Senators will get more time to grill Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, as his confirmation hearing continues on Thursday. Watch live coverage of the hearing in the player above beginning at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
Kavanaugh faced tough questions throughout the day and well into the night on Wednesday, covering topics ranging from abortion to gun control, to presidential powers and immunity. He also handled interrogation over his own past testimony, from his 2006 judicial confirmation hearing. Kavanaugh was asked over and over about how he denied having anything to do with discussions regarding President George W. Bush‘s administration’s policies regarding detention and torture of enemy combatants. Democrats insist that Kavanaugh was not telling the truth, but President Donald Trump‘s nominee held firm, insisting that everything he said in 2006 was accurate.
Senator Patrick Leahy also brought up an item from Kavanaugh’s past work at the White House, specifically Leahy’s own stolen email. When Kavanaugh was with the White House Counsel’s office, he was working to facilitate the confirmation of judges. Leahy pointed to one particular email that Kavanaugh received having to do with information Leahy himself was interested in regarding a judicial confirmation. Leahy questioned Kavanaugh’s possession of what he said was a stolen email, but Kavanaugh denied having any knowledge that the email was stolen.
Perhaps the most significant part of the hearing on Wednesday took place late in the evening. Senator Kamala Harris (D-California) asked Kavanaugh if he had ever spoken about Special Counsel Robert Mueller‘s investigation with anyone at Kasowitz, Benson & Torres, the law firm founded by Trump’s personal attorney Marc Kasowitz. Kavanaugh wouldn’t give a direct answer, first saying he didn’t know everyone who worked at the firm, then saying he didn’t remember any such conversation. Harris was not satisfied with the response.
[Image via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]
