The drama behind Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation just took an insane twist.
On Friday, Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, Republican, demanded that President Donald Trump open a 7th FBI investigation into Kavanaugh’s background in exchange for Flake’s vote.
Trump ordered the investigation at the lawmakers request, which is expected to conclude this week.
But it seems Flake’s mind may already be made up.
At an appearance at the Constitution Center on Tuesday morning with Sen. Chris Coons, Democrat, Flake dropped a bombshell.
He told host Jeffery Rosen that Kavanaugh was angry and “partisan” in his interactions with the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
“We can’t have that on the [Supreme] Court,” said Flake, who declined to elaborate on specifics.
When confronted by a reporter from The Atlantic regarding the statement, Flake was reportedly non-committal. “I didn’t say that …” he reportedly stammered. “I wasn’t referring to him.”
Regardless, the statement quickly led to a flurry of speculation that Flake is going to side with Democrat lawmakers and claim Kavanaugh doesn’t have the right temperament for the High Court.
Flake struck a last-minute deal with Democrats behind-the-scenes last Friday, and demanded another FBI investigation into Kavanaugh’s past.
“I think we can have a short pause so the FBI can investigate,” Flake said about the final confirmation vote on Friday. “I encourage the Democrats to endorse that thing so we can move on.”
Now, it seems, Flake is once again backing down — and it could cost Kavanaugh everything.