Kavanaugh Accuser Agrees To Testify; GOP Communications Adviser Quits Because Of Sexual Harassment Allegation
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY WEEKEND with Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul.</s>VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Thursday, 10:00 a.m., we now know the time and date that when Brett Kavanaugh's accuser will speak to the Senate Judiciary Committee.</s>CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: We still don't know whether the hearing will be public or private. We don't know who's going to speak first. But those details are going to be discussed in a conference call set for later today. Here is CNN Supreme Court reporter Ariane de Vogue.</s>ARIANE DE VOGUE, CNN SUPREME COURT REPORTER: Its looks like Brett Kavanaugh and his accuser Christine Blasey Ford will be facing senators at a historic hearing on Thursday that could very well determine the fate of Kavanaugh's nomination. While Ford alleges that Kavanaugh assaulted her at a party some 30 years ago he categorically denies the allegations but there are still more details to be worked out between lawyers for Ford and the Judiciary Committee before the hearing is final. They plan to talk later on Sunday to hammer out remaining issues. Lawyers for Ford for instance believe that Republicans senators should question Ford, some in the GOP want to hire an outside counsel, maybe a woman to do the questioning. Also Ford thinks other witnesses should be called. For instance they want to call Mark Judge who Ford has said was in the room where the alleged assault happened. Judge has said he has no memory of the party. But Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley says there will be only two witnesses, Ford and Kavanaugh. Ariane de Vogue, CNN Washington.</s>BLACKWELL: As the negotiations continue, Republican staffers are working to interview those who may have some information about the alleged incident.</s>PAUL: Yes. Democrats such as Senator Dianne Feinstein praising Ford tweeting this. "She has shown tremendous courage in the face of death threats and harassment." From the White House response, Sarah Westwood, CNN White House reporter live in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, for us near the president's golf club. What are we hearing from the White House this morning, Sarah?</s>SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Christi, the White House is seizing on a statement from now a fourth attendee at the party that Christine Blasey Ford describes where the alleged assault took place. That fourth witness is now saying she has no memory of ever attending a party like the one Blasey Ford described. And the White House touting that response in a statement saying, "One week ago, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford claimed she was assaulted at a house party attended by four others. Since then, all four of these individuals have provided statements to the Senate Judiciary Committee denying any knowledge of the incident or even having attended such a party." Now lawyers for Blasey Ford came back with a response of their own arguing that it's no surprise that this fourth witness has no memory of the party because, for her nothing remarkable happened at the party. The lawyer said in a statement, "It's not surprising that she has no recollection of the evening as they did not discuss it. It's also unremarkable she does not remember attending a specific gathering 30 years ago which nothing of consequence happened to her. Dr. Ford of course will never forget this gathering because of what happened to her there." Now other White House aides are sticking to the line that Blasey Ford should be given the chance to testify and that there should be a process to hear up these allegations even as other senior aided have privately expressed frustration yesterday that the progress of getting a hearing on the book took so long. Kellyanne Conway, a top aide to President Trump had this to say last night.</s>KELLYANNE CONWAY, COUNSELOR TO THE PRESIDENT: The White House respects the process. This is still part of the Senate confirmation hearing of Judge Kavanaugh as a nominee to the Supreme Court. This is not a criminal proceeding. This is not a civil proceeding. This is another part -- of course, it was all done until they came up with this in the 11th and a half hour. This is part of the Senate confirmation hearing. And what I think is important to note is Judge Kavanaugh, this man of integrity, intellect and character he has said he has never done this to anyone, including her so that is really definitive and unequivocal. And he also said he wasn't at the party. So she will have -- these allegations are serious. We take them seriously. We want to hear her.</s>WESTWOOD: And of course, this all comes against the backdrop of President Trump's mounting attacks on Blasey Ford. He started late this week questioning why she didn't go to authorities 36 years ago so all a very complicated process, Christi and Victor.</s>BLACKWELL: So, Sarah, for most of the last week, the president was actually bragging about the reception of his understated comments and lack of criticism of Ford on Twitter but then came the tweets on Friday. And I understand that GOP leadership had something to say about those tweets.</s>WESTWOOD: That's right. And, you know, Victor, White House aides have privately marveled at the restraint Trump had shown in the immediate aftermath of Ford coming forward now a week ago today. But as the week wore on, he began to question openly why Ford didn't report this incident earlier and why Senate Democrats had sat on the allegation since July. Our colleague Phil Mattingly is reporting that Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell called President Trump on Friday to tell him that his tweets questioning Ford's motivations were not helpful to the process. The Senate Judiciary Committee and Senate Republicans already trying to thread a needle without President Trump throwing bombs into the process. That was first reported by "The Washington Post" and since that reported phone conversation between McConnell and Trump, we haven't seen any more tweets from Trump about Christine Blasey Ford -- Victor and Christi.</s>PAUL: All right. Sarah Westwood, appreciate it so much. Thank you.</s>BLACKWELL: All right. We'll try to talk about those tweets in a moment. Joining us now is Julian Zelizer, CNN political analyst, historian and professor at Princeton University, and Joey Jackson, CNN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney. Gentlemen, welcome back to NEW DAY SUNDAY. Julian, I'm going to start with you. Yes, there is the now acceptance of a date and time potentially. Are we really any closer to seeing or understanding the specifics of what we will see or maybe will not see if it's private, on Thursday?</s>JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think we are going to see testimony from two people it sounds like --</s>BLACKWELL: So you think they both will be public?</s>ZELIZER: I think it will be. I think if there is no FBI investigation, if there is no other people testifying, and this is all we have, there is going to be a lot of pressure to have this in public. Kavanaugh has been very clear on what he is going to say. And so this will be about hearing Dr. Ford and if this is not in public, I think it's going to be very hard to build support for what happens. I think there is going to be a lot of pressure to see what she has to say and to hear her account.</s>BLACKWELL: Joey, listen to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Friday and then we'll play -- we'll show you what a Democratic senator tweeted out just yesterday. Watch.</s>SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MAJORITY LEADER: You watched the fight. You've watched the tactics. But here is what I want to tell you in the very near future Judge Kavanaugh will be on the United States Supreme Court.</s>BLACKWELL: So this is from Alabama Senator Doug Jones. He tweeted, "I'm a former U.S. attorney. If a judge/juror made a public statement that their mind was made up before all testimony is in the trial would be prejudiced and I'd move for mistrial and have the judge removed." Now this is not a criminal proceeding but what do you make of the comparison here?</s>JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: You know, Victor, it's not a criminal proceeding but it's a process wherein you would think the truth would matter. You would think that there would be a consequence and a result, as a result of the testimony. And when you have people who are in positions of power and authority, particularly the majority leader, who are indicating to the public that, in short order, the judge will be confirmed, it give the impression that no matter what you say, Dr. Ford, we are moving forward. And that is problematic. And so to the senators, a very good point. I think you need to let the process play out before you have such irresponsible, irresponsible statements and we, of course, heard previously from Senator Hatch, obviously, taking side saying she, obviously, doesn't remember and he spoke to Judge Kavanaugh and Judge Kavanaugh wasn't at the party. I think those prejudgments need to be left aside and to your point, Victor, whether it's criminal or whether it's civil, the bottom line is it is a hearing and it should she not be heard before conclusions are drawn as to whether the judge should be confirmed.</s>BLACKWELL: So, Julian, we have talked for days now about the Republicans questioning of Professor Ford, but "The Washington Post" is reporting that Judge Kavanaugh is incredibly frustrated by the prep for his questioning by Democrats. The reporters write of the session that Kavanaugh grew frustrated when it came to questions that dug into his private life, particularly his drinking habits, his sexual proclivity. And there were some questions that he would not answer. What is the risk here -- the risk for Judge Kavanaugh and for the Democrats?</s>ZELIZER: Well, look, the risk for Judge Kavanaugh and for his supporters is this is ultimately a political situation. This will be about public opinion and whether public opinion after hearing what both sides have to say, if that is what we hear, how it puts pressure on senators like Susan Collins. So if he become frustrated, if he become angry at the questions and won't answer some basic facts that emerge, it could backfire and Collins is the person who everyone has an eye on right now to see if she is swayed. And obviously the risk for Democrats is there is a lot at stake right now. The Republicans are arguing their obstructing and stonewalling so they, too, want to show that they are running the process with a good degree of credibility. So both sides have a lot at stake in this moment. Obviously the future of the court hangs in the balance.</s>BLACKWELL: Joey, to you. The attorney. Can the Democrats get too private, too personal with their questioning and this could backfire for them politically?</s>JACKSON: You know, Victor, it's a great point. I think all as lawyers in a proceeding have to be mindful and respectful of the process itself and you don't want to go overboard as it relates to your question. At the same time, you want to ask probative, you want to ask relevant questions, you want to ask questions that get to the heart of the matter. And so I think as long as the Democrat ask those questions, the questions are relevant to the issue, the questions center on what happened or what did not happen, I think they are on solid ground. But we always worry in this proceeding or any criminal or on civil, whether or not our questions really do backfire. And so I think if they ask their questions in a way that are compelling, in a way that helps everyone understand what happened or what did not happen, they will be fine. But if they cross that line there is always a consequence to that and let's see what question they ask to get to the truth.</s>BLACKWELL: Joey, let me stay you for this last one. I mean, there's the new reporting overnight of this fourth person who says that they don't have any recollection of this party or any of the specifics that Professor Ford has talked about over the last several days. For much of last week, Senate Republicans have said that Professor Ford will have to come and testify if she wants to make these accusations, that she will have to go under oath and share her story with the committee. However, with these four that they are talking about now they are accepting press releases, emails, phone calls not requiring them to go under oath on their denials. Is there a different protocol for a witness instead of the primary accuser? What do you make of the acceptance of just these emails and phone call and press releases and statements from attorneys and requiring Professor Ford to come and share her store under oath?</s>JACKSON: I make of it that it's problematic. I make of it that it's a sham. I make of it that it's really troubling to the American people. If you want to get to the truth then everyone needs to come forward and they want to testify or should be compelled to testify under oath. You know, we talked about how the president can say anything in public and lie to the press is not a crime. But when you lie before Congress, that's something different. In the event the FBI investigated if you lied before them that is something different . And so a press release is a press release. A statement is a statement. But when you put that hand up and you swear to tell the truth and you don't it becomes something different. And so it shows me that they are not looking to get to what occurred. They are looking to get Judge Kavanaugh confirmed and that really is a problem when it comes to telling the truth.</s>BLACKWELL: All right, 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, tentatively. Still have to work out some of the specifics and we will see if that actually happens. Joey Jackson, Julian Zelizer, thank you both.</s>ZELIZER: Thank you.</s>JACKSON: Thank you.</s>PAUL: We want to tell you about a shake-up on the Senate judiciary staff. Garrett Ventry, a communications adviser who had been working on Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court has resigned after reports that he was fired from a previous job, in part, because of a sexual harassment allegation against him, against Ventry. Now Ventry denies the allegation. He told CNN that -- quote -- he "doesn't want to be a distraction and that's why he stepped down."</s>BLACKWELL: U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and Senator Mazie Hirono join Jake Tapper on "STATE OF THE UNION" later this morning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern. And then CNN exclusive, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg joins Fareed Zakaria at "GPS" -- "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS" that's after Jake, that's 10:00 Eastern.</s>PAUL: Well coming up Secretary of State Mike Pompeo implies that Rod Rosenstein's future at the Department of Justice is uncertain amid revelations that he allegedly discussed secretly taping the president in removing him from office.</s>BLACKWELL: Plus, don't let your guard down. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper warns residents to stay vigilant and to be ready to evacuate while the treacherous flooding continues.</s>PAUL: A political cartoonist Mike Luckovich is in the studio. Why he say it's harder to come up with cartoons in the Trump era.