Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty ImagesDemonstrators protesting Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court rally outside the high court in Washington on Sept. 28, 2018.
Win McNamee/Getty ImagesRepublican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee surround Sen. Jeff Flake after he announced he was in favor of a delay in the Kavanaugh nomination process, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 28, 2018.
Carolyn Kaster / APBrett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, arrives for a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 27, 2018.
Jose Luis Magana / AFP/Getty ImagesDemonstrators protest against the appointment of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on the streets outside on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., on Sept. 27, 2018.
Win McNamee / AFP/Getty ImagesSenate Judiciary Committee member Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., questions Judge Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 27, 2018.
Chip Somodevilla / Getty ImagesSen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., listens to Democratic senators speak during a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on Sept. 28, 2018, in Washington. The committee met to discuss and later vote on recommending the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court ahead of a vote in the full Senate.
Carolyn Kaster / APSenate Judiciary Committee member Kamala Harris, D-Calif., joined by Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, left, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., second from right, and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., speaks to media about the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, at the Capitol on Sept. 28, 2018.
Andrew Harnik / APSupreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 27, 2018. Seated in the background at right is White House Counsel Don McGahn.
Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty ImagesSen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Sen. Cory Booker, (D-NJ) (L) look on during a markup hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Sept. 28, 2018, on the nomination of Brett M. Kavanaugh to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty ImagesDemonstrators against US Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh protests at the Hart US Senate office building in Washington, DC, on September 27, 2018.
Chet Strange / AFP/Getty ImagesPro-Kavanaugh supporters gather in the Hart Senate Office Building on Sept. 27, 2018 in Washington, DC.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais / APSen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., left, and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., center, sit as Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., right, walks out of a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting, Sept. 28, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty ImagesSenate Judiciary Committee Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) (C) arrives for a markup hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Sept. 28, 2018, for the nomination of Brett M. Kavanaugh to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty ImagesSenate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, speaks with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., during a hearing on Capitol Hill on Sept. 28, 2018, on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
Win McNamee / Getty ImagesPlace holder card for Christine Blasey Ford who will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill, Sept. 27, 2018 in Washington, D.C.
Tom Williams-Pool/Getty ImagesAshley Estes Kavanaugh listens to her husband, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing focusing on allegations of sexual assault by Kavanaugh against Christine Blasey Ford in the early 1980s. Laura Cox Kaplan appears at left.
Matt McClain / The Washington PostChristine Blasey Ford said her attackers' "uproarious laughter" is a vivid memory. Brett Kavanaugh denied the accusations against him and told Democrats that they would "never get me to quit."
Andrew Harnik / APSupreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 27, 2018.
Win McNamee / Getty ImagesSenate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) (C) and committee members Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) (L) and Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) prepare for the arrival of Christine Blasey Ford in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill Sept. 27, 2018 in Washington, DC.
Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty ImagesSenate Judiciary Committee members Ted Cruz, R-Texas, left, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., confer after a hearing on Capitol Hill on Sept. 28, 2018, on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
Andrew Harnik / AFP/Getty ImagesSupreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 27, 2018.
Andrew Harnik / APFemale members of Congress stand in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing room as committee members vote on Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Sept. 28, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Win McNamee / Getty ImagesSenate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) arrives in the hearing room where Christine Blasey Ford will testify in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill September 27, 2018 in Washington, DC.
MELINA MARA / AFP/Getty ImagesSupreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 27, 2018.
Drew Angerer / Getty ImagesProtestors rally against Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh outside the Supreme Court, Sept. 27, 2018 in Washington, D.C.
Melina Mara / The Washington PostChristine Blasey Ford (L) speaks with her lawyer Michael Bromwich, during her testimony at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on September 27, 2018, in Washington, DC.
SAUL LOEB / AFP/Getty ImagesUS Capitol Police arrest demonstrators for protesting against Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court as the US Senate Judiciary Committee considers his nomination, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, Sept. 28, 2018.
Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty ImagesSenate Judiciary Committee member Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., points out names on the high school calender of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh during a hearing on Sept. 28, 2018.
Andrew Harnik - Pool/Getty ImagesSen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., questions Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as he testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill on Sept. 27, 2018 in Washington, D.C.
Olivier Douliery / Abaca PressDemonstrators supporting the Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh hold signs on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Sept. 27, 2018.
Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty ImagesSenate Judiciary Committee ranking member Senator Dianne Feinstein (L)(D-CA), speaks with Patrick Leahy (D-VT) (C) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) during a markup hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Sept. 28, 2018, for the nomination of Brett M. Kavanaugh to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Tom Williams / Getty ImagesSens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Kamala Harris, D-Calif., are seen during testimony by Judge Brett Kavanaugh during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his nomination to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, focusing on allegations of sexual assault by Kavanaugh against Christine Blasey Ford in the early 1980s.
Andrew Harnik / APChristine Blasey Ford becomes emotional as she listens to Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., as she testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 27, 2018.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais / APSen. Cory Booker, D-N.J. looks past empty seats after Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee walked out of the meeting, Sept. 28, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty ImagesSupreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 27, 2018.
Win McNamee / Getty ImagesChristine Blasey Ford is sworn in before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sept. 27, 2018 in Washington. Her attorney's Debra Katz and Michael Bromwich watch.
Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty ImagesSenate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, center, speaks with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., right, as Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, walks past during a hearing on Sept. 28, 2018, on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
Drew Angerer / Getty ImagesProtestors rally against Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh outside the Supreme Court, Sept. 27, 2018 in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik / APChristine Blasey Ford testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 27, 2018.
Tom Williams / Getty ImagesSen. John Kennedy, R-La., listens to Judge Brett Kavanaugh during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his nomination to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, focusing on allegations of sexual assault by Kavanaugh against Christine Blasey Ford in the early 1980s.
JIM BOURG / AFP/Getty ImagesSen. Ben Sasse, R-NE, questions U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as he testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 27, 2018.
Andrew Harnik / APEdward Kavanaugh and his wife Martha, parents of Supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, listen as he testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 27, 2018.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais / APSen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., center, confers with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif, left, and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., during a delay in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Sept. 28, 2018, at the Capitol in Washington.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesSen. Jeff Flake listens to fellow Senate Judiciary Committee members debate the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh during on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 28, 2018.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais / APSen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., right, steps out to speak to a group of Democratic members of the committee that walked out of a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting, Sept. 28, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington.
SAUL LOEB / AFP/Getty ImagesUS Senator Kamala Harris, a Democrat from California and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, pauses while speaking with survivors of sexual assault and supporters as they protest against Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court as the US Senate Judiciary Committee considers his nomination, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, Sept. 28, 2018.
Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty ImagesPeople line up outside the Dirksen Senate Office building before the US Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with Judge Brett Kavanaugh and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford on Capitol Hill, Sept. 27, 2018 in Washington, D.C.
Michael Reynolds / APChristine Blasey Ford arrives to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 27, 2018.
Andrew Harnik / APSen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., speaks during the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on Sept. 28, 2018, in Washington. Flake said it would be "proper" to delay a Senate floor vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh for a week.
Drew Angerer / Getty ImagesA protestor demonstrates against Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh inside the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill, Sept. 27, 2018 in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik / APBrett Kavanuagh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 27, 2018.
Patrick Semansky / APThe U.S. Capitol is seen at dawn in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018. The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hear Thursday from Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who says he sexually assaulted her.
Win McNamee / Getty ImagesChristine Blasey Ford, the woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her at a party 36 years ago, chats with her attorneys as she testifies before the US Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, Sept. 27, 2018.
Win McNamee / AFP/Getty ImagesSenate Judiciary Committee member Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, questions Judge Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing as he testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 27, 2018.
Win McNamee / Getty ImagesChristine Blasey Ford (L) talks with her attorney Michael Bromwich as she prepares to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill Sept. 27, 2018 in Washington, DC.
Melina Mara / The Washington PostChristine Blasey Ford takes a breath at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill Sept. 27, 2018 in Washington, DC.
Win McNamee/ AFP/Getty ImagesSenate Judiciary Committee member Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., shouts in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill Sept. 27, 2018 in Washington, D.C.
Antonio Perez/baiduhaiProtesters gather at Chicago's Federal Plaza on Sept. 28, 2018, to urge a rejection of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty ImagesSenate Judiciary Committee ranking member Senator Dianne Feinstein (R)(D-CA), Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) (C) and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) prepare for a markup hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Sept. 28, 2018, for the nomination of Brett M. Kavanaugh to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais / APSen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., left alongside Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., holds up a poster depicting Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's high school calendar as he speaks at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Sept. 28, 2018.
Andrew Harnik / APGuests wait to enter the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 28, 2018.
Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty ImagesSenate Judiciary Committee member Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) speaks during a markup hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Sept. 28, 2018, on the nomination of Brett M. Kavanaugh to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Andrew Harnik / APU.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (R-CA), ranking member on the Judiciary Committee, gives an opening statement as committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) looks on before testimony from Christine Blasey Ford and Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill, Sept. 27, 2018, in Washington, DC.
Olivier Douliery / TNSDemonstrators opposed to the Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh protest inside the Hart building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Sept. 27, 2018.
Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty ImagesSenate Judiciary Committee members Patrick Leahy (D-VT) (L) speaks with Dick Durbin (D-IL) during a markup hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Sept. 28, 2018, for the nomination of Brett M. Kavanaugh to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images
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Demonstrators protesting Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court rally outside the high court in Washington on Sept. 28, 2018.
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player ready...The Chicago-based American Bar Association, the largest national organization of lawyers and among the most influential, asked the Senate to put the brakes on confirming controversial Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh so the FBI can investigate sexual assault allegations.
After the ABA and others called for a pause in the process, Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., one of 11 GOP senators on the Judiciary Committee, voted with his colleagues to move Kavanaugh’s nomination to the full Senate — but asked for an FBI investigation and a week’s delay to the full Senate considering the nomination. Republican leaders and President Donald Trump acquiesced, postponing any vote, and Trump ordered a new investigation.
The bar association had previously called Kavanaugh “well qualified” for the Supreme Court after conducting an evaluation that lasted weeks. But allegations of sexual assault — including riveting testimony by Christine Blasey Ford, whose statements alleging an attack at the hands of the jurist while they were in high school were beamed around the world Thursday — made some of Kavanaugh’s ardent supporters step back. Kavanaugh, tapped by Trump for the open spot on the nation’s highest court, also testified, adamantly denying the charges.
In a letter dated Thursday and addressed to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, and ranking committee member Democrat Dianne Feinstein of California, the bar association urged the Senate to delay a confirmation until “after an appropriate background check into the allegations made by Professor Ford and others is completed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
In the note to the Judiciary Committee, bar association President Robert Carlson wrote: “Deciding to proceed without conducting additional investigation would not only have a lasting impact on the Senate’s reputation, but it will also negatively affect the great trust necessary for the American people to have in the Supreme Court. It must remain an institution that will reliably follow the law and not politics.”
Earlier this month, the bar association’s Paul Moxley testified before the Judiciary Committee — responsible for vetting Supreme Court nominees — that Kavanaugh met “the highest standards of integrity, professional competence and judicial temperament.”
Reached Friday, bar association representatives declined to elaborate.
“The letter speaks for itself,” spokesman Marc Davis said.
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