This video of a sexual assault survivor confronting Senator Jeff Flake will break your heart
It’s been less than 24 hours since the September 27th hearing in which Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh testified about the Supreme Court nominee’s alleged sexual assault. But already, the Senate Judiciary Committee is preparing to vote on whether or not to proceed with Kavanaugh’s appointment. Some, like Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, have already announced their intentions to vote for Kavanaugh despite the sexual assault allegations against him.
According to CNN, the Judiciary Committee will vote this afternoon, September 28th, on whether or not to recommend Kavanaugh’s nomination to the full Senate floor for consideration. And Flake, who CNN notes was once considered a Republican swing vote, announced this morning that he will vote “yes” on the embattled nominee. He plans to retire from the Senate in January 2019.
After Flake made his decision known, CNN captured a video of one woman, who said she was a sexual assault survivor, confronting the senator in tears.
"I was sexually assaulted, and nobody believed me," she told Flake. "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."
Flake looked uncomfortable and tried to look away, but she called him out.
"Don't look away from me," she said through tears. "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 and tell everyone what they can do to their bodies."
No WORDS!pic.twitter.com/Ryi8yUOaPy
— Ryan Hill (@RyanHillMI) September 28, 2018
According to The New York Times, Flake’s decision means that Kavanaugh’s nomination will have enough votes in the Senate Judiciary Committee to move on to the full Senate. If a majority of senators (51) vote for Kavanaugh in the full Senate, he will be confirmed. ABC News reports that Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat, and Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, Republicans, are still undecided about whether they will vote to confirm Kavanaugh.
As the Judiciary Committee’s vote approaches, we’ll be watching for updates in the Kavanaugh case. During this difficult time, we stand with all survivors of sexual assault and abuse.