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Don Lemon Tonight
Trump Has Plan B if Kavanaugh Fails; Republicans to Vote on SCOTUS Nominee on Friday; Dr. Christine Blasey Ford to Testify in Front of Senate Judiciary Committee; Judge Brett Kavanaugh Has Given Senate Investigators Pages from His 1982 Calendar. Aired 10-11p ET
Aired September 26, 2018 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[22:00:00] (JOINED IN PROGRESS)
DON LEMON, CNN HOST: And you and Chris not talk so much? And I say, it's me and Chris.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: That's a conspiracy.
LEMON: She, I should say, excuse me. She. Mine, as well, she. But, listen, I think you're right. I think if anything comes back to haunt him, it will be his own words. It could be the calendar. I think there's a reason people keep saying, well, the Democrats are -- they just want to push, you know, this to go on for a long time, right?
CUOMO: Maybe.
LEMON: Because they're upset. OK. Maybe that's true.
CUOMO: They certainly want him out.
LEMON: Why didn't they do it with Gorsuch, then?
CUOMO: Well, a couple things. Good point. I think I made it first, but good point.
LEMON: You did? I didn't hear it sorry.
CUOMO: Gillibrand says I want him to withdraw it now, even before the hearing, and she's not the only Democrat who feels that way. Why? They didn't want him before (Inaudible).
LEMON: Yes.
CUOMO: Why they didn't do it with Gorsuch? Fair point.
LEMON: Well, saying he should withdraw now is like saying we're going to hold the vote, you know, and nothing she says will change my mind, which some Republican senators have said.
CUOMO: Right
LEMON: So those are the same thing.
CUOMO: Gorsuch wasn't the swing vote, the key vote on the court. LEMON: Right.
CUOMO: So you could argue they have more incentive to do it now. But I got to tell you, there's a lot coming out and we haven't done enough -- not we. We're doing what we can. They have more tools. They're supposed to do it and they haven't, and we know why.
So it's a problem going in there tomorrow for the judge also. I'm sure he's not happy about this, not just the allegations but how they've been handled.
LEMON: I'm just going to tell you. I'm just being honest. I think the reason -- one big reason that they want this to happen quickly -- because they still have a lot of time even if they did an FBI investigation. They've got tons of time to get him through.
I think they're afraid of what could be uncovered if there is, in fact, an FBI investigation, and also they're concerned about reporters' phones that have been ringing, I'm sure, in the last few days with people who may be allegedly dealing with the same thing or witnessed the same behavior. That's my feeling. That's what my gut tells me.
CUOMO: Well, it's a decent gut feeling given how we find something new out almost every day.
LEMON: Yes.
CUOMO: Whether or not they're true or not, you know, you had a couple of claims come out. People don't want to put their name to it. Suspect.
LEMON: Yes.
CUOMO: It doesn't vet. They won't bring people forward to give any kind of vetting. Suspect. So, not all allegations are equal. But I'll tell you what. It is not hype. Tomorrow is a big day.
LEMON: I know. I know tomorrow everyone will be watching. I will be watching you. You will be listening to you on the radio Sirius channel--
CUOMO: One twenty-four.
LEMON: One twenty four.
CUOMO: Let's get after it.
LEMON: Yes. I'll call in again tomorrow. I'll save your show for you.
CUOMO: Thank you.
LEMON: I called in today. I'll call in tomorrow.
CUOMO: You are ratings turbo.
LEMON: Thank you, Chris. You're right. Tomorrow is a big day. Thank you, sir. I'll see you tomorrow.
This is CNN TONIGHT from Washington, by the way. I'm Don Lemon.
Did you see, did you see the press conference today with President Trump, or did you listen to it? I have a lot to say about that, but hold on because there's more breaking news to tell you about.
This is the night before the hearings on President Trump's Supreme Court pick, Brett Kavanaugh. And as the president was defending Kavanaugh in a rambling and fact-challenged news conference, by the way, two now accusations against the nominee have surfaced, right?
Both made anonymously to senators. One from a letter to Republican Senator Cory Gardner was an accusation about events in 1998 when Kavanaugh was in his early 30s. The other from a call to Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. It was an accusation about events in 1985.
So this is according to the newly released transcripts from the judiciary committee hearings, OK? The senators asked Kavanaugh about both accusations, and he denied them. He denied them strongly.
But the focus tonight and tomorrow morning is going to be on the three women who have come forward to tell their stories. So I want you to listen. Just listen to what President Trump says about Christine Blasey Ford, Deborah Ramirez, and Julie Swetnick.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you saying that all three of those women are liars? Is there anything that could be said--
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- tomorrow that could cause you to withdraw the nomination? Anything at all that--
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: I won't get into that game. I only tell you this. This is one of the highest quality people that I've ever met, and everybody that knows him says the same thing. And these are all false to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So you heard that. The president says they're all false. Now, remember, we don't have evidence that proves what these three women say Brett Kavanaugh did to them. That's what an FBI investigation is far -- for. Too bad there apparently won't be one.
Yet the president falsely insists, falsely insists that the FBI has already cleared Judge Kavanaugh. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The FBI told us they've investigated Judge Kavanaugh six times, five times, many times over the years. They know him very well. But here there was nothing to investigate from at least one standpoint. They didn't know the location. They didn't know the time. They didn't know the year. They didn't know anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[22:05:08] LEMON: So facts are tricky things. Facts are very important. The fact is the FBI did not investigate the accusations against Kavanaugh, not six times, not five times, not even once.
What they did was they did multiple background checks on him during his career in politics and as a judge. But all of those were completed before any of these accusations ever came up. The president knows that. He also seems to think that all three women -- or he wants you to believe that, will get the chance to tell their stories tomorrow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: So as far as the other women are concerned, I'm going to see what happens tomorrow. I'm going to be watching. You know, believe it or not. I'm going to see what's said. It's possible that they will be convincing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Only one woman, one woman, Christine Blasey Ford, will be telling her story tomorrow. So what's the rush? What's the rush? Why not tell senators and Americans hear from -- why not do this until we hear from all of these women, right, if that's what the president claims he wants to hear.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you saying that all three of those women are liars? Is there anything that could be said--
TRUMP: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- tomorrow that could cause you to withdraw the nomination? Anything at all?
TRUMP: I won't get into that game. I only tell you this. This is one of the highest quality people that I've ever met, and everybody that knows him says the same thing. And these all false to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Again, that's not true. The fact is if the vote is held on Friday as scheduled, it will only have been delayed eight days. And if it seems like President Trump would like to wash his hands of this whole thing, remember he's got his own history of accusations.
At least 15 women have come forward with a wide range of accusations against Donald Trump, ranging from sexual harassment and sexual assault to lewd behavior. And you'd better believe the president has not forgotten.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I view it differently than somebody sitting home watching television where they say, Judge Kavanaugh this or that. It's happened to me many times. I've had many false charges.
I had a woman sitting in an airplane, and I attacked her while people were coming onto the plane, and I have a number one bestseller out? I mean, it was a total phony story. There are many of them. So, when you say does it affect me in terms of my thinking with respect to Judge Kavanaugh, absolutely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: At least he was honest about it, but the woman, the one he's talking about, apparently appears to be talking about Jessica Leeds, who says Trump groped her on a flight around 1980. Here's what she told Anderson. She was on the show just a little while ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA LEEDS, TRUMP ACCUSER: I didn't tell anybody until 2015.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: You didn't tell anybody in your life?
LEEDS: I didn't tell anybody.
COOPER: Why?
LEEDS: Who was I going to complain to at the time it happened? I was going to the stewardess? No. The airlines? No. My boss? No. There wasn't -- I wasn't going to tell my family. It was -- I considered him a jerk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So President Trump, who has said a big reason he won the election was his promise to shift the balance of the Supreme Court, he's mindful of what will happen if Brett Kavanaugh goes down to defeat. In fact, he seems to be musing about picking somebody else.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're talking about the United States Supreme Court. This can go on forever. I can pick five other people. At a certain point, people are going to say, no, thank you. This is the most coveted job probably in the world.
And you know what? I would honestly say, because I interviewed great people for this job. He's great. But I interviewed other great people for this job. I could conceivably imagine going to one of them and saying, it's too bad what happened to this wonderful man. But I'm going to choose you, number two. I want you to go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So I guess he could choose somebody else, but that would mean he's not a winner. And we know how this president feels about winning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Now, if the Republicans win tomorrow, I think you're going to get some votes from the Democrats. You know why? Because we all know why. Because it's called politics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So the president had a lot to say tonight about the women accusing Brett Kavanaugh. But he clearly had one man on his mind.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I have 145 judges I will be picking by the end of a fairly short period of time because President Obama wasn't big on picking judges.
[22:10:01] I've been very proactive against Cuba. I don't like what's happening in Cuba. As you know, President Obama gave them a pass.
You know, when President Obama had an economy that was -- it was the worst comeback since the Great Depression. You've all heard that. I didn't do what Obama did, give them $1.8 billion in cash to get back four hostages.
And President Obama essentially said the same thing. He was ready to go to war. Would you have had -- President Obama thought you had to go to war. You know how close he was to pressing the trigger for war? Millions of people. We were a country going to war. I really believe that President Obama would admit that.
They're suffering greatly. They're having riots in every city. Far greater than they were during the green period with President Obama. Far greater. When President Obama stuck up for government, not the people, you probably would have had a much different Iran had he not done that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Same reaction as when I was watching. So, much fact checking to be done there. So you just go and look at the fact checks, especially on the hostages thing. Marcia, Marcia, Marcia. Come on, Jan. Obama, Obama, Obama. As always, he worked in the reference to the presidential election.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: You know, I got 52 percent with women. Everyone said this couldn't happen. Fifty two percent. Women are so angry, and I frankly think that -- I think they like what the Republicans are doing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So Donald Trump did not get 52 percent of the women's vote. He didn't. He got 41 percent. Interestingly, that 52 percent figure, though, that's just white women. He gets that wrong a lot, and you start to wonder why exactly. So remember yesterday when the United Nations laughed at the president of the United States? And we all saw it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Today I stand before the United Nations General Assembly to share the extraordinary progress we've made.
In less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country. America is -- so true. I didn't expect that reaction, but that's OK.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: This is what he said when he was asked about that today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I heard a little rustle. As I said, our country is now stronger than ever before. It's true. I mean, it is. And I heard a little rustle, and I said it's true. And I heard smiles. And I said, I didn't know they'd be -- they weren't laughing at me. They were laughing with me. We had fun. That was not laughing at me. They didn't laugh at me. People had a good time with me. We were doing it together. We had a good time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So they told the emperor that he had no clothes. The problem is the emperor didn't hear it. They might have laughed at this too.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Look, if we brought George Washington here and we said, we have George Washington, the Democrats would vote against him just so you understand. And he may have had a bad past. Who knows? You know. He may have had some, I think, accusations. Didn't he have a couple of things in his past?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: George Washington is like please leave me out of this. But one moment that really stood out for me is this. Donald Trump, who once spent $85,000 placing full-page ads in New York City newspapers calling for the death penalty for the Central Park Five black and Latino teenager who were accused and eventually exonerated of raping a white jogger in Central Park. Donald Trump now says this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: When you are guilty until proven innocent, it's just not supposed to be that way. Always I heard you're innocent until proven guilty. I've heard this for so long, and it's such a beautiful phrase. In this case, you're guilty until proven innocent. I think that is a very, very dangerous standard for our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: It seems like this president has a very different standard when it's his own Supreme Court nominee facing accusations. And in a matter of hours, we're going to hear from one of Brett Kavanaugh's accusers, and we will hear from Brett Kavanaugh himself as well.
And what happens after that could change the direction of his presidency.
[22:15:01] We certainly have a lot to talk about in the coming hours here on CNN. Michael D'Antonio, April Ryan, and Rick Wilson are here, and we'll get into all of it when we come right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: President Trump, I believe we just showed you, holding a freewheeling and contradictory news conference today, flat out saying that he believes the allegations against Brett Kavanaugh are false. All -- they're all false.
But then in the next breath, saying he's going to watch tomorrow's hearing, and that he can't tell if the accusers are liars until he hears them, seeming not to realize that only one of the three women who have come forward, Christine Blasey Ford -- she's the only one who will testify.
CNN Contributor, Michael D'Antonio is here. He is the author of "The Shadow President: The Truth About Mike Pence," CNN Political Analyst, April Ryan, White House correspondent for American Radio Urban Networks who is the author of "Under Fire: Reporting from the Front Lines of the trump White House," and Republican Strategist, Rick Wilson, the author of "Everything Trump Touches Dies."
We've got a lot of reading to do on this panel. Good evening, everyone. So, April, you heard -- you saw the press conference. You heard my take on it. So give me your take on what's happening tonight and the president's defense of Kavanaugh.
[22:19:57] APRIL RYAN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: You know, that really is the piece that stuck out to me. The fact that he basically doesn't believe the women or really Dr. Ford because of his past and the accusations against him.
And he said it today. He said it clearly, you know, and he detailed, you know, about the plane incident, about when he had the book, this number one book or what have you. And then he talked about the others.
This president is not governing with a sense of an open mind. He's already tried and convicted her, if you will. And he wants to watch, I guess, for the theatrics just to see what she says. But that was a big piece today for me to hear that, the president acknowledging his past is influencing his take on what's going to happen in the testimony tomorrow and the Senate vote on Kavanaugh. LEMON: Yes. Rick, I know you have a lot to say about his press
conference, but my question to you, and you can weigh in on that as well, is, is it politically sustainable for Republicans to hold a vote on this on Friday morning?
RICK WILSON, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Look, I think they're going to hold a vote on Friday morning. There's a lot of new accusations coming in over the transom of varying -- apparently of varying degrees of credibility. But I think that Mitch McConnell is determined not to lose this fight.
So he's going to push a vote forward, and I think that there is probably some fierce horse trading going on behind the scenes right now with some of the squishier senators, a number of which I'm hearing in the rumor mill that the number that are squishy is now up to six or seven, not just the two.
But I think that McConnell is going to press this forward. He looks at this as an existential challenge to his leadership, and you know, with the possibility of the House flipping and the possibility even of the Senate being in play, he needs to push the ball down the field in his calculus as far as he can, as quickly as he can.
And there's a lot of damn the consequences going on inside the GOP right now. You know, this whole crisis has strongly solidified the Democrats and strongly solidified the Republicans right now.
So we are -- we are at loggerheads, and I think what's going to happen here is that McConnell looks at this purely from an operational standpoint. He's going to drive it as fast and as far as he can. I think the biggest risk for Kavanaugh is the president pulls the plug on him if he doesn't perform well tomorrow.
LEMON: Yes. Well, that's what -- I want you to hold that thought, though, when you talked about the accusations that were coming over the transom, right. But what if he withdraws, Michael, right? Because he could -- you know this president. And he said, he, you know, he said I'd reserve the right to do that. Would he do it?
MICHAEL D'ANTONIO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I thought it was a very weak defense of Kavanaugh that the president presented today. He spent 90 percent of this press conference talking about himself.
Now, as he talked about himself, he was so incoherent and detached from reality that I think he needs a team of mental health professionals, not just a single one to help him get a grip because he lied so often. He misrepresented the facts, and he -- as you noted, he didn't seem to know that all three of the accusers were not testifying tomorrow. He was under the impression that they were.
So we've got a president who is not playing close attention. I'm not sure he's capable of paying close attention. And in Kavanaugh, I think we have a nominee who must feel betrayed tonight.
I imagine, you know, the president evoked his wife and children. I imagine them watching this and thinking, what have we gotten ourselves into? This was a man who was on the second highest court in the land, was esteemed no matter what he had done in his past because much of what he had done we'd never heard of. And now he's ruined, you know.
LEMON: Well, that's the thing when people say why didn't this come out a long time ago? He was not -- he didn't have this profile.
D'ANTONIO: No.
LEMON: This level of fame and maybe now infamy. But I've got to ask you. Speaking about that, so let's go back to -- let's go back to you, Rick, when you talked about the accusations or possible accusations because, again, this is just a possibility.
But don't you think, you know, Republicans in Washington are saying we have to do this because -- and I'm sure this is part of their calculation here because November before the midterms and the House could change and that would make a whole difference in who gets on the Supreme Court and who doesn't. But don't you think there's a concern about what could be uncovered if there is an investigation and that reporters--
(CROSSTALK)
WILSON: Absolutely.
LEMON: Phones are ringing. So, if senators' phones are ringing and they're getting accusations again from people who are anonymous, or what have you, people who won't be named, don't you think reporters and other folks are getting calls and they're concerned about that?
WILSON: Look, I think that so many people are coming out of the wood work now it's hard to keep track of where the ball is. You know, the press conference today really didn't help that very much because, you know, a lot of the -- a lot of the equation in the confirmations system here was going to be that Trump would stay quiet.
[22:25:01] McConnell and the Senate would handle the process. This sort of thing wasn't expected to come up because it didn't pop in the prior FBI investigations. And so nobody is in -- nobody is in comfortable terrain right now.
The Republicans are very nervous that, you know, if a smoking gun emerges after all -- let's just say just for the sake of argument, none of these things, you know, pan out in the hearing or in future, but something bites later.
This is a long-term political risk they're taking. But, you know, it's for a prize that Mitch McConnell puts above almost all else, which is a Supreme Court justice.
LEMON: April, listen, you're a woman. You work at the White House.
RYAN: Yes.
LEMON: You're an accomplished, accredited reporter. There was a moment with our Jim Acosta today where he said, can you -- Mr. President, will you call on female reporter after me?
I want to get your take on what you think about that after the break.
RYAN: Yes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: So we're back now with Michael, April, and Ryan -- April and Rick. So, April, so Jim Acosta was requesting that Trump allow a question from a female reporter.
[22:30:02] RYAN: Yes.
LEMON: Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: If you don't mind, after I'm finished, if Weijia (Ph) or Haley (Ph) or Vivian (Ph) or one of our female colleagues could go after me, that would be great.
Mr. President, just to follow up on these allegations against Brett Kavanaugh.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What does he mean by that? Explain. What does that mean?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it would be great if a female...
TRUMP: What does it mean? No, what does it mean?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it would be great if a female reporter would ask you a question about this issue. So if you don't mind...
TRUMP: I wouldn't mind that at all, no. I wouldn't mind it at all. It wouldn't make any difference to me. Go ahead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That was a little shady, Jim. But you know what? Sometimes you have to do that to bring the point home. And he did. I want to know what you thought of the interactions, because one reporter, female reporter, he said sit down. And I was like what? But go on, April.
RYAN: I think -- was it Hallie that he told to sit down? I heard that.
LEMON: Yeah. He said sit down.
RYAN: I don't know.
LEMON: I don't think it was Hallie.
RYAN: Yeah, yeah. And a couple of them were asking a lot of -- yeah. It was -- well, a couple of them were asking questions, a lot of questions. And they had the right to. Anytime you get a chance to have access to the President, that's a good thing. You want to hear what he thinks. But you have to remember. This is a male-dominated venue.
This is a male-dominated place. You know, this is a male-dominated moment in time. And to hear a woman ask a question that pertains to men and women, but women are the victims, because a lot of times women are left out of the conversation. And, you know, as men are dominating and making the decisions. So to have a female reporter ask was pretty poignant at that moment.
And to hear what the President had to say, and he was very clear in what he said. But it was -- it's poignant that women are allowed to ask the President about the accused and the accuser. So -- and I think back to a press conference that former President Barack Obama had. He had eight women. Just -- the press conference was nothing but women asking questions.
Women are a lot of times left out of the equation. And this mindset in Washington, we're seeing it play out. You let her testify but we're still going to try to push this through.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: So I think what you're saying is right, and especially the optics of tomorrow. And that's why Republicans have called somebody else, have called a woman in, right, to, you know, to be their quarterback tomorrow.
RYAN: Yeah.
LEMON: But I mean it was stark in that moment when he did that, well, the first couple of reporters he called on were men.
RYAN: Right, exactly.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: What's on everybody's mind is this whole allegation of abuse of women. And so he did bring attention to that. Go on.
RYAN: Exactly.
D'ANTONIO: He also talked about how he was a victim. This was an amazing element of this press conference was that the President was the victim over and over and over again. And he also bragged about himself. So he was either exceedingly accomplished, or he was downtrodden because so many people have been so mean to him.
LEMON: Can you guys go quickly? One, he was asked whether his daughters helped form his opinion or did they try to inform him about sexual abuse and allegations...
RYAN: He never responded.
LEMON: He never responded to that. And he never responded to the one -- I kept waiting. What kind of message, Rick? What kind of message does this send to boys, the kind of attitude and what you've said about potential victims, alleged victims?
WILSON: He was playing this whole I am the martyr here thing. And it wasn't for women. It's at least 19 women who have accused Donald Trump of either sexual harassment or aggressive sexual behavior toward them over the years. And he was acting as if that he was justified in the entire attitude he's taking in this overall situation by saying, well, I've been falsely accused.
You know, it's weird that he's always the martyr. He's always the one who is falsely accused. I mean look. The whole press conference, though, was so off the rails. It was like he had had a line of coke and a can of Fur Loco before he walked out there. He's sweating. He's rambling. But every time he got back on to himself, he shrank and got on to that whole poor pitiful me thing, about how horrible was he quote, unquote been falsely accused.
(CROSSTALK)
WILSON: There was a lot going on there today.
LEMON: You coined the phrase and you wrote about a book about everything Trump touches dies. Does that apply to Kavanaugh?
WILSON: We're going to see tomorrow, because I think Donald Trump sent out some strong signals today that he's going to bail on this guy. And it will all come down to this for Brett Kavanaugh. You better be great on TV tomorrow, because that's the only score-keeping mechanism Donald Trump uses.
LEMON: I got to go. But I want it hear from the woman real quickly, April, if you can for me. What are you going to be looking for tomorrow?
RYAN: Yes. I am going to look for truth. I am going to look for how she responds. I am going to look for what the President has to say. This is a major moment in history. And this could actually break open the MeToo movement for more women to come out and talk about things like this. But it's got to play out. And congressional leaders, senators, have got to listen. Open minds and not push this through.
[22:35:08] LEMON: I want to hear from the women reporters tomorrow after that. Thank you so much, everyone. I appreciate your time. When we come back, I am going to speak to two people who know better than most what's going on, on Capitol Hill. Former Senator Barbara Boxer and former Congressman Charlie Dent both join me, and that's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: You know what's interesting is that tomorrow could be the moment that sets the course for the rest of the Trump presidency, because Christine Blasey Ford is going to testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee about what she says Kavanaugh did to her when they were both teenagers. But they won't be face to face. After she has her say, she'll leave the room, and then 5 to 10 minutes
later, the nominee himself will testify. And the committee is scheduled to vote just one day later, one day after that on Friday. Joining me now to discuss is CNN Political Commentator, Charlie Dent, a former U.S. Representative, and former Senator Barbara Boxer. Good evening.
[22:40:10] I have been looking forward to this conversation all day because you guys know what's going on in Washington. You've been there, and you know, so good evening again. And Congressman Dent, I am going to start with you. There are now five accusers, three named, two anonymous. How can the President possibly say that this is a Democratic con job?
Are you comfortable with the way that your former Republican colleagues in Washington are handling this right now?
CHARLIE DENT, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, in terms of what the President said, look, he should just say a lot less. I mean he is obviously not helping the situation at all. So in his case, less is more. In terms of the process -- look, I think this whole thing has just become an ugly spectacle regardless of how you feel about Kavanaugh or any of the people accusing him.
So I think that's where it is. I think the institutions are taking a beating, the Senate, the Judiciary, the Supreme Court. So I am not pleased where this is. And you know the only thing that's going to matter is really tomorrow. And, you know, I think Judge Kavanaugh, you know, during the first hearing established that, oh, yes, he is competent.
He has the experience, the temperament, the knowledge to serve on the Supreme Court. Tomorrow is all about his credibility. And these senators are going to have to make a very hard decision. This is going to end one of three ways. He's either going to be confirmed. He's going to be rejected or he's going to be withdrawn. And we don't know the answer to any of those questions until we hear from both of them tomorrow.
LEMON: So Senator Boxer, I want to ask you about this because you served with both GOP Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski. You know they're both very important (Inaudible) determining factor here. They are clearly uncomfortable with what's happening, and there's lots of reporting about that. Look at -- I don't know if you can see these pictures, but its pictures of them in powwows with their colleagues today. What will they do, do you think?
BARBARA BOXER (D) FORMER UNITED STATES SENATOR: You know what? I am not going to speculate and put the pressure on them because every single senator has to do the right thing. And I served 10 years in the house, 24 years in the United States Senate. And I can tell you that this process that is being cobbled together by Mitch McConnell, who is the orchestra leader and Chuck Grassley, is unbelievable and unprecedented.
It is a committee cover-up. I can tell you in the Senate, you don't get five-minute rounds. You get at least eight-minute rounds and as many rounds as you want. They're going to try to shut down the Democratic senators. The Republican senators are so embarrassed because there's not 1 woman, 27 years after Anita Hill, on that committee. And they know how bad it will look.
And they know in their heart how hostile they are to women, that they have hired a female prosecutor to question Dr. Ford. I would just ask rhetorically, why do you need a prosecutor to question a victim? The whole thing is horrible.
LEMON: Yeah.
BOXER: And it isn't going to be over tomorrow. This has given us a huge issue going into the election. It's -- it smells really bad.
LEMON: OK. So I want to play -- and I am glad you said that, and I appreciate your honesty. And I just -- I want to play more of the President now. I want to give more of your honest takes on it.
BOXER: Sure.
LEMON: So here's the President.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Now, we will get votes from the Democrats if we win. You'll have three, four, or five Democrats giving us votes, because they're in states that I won by 30 and 40 points. And they're going to give us votes. But other than that, you probably won't get any.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So, Congressman Dent, do you think some Democratic senators will vote in favor of Kavanaugh at this point?
DENT: Well, prior to all these allegations, I think it would have been likely that you would have seen maybe three to five Democratic senators vote for Kavanaugh.
LEMON: My key thing was at this point. I think that's where you're going.
DENT: At this point, I suspect that there will be fewer. Maybe you will get -- maybe you will get Manchin and Donnelly. But I think it would be harder for maybe some of the others to vote for him. And even Manchin and Donnelly, I think, you know, could also vote against this based on the accusation. So I think it's harder to get Democratic votes at this point.
LEMON: I know that you -- Congresswoman, that you said you did not want to -- Senator, excuse me, Senator Boxer. I know that you said that you did not want to put the pressure on Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski. But I mean don't you think they're thinking about history and their legacy and if they want to be the women who did -- you know in the room where it happened, did have a seat at the table to be the person that put this guy on the court? Just -- again, until innocent proven guilty, but...
[22:45:06] BOXER: I think they're struggling mightily. I -- they're good people. They're struggling with this. On the same token, so is Senator Flake. So are others. I think it is wrong to focus on two senators, and also these Democratic senators. I could tell you this. This process is enough reason to say no. In Anita Hill, there were more than 20 witnesses, but there were 3 witnesses who were waiting literally outside the room to corroborate her testimony.
They were never called. There are all these witnesses coming forward now. There's plenty of time. It took them 14 months to fill the vacancy.
LEMON: Yeah.
BOXER: After the loss of Justice Scalia. And now they're rushing Anthony Kennedy, the swing vote on the court. And he quit -- I think it was June. This is an outrage. So that's the only reason I say I don't want to put pressure on just a few of these people. By the way, Brett Kavanaugh is not popular in the country. He is probably the least popular nominee maybe in modern history.
LEMON: Yeah. This is about saving face.
BOXER: So where is the pressure coming from?
LEMON: Yeah.
BOXER: Trump isn't popular. So I think the table is set for people to say, you know what? This is a rush to judgment.
LEMON: Yeah.
BOXER: This is not justice. It's a cover-up. Let's take a timeout, get an FBI investigation. Call all the witnesses and do the right thing for the people.
LEMON: I am up against the clock here, Senator. But I do have to say that you mentioned Anita Hill, and those hearings led to a record breaking number of women being elected and you were one of them. So you know a little bit about this. Do you agree with what she said just now, Congressman?
DENT: On which point, Don? I am sorry.
LEMON: Where she talked about the process. She talked about why, you know -- why rush this.
DENT: Well, I agree that they're moving too quickly. I do think that they should reopen the background investigation, the FBI background investigation. I think that can be done quickly. But they do need to bring this to a conclusion. There should not be a vote on Friday. They have time. I think they can certainly take this a few more weeks.
LEMON: Thank you both. I appreciate it. We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[22:50:00] LEMON: As part of his defense against sexual assault allegations, you know, Brett Kavanaugh has given Senate investigators pages from his 1982 summer calendar trying to show where he was and what he did when he was 17. Are these details helping him? Let's talk about this now, Phillip Bump, a National Correspondent for the Washington Post.
So you guys annotated the -- good evening by the way, and found some interesting stuff. OK, so let's look at some of the entries on the calendar.
PHILIP BUMP, NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Sure.
LEMON: You say the most interesting one to you was July 1st where he writes Tobin's house, work out. Go to Timmy's for Skis with Judge. Tom, PJ, Bernie, (Inaudible), so a few interesting things about that, tell me.
BUMP: OK. So first of all, he's going to Timmy's house. We know that Timmy is another kid (Inaudible) calendar. He says he's going to his party. Skis is an interesting term. And someone pointed out to me that this is likely an early 80s brewskis. They're going out and having beers together. Certainly, there's a lot of evidence to suggest that they did a decent amount of drinking.
It's fair I think to assume that's what they're doing. It's May. It obviously not going snow skiing. They're going to the beach next day, but that's on the ocean, probably not going water skiing either. But what's really interesting about this is, is if you look at who else is at that party, Judge, which is Mark Judge, which is his friend, who is the one who is alleged to have been there for this attempted assault.
But also PJ, who is Patrick Smythe who was also was supposed to have been there for that event. So if nothing else, this shows that there were parties where these people were together at a party.
LEMON: And they are two of the people who have been identified as allegedly being at the party where the assault is said to have occurred.
BUMP: That's exactly right. So it's odd to offer this up as something.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: OK. So I am looking at the calendar, because again, June 6th through 11th. This is written in big letters.
BUMP: Right.
LEMON: And that's beach week, right. It's in D.C. It's a high school tradition known for drunken debauchery. In Kavanaugh's yearbook entry, it identifies him as beach week Ralph club. What do you know about that? BUMP: So there are a lot of sort of semi-cryptic entries in this
yearbook. Beach week Ralph club is one of them. It suggests that he spent a lot of time at beach week getting drunk and vomiting, right? I mean it doesn't take -- you don't have to work for the NSA to figure out what he's saying there. But this reinforces -- this calendar is presenting a picture of Kavanaugh which is precisely the picture that he tried to step away from during his interview with Fox News.
He tried to present himself as, you know, I spent all of my time working. You know I would go to church and have service projects. There's not a single mention of church on this calendar. There's not a single mention of a service project. There are lots of mentions of incidents in which it seems like he did a decent amount of drinking.
LEMON: OK. So on August -- do you ever see SNL the guy that owns a boat? That's what I thought of. We're going to drink some skis at my bro ski's house. OK, so listen. On August 3rd, Kavanaugh wrote come home from beach with Bernie. Go to O's doubleheader with Squeeze, Matt, Mark, Donny, Tim. And his yearbook actually mentions the same thing.
BUMP: That's exactly right. So this is another example of -- he goes to this double header to the Orioles against the Red Sox. You can look it up. In his yearbook, it says Orioles against Red Sox. Who even won that? It suggests again, his friends going out, getting drunk to the point of not even remembering who won these baseball games.
And it's -- I have to put a fine point on it. These are supposed to be documents which show that he was not doing the things he's alleged to have done when in fact, they really reinforce that the picture we were given seems to be fairly accurate.
[22:54:55] LEMON: So OK. Today, as you saw the President talking about, you know, his press conference, he joked that the founding father, George Washington had some things in his past. And in response, this is Comedy Central, they tweeted this out. They said in response to President Trump's allegations, George Washington has released his calendar from the summer of 1749, chopping trees, launder pantaloons, beach week, lunch with Benny.
Buy wig powdering, chopping trees, I mean, you know, kind of a commentary on how strange a piece of evidence that this calendar is, and how busy this guy was. He had a good life.
BUMP: Yeah. I mean I was -- you know, when I was a junior in high school, my summers were not spent with literally something on the calendar everyday. He played various sports teams. He went to various sports camps. His sports teams were spectacularly unsuccessful. He marked the results of every game. Every single game was a loss that he mentioned in there, which I think is sort of amusing.
You know just sort of Peppered in there are things like interview with Yale, interview with Columbia. So he's certainly was -- at the same time that he was doing all this sort of (Inaudible) activities. LEMON: Interview with Yale, interview with Columbia. And I'm being
honest here. If you really want to get an idea of -- and if you don't know what privilege is, take a look at this calendar. Yeah, there's the evidence. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. When we come back, Judge Kavanaugh now facing five allegations of sexual misconduct, three accusers have come forward.
Two are anonymous. And one woman's allegations are even more shocking. Her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, will be here with me next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
