American Bar Association Calls for Delay on Kavanaugh

Republicans say they're going ahead with a Senate Judiciary Committee vote on Brett Kavanaugh on Friday—but the American Bar Association thinks they should wait. In a letter released late Thursday, the ABA, which previously declared the nominee "well-qualified" for the court, said the process should be halted until the FBI investigates Christine Blasey Ford's allegations of sexual assault, CNN reports. "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," organization president Robert Carlson wrote. In other coverage:

• Thursday's emotional hearing appears to have only deepened the partisan divide over Kavanaugh, the AP reports. Sen. Jeff Flake is the only GOP vote in doubt on the Judiciary Committee, which is split 11-10 between Republicans and Democrats, but Republicans could still bring the nomination to a full Senate vote by Tuesday if the panel deadlocks.

• Vox looks at the eight senators—three Republicans and five red-state Democrats—whose votes will make or break Kavanaugh's confirmation vote. Three of the Democrats voted to confirm Neil Gorsuch last year.
• Politico looks at Thursday's hearing and decides the GOP's hiring of Rachel Mitchell to question Ford was a "blunder." She was "pushed to the sidelines" as soon as Kavanaugh began testifying, and wasn't heard from again after Sen. Lindsey Graham's rant against Democratic tactics.
• In its list of takeaways from the hearing, the New York Times describes Ford's testimony as "raw and gripping" and Kavanaugh's as "aggressive, tearful, and partisan."

• The San Francisco Chronicle looks at a photo of women crying and scowling behind Kavanaugh during the hearing that has gone viral—but isn't what some of Kavanaugh's critics think it is.
• There's still plenty of time for Ford's allegations to be investigated, because deadlines have been "artificially imposed by the Republican majority for purely partisan reasons," the Washington Post editorial board writes. "It would be irresponsible for Republicans to insist on an immediate vote. If they do, the responsible vote must be no."
• The Wall Street Journal editorial board says it's time to confirm Kavanaugh, calling Thursday's hearing an "embarrassment that should never have happened." Rejecting Kavanaugh, they write, "will turn Supreme Court nominations over to the justice of the social-media mob and the politics of accusation."

(More Brett Kavanaugh stories.)