Protester: “Don’t look away from me — look at me and tell me that it doesn’t matter what happened to me. That you will let people like that go into the highest court of the land and tell everyone what they can do to their bodies.” Reporter: “Do you have an answer, Senator?” Reporter: “Do you want to respond, Senator?” Protester: “Senator Flake, do you think that Brett Kavanaugh is telling the truth?” Aide: “Thank you.” Protester: “Do you think that he’s able to hold the pain of this country and repair it? That is the work of justice. The way that justice works is you recognize hurt, you take responsibility for it and then you begin to repair it. You’re allowing someone who is unwilling to take responsibility for his own actions, unwilling to hold the harm that he has done to one woman, actually three women, and repair it. You are allowing someone who is unwilling to take responsibility for his own actions to sit in the highest court of the country and to have the role of repairing the harm that has been done in this country to many people.” Senator Flake: “Thank you.” Protester: “No, no thank you. What do you think? Protester: “You have power!” Reporter: “Senator, do you care to respond?” Aide: “Ma’am, do you want to talk to this staffer out here?” Protester: “No. I want to talk to him. Don’t talk to me. What do you think?” Senator Flake: “I need to go to the hearing.” Protester: “I understand, but tell me. I’m standing right here in front of you. What do you have — do you think that he’s telling the truth?” Senator Flake: “Thank you. I’m going to go to —” Protester: No. Do you think that he’s telling the truth to the country?” Protester: “You have power, when so many women are powerless.” Reporter: “You just released a press statement — you don’t have the courage to give them an answer?” Aide: “O.K. Thank you. Thank you.” Reporter: “Thank you is not an answer, Senator.” Protester: “Saying thank you is not an answer. This is about the future of our country, sir.”<doc-sep>“I wish that I could express the confidence that some of my colleagues have conveyed about what either did or did not happen in the early 1980s, but I left the hearing yesterday with as much doubt as certainty,” he said in the statement. “What I do know is that our system of justice affords a presumption of innocence to the accused, absent corroborating evidence. That is what binds us to the rule of law. While some may argue that a different standard should apply regarding the Senate’s advice and consent responsibilities, I believe that the constitution’s previsions of fairness and due process apply here as well.”<doc-sep>In a remarkable moment that played out live on cable television Friday, Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., was confronted on his way to a Senate Judiciary Committee vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh by two women who said they are survivors of sexual assault. Flake, who, just moments before, had issued a statement saying he would vote to confirm Kavanaugh, stood mostly silent for more than five minutes inside an open elevator in the Russell Senate Office Building, as the women tried to convince him to keep Kavanaugh off the court. “On Monday, I stood in front of your office,” said one woman who was later identified as Ana Maria Archila, a Democratic activist. “I told the story of my sexual assault. I told it because I recognized in Dr. Ford’s story that she’s telling the truth. What you are doing is allowing someone who actually violated a woman to sit in the Supreme Court! This is not tolerable! You have children in your family! Think about them! “I have two children,” she continued. “I cannot imagine that for the next 50 years they will have to someone in the Supreme Court who has been accused of violating a young girl. What are you doing, sir?” Flake did not answer. A woman who said she is a survivor of a sexual assault confronts Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., in an elevator in the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C,, on Friday. (Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock) Flake and two female aides with him tried to close the elevator door as a second woman, Maria Gallagher, who also said she was a survivor of sexual assault began to berate him. “Nobody believes me!” Gallagher yelled. “I didn’t tell anyone, and you’re telling all women that they don’t matter! That they should just stay quiet because if they tell you what happened to them, you’re going to ignore them. That’s what happened to me, and that’s what you’re telling all women in America, that they don’t matter, and they should just keep it to themselves, because if they told the truth, you’re just going to help that man to power anyway!” She began to break down in tears. “That’s what you’re telling all these women!” Gallagher screamed. “Look at me when I’m talking to you! You’re telling me that my assault doesn’t matter!” Story continues “Don’t look away from me!” she added. “Look at me and tell me it doesn’t matter what happened to me! The senator, visibly shaken, said he had to go to the committee’s vote, as one of his aides attempted to flag security. Flake eventually left the elevator, presumably to take the stairs to the hearing room. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., arrives for a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Friday. (Photo: Brendan Smialowski/ AFP/Getty Images) Flake’s dramatic day, though, wasn’t done. Before voting to move Kavanaugh out of committee, Flake proposed that the FBI reopen its background investigation into sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh before the full Senate votes on his confirmation. Flake’s call to delay the vote was welcomed by the two women who confronted him in the elevator. I feel relieved that @JeffFlake seems to have heard my and @AnaMariaArchil2’s voices in the Senate elevator today. We absolutely need an FBI investigation and for him and all Senators to vote NO. #StopKavanaugh pic.twitter.com/VnsfTIRGXJ — Maria Gallagher (@mgallagher822) September 28, 2018 During Thursday’s explosive hearing, Flake said that Christine Blasey Ford — who told the committee she was “100 percent” certain she had been sexually assaulted by Kavanaugh when they were teenagers — “offered compelling testimony.” But Flake found Kavanaugh — who said he was “100 percent” sure he didn’t assault Ford — equally compelling. “You have come and done the same,” he told the nominee. “I am sorry for what’s happened to you and your family, as I’m sorry for what has happened to hers. This is not a good process, but it’s all we’ve got.” Flake added: “We are 21 very imperfect senators trying to do our best to provide advice and consent. And in the end, there is likely to be as much doubt as certainty going out of this room today.” ___ Read more from Yahoo News:<doc-sep>Women confront Sen. Jeff Flake after he says he'll vote yes to Kavanuagh: “That’s what you’re telling all women in America, that they don’t matter. They should just keep it to themselves because if they have told the truth you’re just going to help that man to power anyway.” pic.twitter.com/T7fSpyT69E Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) on Friday announced that he will vote to confirm Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, a day after hearings over Christine Blasey Ford’s sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh, which Kavanaugh denies. Shortly after Flake’s statement, a group of sexual assault survivors confronted Kavanaugh, holding up an elevator to call him out for his decision. “What you are doing is allowing someone who actually violated a woman to sit in the Supreme Court,” one woman said. “This is not tolerable.” “You’re telling all women that they don’t matter, that they should just stay quiet because if they tell you what happened to them, you’re going to ignore them. That’s what happened to me, and that’s what you’re telling all women in America — that they don’t matter,” another woman said, her voice shaking. “They should just keep it to themselves because if they have told the truth, you’re just going to help that man to power anyway. That’s what you’re telling all of these women.” The other woman later added, “You’re allowing someone who is unwilling to take responsibility for his own actions, unwilling to hold the harm that he has done to one woman — actually, three women — and repair it.” Flake was one of three Republican toss-up votes, along with Sens. Lisa Murkowski (AK) and Susan Collins (ME). With his decision, Kavanaugh’s nomination will now likely depend on Murkowski and Collins when it reaches a full vote. The survivors demanded an explanation from Flake, asking him, in particular, if he believed Kavanaugh hadn’t sexually assaulted Ford. Flake did not directly address the women’s concerns or questions. He repeatedly said, “Thank you,” referred to his official statement, and told the crowd that he needed to get to the hearing. Eventually, Flake got the women to step aside, and the elevator doors closed.<doc-sep>
Two women who say they have experienced sexual assault confronted Sen. Jeff Flake in an elevator at the U.S. Capitol minutes after he announced that he will vote to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Flake (R-Ariz.), considered a key swing vote, was stopped, during a CNN live shot, en route to the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. One of the women, who used her foot to prevent the elevator door from closing in the Russell Senate Office Building, told Flake on Friday, “Look at me when I’m talking to you. You’re telling me that my assault doesn’t matter. That what happened to me doesn’t matter. That you’re going to let people who do those things into power.” “Don’t look away from me. Look at me and tell me that it doesn’t matter what happened to me. That you will let people like that go into the highest court of the land and tell everyone what they can do to their bodies,” she continued when Flake avoided eye contact. According to USA Today, the woman is Center for Popular Democracy co-executive director Ana Maria Archila. Flake listened quietly, but didn’t address the women’s questions. “I need to go to the hearing,” he then told reporters. “I just issued a statement. I’ll be saying more as well.” Kavanaugh has been accused by Christine Blasey Ford of sexually assaulting her in high school in the early 1980s. “When Dr. Ford’s allegations against Judge Kavanaugh surfaced two weeks ago, I insisted that she be allowed to testify before the committee moved to a vote,” Flake said in a statement earlier in the day. “Yesterday, we heard compelling testimony from Dr. Ford, as well as a persuasive response from Judge Kavanaugh. I wish that I could express the confidence that some of my colleagues have conveyed about what either did or did not happen in the early 1980s, but I left the hearing yesterday with as much doubt as certainty.”