do you think it was premature, considering that the FBI is now looking into Ford and the second accuser's allegation?

[20:35:57] ANITA MCBRIDE, LONGTIME FRIEND OF BRETT KAVANAUGH AND FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO FIRST LADY LAURA BUSH: No, I don't -- it doesn't surprise me one bit, if in fact President Bush is making any calls or acting and speaking up as a character witness for him, because essentially this is where we are at right now.

And even listening to your prior segment with Senator Boxer, she sees Brett Kavanaugh as a person of -- who's a spoiled brat and of privilege and prejudice. And someone like George W. Bush who has known him for two decades can speak differently to his character and so could all the women who have signed letters for Brett from his childhood through his working years.

So I don't think it's premature at all. This is now really down in the hands of 100 senators that are going to have to make a decision and listen to all sides, listen to the painful testimony of course of Dr. Ford, who represents all of the years of trauma and terrified silence of a lot of women.

But Brett Kavanaugh says it's not him. And so you're now in this position of listening to both people, but also people who can speak up on their behalf.

CABRERA: So after hearing everything this week, do you still defend Kavanaugh?

MCBRIDE: I know -- all I can say to you I know the Brett Kavanaugh that I know. And I know all the people that have known him all of his years because I live in that Washington, D.C. community too, I stayed there after working in the White House, so I know those friends. And I really -- I believe Dr. Ford, something terrible, what she described, happened to her. But I believe Brett that it wasn't him.

CABRERA: But Professor Ford was questioned about how certain she could be that it was Kavanaugh who attacked her. And she didn't flinch in her answer. Listen.

MCBRIDE: No.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), CALIFORNIA: How are you so sure that it was he?

CHRISTINE BLASEY FORD, ACCUSES KAVANAUGH OF SEXUAL ASSAULT: The same way that I'm sure that I'm talking to you right now. And so it's just basic memory functions. And also just the level of norepinephrine and epinephrine in the brain that sort of -- as you know encodes that neurotransmitter, encodes memories into the hippocampus and so the trauma related experience then it's kind of locked there where as other details kind of drift.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Anita, how can you say you believe she was assaulted but you don't believe her when she identifies her attacker?

MCBRIDE: You know, Ana, this is an extraordinarily difficult situation for everybody. I think the trauma that she faced obviously has -- and it stayed with her for years. But I think it's unfair for you to say to me, when I know him, I don't know her, but it's not that I don't believe her, that something happened to her, but I also believe someone I've known for two decades and have seen, you know, who he is also as a person.

And you know what, I'm not a fair weather friend, I'm not going to start falling or abandoning someone who's clearly being also challenged, his reputation, an entire lifetime is being cast aside. And he knows his reputation is hurt forever, no matter what comes out of this FBI investigation, which frankly I wish this supplemental investigation had happened before.

I don't know if it's going to deliver any different information. But I think if it would help clarify things for now, the 100 people that have to -- or 99 that have to make a decision about whether to believe Dr. Ford about Brett or to believe Brett about himself, this is hard for everybody. The whole country is going through a painful process.

CABRERA: It's a moment in history, that's for sure, it's painful for a lot of people, it's emotional, a lot of people are passionate. The social media is on fire. But is it possible they both were being honest in their testimony and that she identified Kavanaugh was being truthful but -- and it could also be possible that Kavanaugh did this and doesn't remember it because he was drunk?

MCBRIDE: I can't -- OK. You know what, whoever obviously did this to her -- by her description was drunk. I think we heard too in this testimony on Thursday the descriptions of what is going on in underage drinking in high schools in 1982 and now. That's right. It is a reminder for everybody, and all of us that have kids, that tell our kids all the time, what you do in high school has consequences, what you do in your life has consequences.

[20:40:07] I think we're all -- if anything comes out of this, it's a national dialogue for everybody and particularly for young people. It would be very, very difficult to protect yourself and to get your reputation back whether you were wrongfully accused or not. This is where we are right now.

And it's just years of pain and trauma and silence that's like coming forward. And he is in the crosshairs for it. And if our country moves forward on this, whatever happens, we come out of this painful process and deal with things in a way that's better than we did before, that's a good thing.

But what I also don't want to see is that we could be so sure to destroy the character of any person who has built for all intents and purposes a good and decent life.

CABRERA: Anita McBride, I hope we get the truth. I hope we get some clarity in the answers as the FBI does this additional investigation. You're a very loyal and good friend to Judge Kavanaugh. I know he appreciates it.

Anita McBride, we appreciate you joining us. Thank you so much.

MCBRIDE: Thank you, Ana.

CABRERA: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:45:37] CABRERA: Breaking news just in to CNN, the Senate Judiciary Committee is now referring to the Justice Department what it calls apparent false statements that alleged misconduct by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Now, Chairman Chuck Grassley is seeking a criminal review of one individual, we don't know who that person is. But this person apparently provided a tip to Congress, now found to be false of an incident on a boat in 1985 where a woman was reported to have been sexually assaulted by two heavily inebriated men, one of whom she referred to as "Brett."

Now, to be clear, this is completely separate from the accusations brought by Christine Blasey Ford, Deborah Ramirez, and Julie Swetnick. We'll stay on top of this story and bring you any more information as it becomes available.

Sobering new evidence that survivors of sexual assault felt the impact of this week's dramatic testimony from Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh. RAINN, the nation's largest anti-sexual assault violence organization has calls to the national sexual assault hotline spiked 201 percent on Thursday, the day they both testified.

Overall, this organization has seen a nearly 46 percent uptick in calls since Ford came forward with her allegations compared to the same time last year. And earlier, I spoke to actress and activist Alyssa Milano, herself a survivor of sexual assault, about the impact of this week's hearing.

Alyssa Milano, actress and activist (through telephone): It was a very hard day to be in that room. But I was proud to be a woman and I was proud to be a survivor. And I felt like I needed to be there for other survivors that couldn't be there.

CABRERA: Before we talk more about the hearing itself and your experience being there, I know you've been very vocal about supporting and believing women. If this investigation doesn't end up providing clear answers about these allegations, will you at least be satisfied with the process that's taken place before the vote?

MILANO: I think so. I believe in the process. I believe in investigating. I believe in, you know, calling other witnesses, potentially complete disclosure of all documents. I do think they need to subpoena Mark Judge.

And I think this whole time when he was -- he was sort of accusing her or the Democrats of being like a partisan operative, it was really him that came off as the partisan operative.

And to me, when we're dealing with such sensitive issues like sexual abuse and assault, there is no place on the Supreme Court for that kind of partisan politics.

CABRERA: As you listen, then, to Professor Ford give her story to the world, what was that like for you as a sexual assault survivor? Because we've heard from other survivors who said they relived their own traumas during that time.

MILANO: Yes. I think any time someone comes forward in such a public way, it triggers survivors everywhere. But I also think that there's power in that. We can find power in our collective hardships and heartaches and experiences.

And there was a sense of hope. There was a sense of hope in that room beforehand. There was a sense of hope in that room as she spoke for so many of us that have gone through that in such a powerful, intimidating way. And I can't imagine how difficult that was, and my stomach was in knots for her.

And then he got up there, and it was -- it was enraging, you know. I felt like if a woman acted like that during a line of questioning, she would have been considered totally unhinged or like she was having a meltdown.

CABRERA: Again, that was Alyssa Milano. I just want to remind you, if you or someone you know needs help, been a victim of sexual assault, please call the national sexual assault hotline, that number is 1-800-656-HOPE.

Coming up, Facebook hacked. The security breach affecting nearly 50 million people tonight.

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[20:50:07] CABRERA: This might be the biggest security breach in the history of Facebook with some 50 million users exposed. CNN's Alison Kosik has details. Allison?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Ana. Another security issue for Facebook users. An attack has potentially exposed the information of nearly 50 million accounts. The company says its engineers spotted the attack on Tuesday, but the social network didn't alert users until Friday.

Facebook says the attackers exploited a feature known as "view as" that allows users to see what their profile looks like to someone else. They saw what are known as access tokens, which keep a person logged into their Facebook account for over long periods of time so they don't have to keep logging in. So the hackers could take over accounts and use them as if they were the account holders.

More than 90 million users were forced to log out of their accounts Friday for security reasons. The company says it doesn't know if the affected accounts were misused or if any information was accessed.

[20:55:09] The company says it has fixed the issue and contacted law enforcement. Facebook also temporarily turned off the "view as" feature while it investigates. This is just the latest major hurdle for the social media giant which has struggled with security breaches and privacy issues in recent years. Ana?

CABRERA: Allison Kosik, thank you.

And that does it for me. I'm Ana Cabrera. Thank you for being with me. Coming up, discover the inspiring life and career of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. "RBG" is next.

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