Undecided, jeff flake, said he would vote to confirm judge kavanaugh. That news hit at about 9 25 or 9 26 a. M. Then at 9 31, leaving his office on his way to the Committee Vote, this happened. Take a look. I have two children. I cannot imagine that for the next 50 years, they will have to have someone in the Supreme Court who has been accused of violating a young girl. What are you doing, sir . She was one of two women who confronted senator flake on Live Television in a capitol elevator about their experiences as survivors of Sexual Assault. She joins us momentarily, and were going to show you more of that confrontation. Not long after that occurred by the elevator, things began to shift. Senator flake was seen huddling with Democratic Committee member chris coons of delaware. Then the Committee Vote was delayed. Senator flake and other lawmakers were then seen walking in and out of the hearing room talking, negotiating, and then everything changed. I can only say that i would be only comfortable moving forward on the floor ill move it out of committee, but i will only be comfortable moving on the floor until the fbi has done more investigation than they have already. It may not take them a week. I understand that some of these witnesses may not want to discuss anything further. But i think we owe them due diligence. And so there it was. Republican senator jeff flake suddenly calling for the fbi to investigate more. His call followed then by alaska republican Lisa Murkowski and redstate democrat joe manchin of west virginia, then republican Susan Collins of maine. All suddenly calling for an fbi probe. By days end, it was a done deal. A weeklong background check on judge kavanaugh, limited in scope, and starting today. And our breaking news, a source telling us that the president is blaming senator flake and democrats for the delay. So was that elevator confrontation instrumental in senator flakes surprising decision . He was asked about it. Heres what he said. Did the protesters that you encountered play a role at all . I think everything that ive seen and viewed and experienced in the last couple of weeks has had an impact. But so its been everything. Everything, he says, which today included pressure from constituents, some of whom crowded offices and jammed phone lines. There were also obviously Political Considerations as well as practical, moral ones. Whatever the case, what is clear tonight is how drastically things appear to have changed in the space of a day or, in president trumps case, since he said this on wednesday about democrats in the process. Theyre actually con artists because they now how quality this man is, and theyve destroyed a mans reputation. And they want to destroy it even more. And i think people are going to see that in the midterms. What theyve done to this family, what theyve done to these children, these beautiful children of his and what theyve done to his wife. And they know its a big, fat con job. So that was wednesday. Now, last week the president rejected any idea that he would request the fbi reopen their Background Investigation of judge kavanaugh. And even as recently as last evening as the testimony ended, the president was still rhetorically all in on kavanaugh, tweeting, judge kavanaugh showed america exactly why i nominated him. His testimony was powerful, honest, and riveting. Democrats search and destroy strategy is disgraceful, and this process has been a total sham and effort to delay, product, and resist. The senate must vote. Listen today with the president talking with the president of chile. He called professor ford a fine woman and went on to say this. It was incredible. It was an incredible moment, i think, in the history of our country. But certainly she was a very credible witness. She was very good in many respects, and i think that i dont know if this is going to continue onward or are we going to get a vote. But, again, im here, so im not out there watching because i cant be. I have great respect, although maybe well go watch together, okay . Well watch together. But i think it will work out very well for the country. I just want it to work out well for the country. If that happens, im happy. So the president went from con job to credible witness, and i just want it to work out well for the country. Now, the president wasnt the only one with a seemingly new approach. Heres Lindsey Graham yesterday attacking Committee Democrats over the notion of an fbi probe. If you wanted an fbi investigation, you could have come to us. What you want to do is destroy this guys life, hold this seat open, and hope you win in 2020. Youve said that, not me. Youve got nothing to apologize for. When you see sotomayor and kagan, tell them lindsey said hello because i voted for them. I would never do to them what youve done to this guy. This is the most unethical sham since ive been in politics. And if you really wanted to know the truth, you sure as hell wouldnt have done what youve done to this guy. Well, this morning before senator flakes flip, senator graham said this. Since the allegation came forward, its been a complete Twilight Zone moment. At the end of the day, she couldnt tell us how she got there or got home. Women need to be heard. There needs to be a process to protect anybody accused of a crime. And this madness needs to stop. Then soon after that, right after senator flakes announcement, the madness as senator graham called it turned to some mutual understanding. Last time i looked, you need 50 votes. But right now we dont know if anybody else will join up. All i can say is right now. What jeff is saying makes sense to me. Do you think that murkowski i dont know. Im not speaking for mitch. Im going to talk with jeff. Somebodys got to explain this to trump, so i guess that will be my job. If its going to take if nothing, im practical. So whether it was jeff flakes change or pressure or change of heart or the simple arithmetic of vote counting or something as yet unexplained, one by one gop lawmakers began embracing the prospect of what the white house is now calling a supplemental examination of judge kavanaugh. Orrin hatch said he had no problem with it. Ted cruz got onboard. Whatever was in the air today in washington, the atmosphere changed, and so has the story. Because of what happened between senator flake on that elevator is one of those rare instances when a storys Emotional Center of gravity seemed to shift right before our eyes, i want to show you more of the moment. The first bottom youll here is an mama rhea archila. Youll also here from rhea gallagher. Ms. Ar chrks rila is the codirector of a left leaning advocacy group. Ms. Gallagher is a recent college graduate. They were among a larger group of protesters who had been outsi you are allowing someone who actually violated a woman to sit on the Supreme Court. This is not tolerable. You have children in your family. Think about them. I have two children. I cannot imagine that for the next 50 years, they will have to have someone in the Supreme Court who has been accused of violating a young girl. What are you doing, sir . I was sexually assaulted, and nobody believed me i didnt tell anyone, and youre telling all women that they dont matter. Look at me when im talking to you. Youre telling me that my assault doesnt matter, that what happened to me doesnt matter and that youre going to let people who do these things into power. Thats what youre telling me when you vote for him. Dont look away from me. Look at me and tell me that it doesnt matter what happened to me. Ana maria ar chi la joins us now. Thanks so much for being with us. Im wondering when you made the decision to confront senator flake. At that point, were you aware of his intention to confirm judge kavanaugh . Ive been coming to the capitol for the last seven weeks to protest the nomination of judge kavanaugh because i believe hes dangerous for our country. Hes dangerous for the rights of women to choose what we do with our bodies, dangerous to our health care. And a few days ago, i stood in front of his office and told for the first time my own story of Sexual Violence when i was a child, as a 5yearold. And it was an incredibly painful moment. I did it because i felt like the country needs to hear these stories. I did it in solidarity with dr. Ford, and i did it to protect my children. And today i went back to his office, you know, around 8 30 in the morning with maria, who i had just met, in the hopes that maybe we could talk to him. Right before we saw him, we saw the announcement from his office that he was getting ready to vote for kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. So both of us were just enraged, and all the emotions that we have been holding for the last several weeks came out pouring. My demand of him to think of his children and think of my children, her demand of him to listen to her story and tell her whether her story matters and whether hes okay putting someone that has violated women in the Supreme Court. When you were in that moment, i mean did you know what you wanted to say . Had you thought about it beforehand . Im wondering what you saw of the reaction from senator flake. Its one thing for us to see it on television. Youre looking at him, trying to look at him in the eye. I mean honestly, i had literally just read the headlines of his statement, and i we saw him running to the elevator, and we ran behind him. It was a very kind of intense moment of really wanting to talk to him. I was not really prepared even for my own emotions, but i felt like he really needed to hear. Like he needed to understand that women feel incredibly enraged about the thought of our stories, of our experiences of surviving Sexual Violence being dismissed, laughed at, disbelieved. And i think we i just felt a great sense of urgency. I saw in his face that he could not escape the emotion. You felt like he was listening to you. Did you feel like he wanted to kind of hope the elevator doors closed. . Did you feel he wanted to stay longer . What was your impression . No, no, no. He wanted those elevator doors to close and that conversation to end. And i wanted of him to really stay there and be present and think of the people he loves, think of his children, and i wanted him to be a hero, to show up for his children, for my children, for myself, for maria, for the women that have been telling our stories, and to vote with his conscience. And i wanted him to i had gone to his office because i thought he might he might be willing to take a step that was beyond, you know, kind of the desire of his party. And i think he was moved but not just by our story. He actually was moved by the stories and the actions of women and people that have been coming to d. C. For weeks. People from the womens march, people from organizations like ultraviolet, and other and people who have just shown up. I think that he has an opportunity to show the kind of leadership that we all deserve, to really think of what justice is. Justice the way that Justice Works is that we recognize harm. We take responsibility for that harm. And only then we begin to repair it. And i dont think Brett Kavanaugh is able to take responsibility for his actions. Therefore, he should not have the power to take responsibility for the actions of the country. When you learned that he was calling for an fbi investigation as a condition for his vote, what went through your mind . I mean did you feel a sense of victory . Did you feel like what you said i know he said it was a lot of things, and you probably said it was as well. Do you feel like what you did make a difference . I think if it had been just one story, my story and marias story, it would not have made a difference. I think it was thousands of people, thousands of story, and dr. Ford herself. And i felt a sense of relief and a sense of possibility. I was reminded that it is through kind of us standing for ourselves, for our lives, for the lives of others that we make change in this country. And i think that he has an opportunity to show that he appreciates the efforts and the courage of people who are stepping up and to stand up and be a hero. I think Susan Collins from maine has the same opportunity. Senator murkowski from alaska has the same opportunity. And i hope they take these moments seriously and think about the next 50 years. Ana, thank you very much for talking with us. Thank you. More now on all of this, how it might work, including some still outstanding questions that could be very important. Our chief Political Correspondent dana bash, david gergen and jeffrey toobin. Dana, what do we know about the scope of the investigation . Will the other allegations onto professor fords be investigated, and who decides . Is it the fbi, the white house . Ive been doing some reporting on that this evening along with orian de vogue. First, in the Senate JudiciaryStatement Released earlier today, it says that the fbi should investigate current credible allegations and that that was a term that was specifically asked for and negotiated by the three republican senators that you have been talking about, the key votes senator jeff flake, Susan Collins, and murkowski. That as part of this limited scope in time, they also wanted to limit the scope of the allegations. So it certainly is focused on professor ford and the allegations there, but not limited to that. And i think some of that is going to be at the discretion of the fbi. But the point is, at least according to the private discussions, if somebody comes out tomorrow or the next day, it will be not within the scope of the fbis current mandate. You know, its interesting, dan nampt i was thinking about this earlier. I was actually in the freshman class at yale with Christopher Wray, who is now the fbi director. He and i were friends. We were on the same team. And so we were just, i think, two or three years behind Brett Kavanaugh. I certainly didnt know Brett Kavanaugh then. I dont know if Christopher Wray did. But its interesting that you now have an fbi director who was at the same university around, you know, the same time. Again, i have no idea if they ever actually met. And just to sort of add to that, senator chris coons, who today had that private conversation, the pivotal conversation with jeff flake behind the dais in the Judiciary Committee was also at yale around the same time. I did not know that. Im wond rink what youre hearing from republican sources tonight. How are they feeling about this fbi investigation . Did they have a choice . No. No. No choice. Anxious, frustrated, exasperated. I think those are probably just the beginning of theagetives to use to describe the Republican Leadership and of course the white house has well. Mitch mcconnell did not want to do this. He had absolutely no choice because he didnt have the votes, plain and simple. He made clear behind closed doors in this meeting this afternoon when this deal was struck to these republican senators that what you are going to do here, what you are demanding here will not, in his view, be satisfying to you because he said, youre not going to get the answers that youre looking for. But from the perspective of these republican senators, they did not feel good enough to get to yes without having this investigation, and its as simple as that. Can i ask dana a question . Dana, one thing i dont understand about this, and ive seen conflicting stories. Does this mean that the fbi investigation ends a week from today, or there is a vote on kavanaugh a week from today . I asked that very question just before coming on. What i was told by a Senior Leadership source is that the agreement was its a gentlemans agreement. There are no votes or anything. And woman agreement. They agree that the vote will happen no later than a week from today. So if the fbi investigation is done earlier, then there could be a vote earlier, but no later than a week from today. Thats what they agreed to. Jeff, you had some tough words for senator flake this morning before the deal. Im wondering what you make all week i had tough words for jeff flake. Not a profile in courage i believe was and time for me to eat crow. I was wrong. Jeff flake changed history. I mean and it was him. It was him alone who did this. It wasnt murkowski. It wasnt collins. And, you know, i was critical of him for big talk, little action. Brett kavanaugh may yet well may be confirmed. But if it wasnt for what flake did today, he would be confirmed tomorrow. And as dana was just saying, it will be friday if its at all. And i just think, you know, it is rare when individual senators step up like this and individually change history, and thats what he did. You know, hats off to him. David, if the weeklong clock runs out and the fbi isnt done veging, dana says, you know, the agreement is there will be a vote. Do you think that would happen, or do you think they would try to continue the fbi investigation longer . No. I think theyll shut it down after a week. Theyre pretty rigid about that, im sure. But i want to say Republican Leaders who are unhappy tonight one day will thank jeff flake. He pulled them, along with chris coons, pulled them back from the brink of what would be what would have become the most divisive vote in contemporary history. Taking an extra week to look at this, satisfying the democratic demands to get closer to the bottom of this really changes the dynamics and makes it easier. If theres nothing there, it also makes it easier to vote on judge kavanaugh and send him to the court for those who are disposed to do that. But the real credit here belongs to dr. Ford and to all the american women who are speaking up. The coming week is going to be featuring not just this investigation but hearing from the voic