The final day of the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings are underway. Today it’s witnesses, with the ABA panel up first. Then, a series of rapid-in-succession panels will cycle through, for a total of 28 witnesses slated to appear today. 
Ted Olson is up now, supporting Kavanaugh's nomination, saying "he possesses and consistently has exemplified the qualities I have described" as being key to being a good Supreme Court justice.
Following Olson, Alicia Baker, sitting next to him, testifies emotionally about her insurance company not covering her birth control option, an IUD that she says ended up costing her and her husband $1,200, despite Obamacare.
Baker said that Kavanaugh's ruling backed up such treatment, allowing her insurance company's religion to control people's access to birth control. At one point, Olson — who had just talked about his support for Kavanaugh — just put his head down.
Colleen Roh Sinzdak, a former clerk to Garland and Roberts, who is at Hogan Lovells, spoke in support of Kavanaugh, talking about his support for women lawyers, including her personally.
Then, NYU Law Prof. Melissa Murray spoke: "This nomination is not about ... w/ whom I would have lunch. It is not about how Brett Kavanaugh treats a handful of women from elite institutions. It is about real people on the ground ... who will not have lunch with Brett Kavanaugh."
"I asked for the bullet to go through my head so I wouldn't feel any pain." - Aalayah Eastmond, a Parkland survivor
Hard to follow that, but Rebecca Taibleson, a former clerk who now works in the US Attorney's Office in E.D. Wisconsin, has that role.
"[Kavanaugh] cannot be intimidated by other actors in government. It is simply not part of his process," Taibleson says.
"I am Jackson, and I speak for the children," he says, in a statement about people with disabilities and other special health care needs like his.
Hunter LaChance spoke about climate change and his asthma and concerns about Judge Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court.
Maureen Mahoney — an elite lawyer who argued more than 20 cases before the justices (and is now a retired partner at Latham & Watkins) — testified in favor of Kavanaugh today, saying he has "much in common with" Chief Justice John Roberts. "I am struck by the many similarities."
Mahoney: “It would be a travesty if he doesn’t get a hundred votes.”
Former Nixon White House counsel John Dean talked about Kavanaugh's expansive views on presidential powers and the dangers of having a significant part of Kavanaugh's record hidden from the committee.
Another elite SCOTUS lawyer supports Kavanaugh.
Twitter's @adamjwhitedc is up, talking admin law, so tune in now!
Up now, @petermshane, giving a more professorial view of the executive power questions that John Dean mentioned. [Disclosure: I'm a Buckeye, though I never had Shane as a professor.]
Note: I think Shane gave us our first mention of the Emoluments Clause during the hearing!
Shane asks about Kavanaugh's role while staff secretary in advancing the Bush White House's extensive use of signing statements.
Note: We didn't get Kavanaugh's papers from his time as staff secretary, because Grassley deemed them "irrelevant."
Note: We didn't get Kavanaugh's papers from his time as staff secretary, because Grassley deemed them "irrelevant."
Per Grassley, we've had 31.5 hours of hearing time thus far for Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing.
On Nixon's resignation, Dean says: After getting caught in lies about his knowledge of wrongdoing & knowing he'd face impeachment & removal, he resigned b/c "the man, at his core, had a respect for the rule of law."
Of Trump, though: "He could care less about the rule of law.
Of Trump, though: "He could care less about the rule of law.
Sen. Kennedy to John Dean: "You did the right thing eventually, but you only did so when you were cornered like a rat."
Dean: "I tried internally to end the cover-up; I didn't succeed."
Dean: "I tried internally to end the cover-up; I didn't succeed."
That was a moment!
4:15 p.m., Sen. John Kennedy (sitting in as acting chair): "With that, these hearings are adjourned."
Kennedy did go up to Dean after to say something, so I guess this could be the start of a beautiful friendship.
WITH THAT, THE KAVANAUGH CONFIRMATION HEARING IS DONE.
Thanks, all, for the RTs, follows, shares, comments, trolling, and conversations this week!
Thanks, all, for the RTs, follows, shares, comments, trolling, and conversations this week!
From @o_ema, on a few words from yesterday that continued to be generating interest today —>
@o_ema Note: In addition to Kavanaugh's non-opposition to audio/video of SCOTUS arguments and his support for audio/video of SCOTUS decision announcements, there also was this today, from SCOTUS advocate Paul Clement —>
