Spotlight remains on Collins amid new twists in Kavanaugh confirmation saga

6 years ago

Good morning from Augusta. President Donald Trump’s nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court is in flux on Wednesday morning as Republicans look poised to move forward with the nomination if the woman who says he sexually assaulted her doesn’t testify.

Perhaps the most pivotal figure on the nomination is the undecided U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican who sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday saying that lawyers for Kavanaugh and his alleged victim, Christine Blasey Ford, should be able to cross-examine Kavanaugh and Ford.

However, it’s unclear if her recommendation will be able to gain traction amid Ford’s call on Tuesday for an FBI investigation that Republican leaders look to be rebuffing.

Collins took some heat for her suggestion, but it may be moot. Ford alleges that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a party when both of them were high school students in Maryland. He has denied the allegation in full, but both agreed to testify before the Senate panel handling the nomination earlier this week.

To read the rest of “Spotlight remains on Collins amid new twists in Kavanaugh confirmation saga,” an article by contributing Bangor Daily News staff writer Michael Shepherd, please follow this link to the BDN online.