'Are You Afraid?': Kavanaugh Claims Innocence But Angrily and Repeatedly Refuses to Back Call for FBI Probe

After delivering a flailing, furious, and blatantly partisan opening statement before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, Trump Supreme Court Brett Kavanaugh repeatedly and angrily refused to express support for an FBI investigation into Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's sexual assault allegations or to encourage his friend Mark Judge to testify when given multiple opportunities to do so by three consecutive Democratic senators.

Asked by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) to turn to White House counsel Don McGahn--who was seated in the front row--to demand that the confirmation hearings be suspended for the sake of a full FBI probe, Kavanaugh ducked, dodged, and insisted that he is completely innocent of the multiple sexual assault charges against him despite the lack of a federal investigation.

"If there is no truth to [Ford's] charges, the FBI investigation will show that. Are you afraid that they might not?" Durbin asked.

Unlike Ford, who said she supports an FBI probe, Kavanaugh refused to answer and accused Durbin of asking a "phony question."

Asked again why he would resist a federal investigation, Kavanaugh dodged once more and claimed he would "welcome" whatever the Senate Judiciary Committee recommends. After Durbin asked Kavanaugh what he personally wants, the judge stayed totally silent:

Kavanaugh's indignant assertion of innocence combined with a furious refusal to back a full investigation was repeated in three separate exchanges with Democratic senators.

When Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said the FBI should be able to interview possible witnesses to the alleged sexual assault--such as Kavanaugh's friend Mark Judge, who Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee have refused to subpoena--Kavanaugh interrupted Feinstein and again refused to support an FBI investigation.

The judge was equally evasive on the topic of Judge, who Ford says was in the room when Kavanaugh allegedly sexually assaulted her.

"The big news out of Kavanaugh's appearance is that he has repeatedly confirmed that he does not want the person who Christine Ford claims was his accomplice in his sexual assault to face serious questioning in any forum," noted the Washington Post's Greg Sargent.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (I-Vt.) said he's never seen somebody so "critical" not be called to testify in any previous hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and asked Kavanaugh whether he wants Judge to testify.

Kavanaugh dodged the question, saying that Judge had already submitted sworn testimony.