U.S. Senator Doug Jones of Alabama talking to a member of his staff in his office in the Russel Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C.: Glynn Wilson

By Glynn Wilson –

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Charges of sexual assault have changed the political calculus in the Unites States Senate on conformation of President Donald J. Trump’s pick for the Supreme Court.

The charges by a California college professor against Judge Brett Kavanaugh just add more fuel to the fire for Democrats who were already opposed to the nomination for other reasons, including fear that he might let the president off the hook of being investigated for collusion with Russia during his election while holding the office, and of turning the court to the far right on women’s rights, civil rights, gay rights and other issues, and in opposition to Republicans forcing a vote on the nomination so close to an election.

It’s possible that some Republicans might now change their votes to oppose Kavanaugh, if the allegations seem to have merit, especially two Republican women in the Senate, Susan Collins of Main and Lisa Ann Murkowski of Alaska. That could derail the nomination and make the votes of moderate Democrats in conservative Red states more crucial.

Senator Doug Jones of Alabama has so far sat on the fence, so to speak, and not taken a position on the nomination, insisting that he would study Kavanaugh’s record and wait to see what the Senate Judiciary Committee recommends.

During a conference call with the press on Wednesday, Senator Jones said he has still not made up his mind on how he will ultimately vote if and when the Kavanaugh nomination makes it to the full Senate floor.

“From the very beginning, I’ve been very clear about my concerns on how this entire process has been conducted. Even before these latest allegations came out, I called for a pause so that we could get documents that we need, including those that Chairman (Chuck) Grassley had requested, and let the dust settle just a bit on the conviction of (Paul) Manafort and the guilty plea of (Michael) Cohen,” Jones said. “I think these latest allegations just emphasize the need to hit a reset button, slow down and gather all of the facts.”

Previous coverage: Senator Doug Jones Targeted by NRA Ads, Urges Senate to ‘Hit Pause’ on Trump’s Supreme Court Nominee

Already fiercely opposed to the nomination, other Democrats have been calling for an FBI investigation, an option so far rebuffed by Republicans and the president.

But for Senator Jones, the allegations by Christine Blasey Ford, who accused Kavanaugh of attacking her and trying to remove her clothes while he was drunk at a party in Maryland in 1982 when they were both high school students, should be taken seriously and investigated fully by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

He supports an FBI investigation, Senator Jones said, because: “That’s what they’re there for.”

“Dr. Ford made an incredibly brave decision to come forward publicly,” he said. “As a former prosecutor I know how incredibly difficult it is for victims to talk about their experiences, particularly in the case of sexual assault. I also know that we need to be able to test these allegations, though. And out of fairness to both Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh there ought to be a full and fair hearing.”

While a hearing has been called before the full committee next Monday, he said, “I’m afraid that it will just be a spectacle and not a fact finding mission.”

He said the committee should hear from other witnesses who were around at the time of the allegations, a job only the FBI can do with time.

“We need other people who might can shed some light on the facts as well as the potential credibility of both judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford,” Jones said. “It’s very important that we get a full and fair investigation.”

He called what’s happening now “unconscionable” because of the “artificial deadline.”

“This nomination is a lifetime appointment to the United States Supreme Court,” he said. “We need to make sure that we get this right, and not just fast.

One potential witness is Mark Judge, who has said he has no recollection of the alleged incident.

“He may not,” Jones said. “But that needs to be tested under oath.”

He said there is a long history of subpoenas being issued by congressional committees, too.

“They need to get him under oath either in a deposition or in a public hearing at some point. I think there likely could be other people that could help shed light on this,” he said, which is a job for the FBI.

When I pointed out what the president said that it’s not the job of the FBI, Senator Jones said emphatically: “He’s wrong. Flat wrong.”

“I heard today again the president say the FBI doesn’t do these things. I heard Chairman Grassley say we should not be asking an executive branch agency to do this,” he said. “This is what the FBI does! Every day, when there are nominations to the federal bench or assistant U.S. attorneys. The FBI has an ability to do background checks.”

And they often supplement those background checks when new information arises, he indicated. They don’t just attach a complaint to the previous investigation and say “our work is done.” They go beyond that.

“That’s all that I’m asking for. This is not an effort to intentionally delay,” he said. “We need to get this right.”

In response to other questions, he said the process has become “too political, too tribal.”

“We are at a point where regardless whether it could have been done better, should have been done better, it doesn’t matter at this point,” he said. “Any criticism of what’s gone on in the past is just diverting attention away from a very serious allegation made by a very brave woman.”

He called it the M.O., or modus operandi, “of what I see coming from one side of the aisle.”

“It’s in the 11th hour only because of the artificial deadline that the Republicans put out there,” he said. “This could still be in the early morning of this entire process if the Republicans had allowed the committee to do it the right way by getting out all the documents. It’s their fault. It’s a bit disingenuous to say it’s in the 11th hour when they’re the ones who set the clock.”

Dr. Ford has indicated she wants a full investigation before she testifies, so it is not clear yet whether she will show up on Monday.

“I just think pushing forward is showing an incredible lack of respect for Dr. Ford and these very serious allegations,” Senator Jones said. “She’s had to move out of her home. She’s getting death threats. It’s not easy to get prepared for a hearing like this.”

He indicated he’s been in similar positions with clients as an attorney and federal prosecutor before.

“It’s just not fair to her. It’s not fair to Judge Kavanaugh,” he said. “And it’s not fair to the American people.”

In his race against former judge Roy Moore last year, when sexual misconduct allegations surfaced a month before the election, he didn’t jump on the bandwagon to use that in his campaign right away, he said.

“Early on I said these are serious allegations against judge Moore that need to be answered. As it turned out, they were answered, in my view,” he said. “There was a continued drumbeat of media that was publishing facts. More women came out. All of which would go into a calculation as to whether or not the allegations were credible.”

Right now we are just in the initial phase of this, he said, and it’s all being driven by the clock set by the committee.

“I am doing everything I can to keep an open mind on this and other things with regard to Judge Kavanaugh’s career,” he said. “I will ultimately make my decision based on the facts and all the other research.”

He called dealing with the Kavanaugh appointment a “distraction” while he tried to work on other things for the people of Alabama, including voting for two bills designed to help with the opioid crisis, and sponsoring other legislation to permanently extend and increase mandatory funding levels for minority-serving institutions, like historically black colleges and universities.

“My focus has been to try to get people up here on both sides of the aisle to say, ‘let’s dial back the political rhetoric here, and let’s look at this for what it is, a very serious allegation and very serious Supreme Court nomination,” he said. “Both sides need a full and fair hearing on this to be fair to everyone.”