Jeff Flake: ‘We Can’t Have That on the Court’

As the Senate awaits the results of the FBI investigation into the Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, Jeff Flake, one of the lawmakers who spurred the inquiry, criticized the judge Tuesday for his recent appearance in the upper chamber.

Speaking with Jeffrey Rosen, the president of the Constitution Center, and Democratic Senator Chris Coons at The Atlantic Festival on Tuesday morning, Flake called the judge’s interactions with senators “sharp and partisan.”

“We can’t have that on the Court,” Flake said.

Flake’s “gentleman’s agreement” with Coons led to the FBI reopening its investigation into Kavanaugh.

I caught up with Flake briefly as he left the event, and asked if this meant he would not vote to confirm Kavanaugh, even if the FBI cleared him by week’s end. He appeared rattled, and his handlers rushed him into the stairwell. “I didn’t say that …” he stammered. “I wasn’t referring to him.”

This story will be updated.