Courts

Jeff Flake Does His Best Clarence Thomas Impersonation

We were looking for insight and we got nothing.

By Joe Patrice on September 28, 2018 9:11 am

(Photo by Jim Bourg-Pool/Getty Images)

When the Republican majority finally ditched prosecutor Rachel Mitchell, deciding that they no longer needed a human fig leaf to shield them from talking directly to a woman, Lindsey Graham launched into an unhinged rant about Democrats conspiring to keep the current Supreme Court vacancy open. At no point did anyone mention Merrick Garland, the Supreme Court nominee that Graham held up for a year despite Garland’s noticeable lack of sexual assault allegations, but no matter.

Graham’s outburst marked a jarring turn for the hearing, but coming as it did, right off of a break where the Republicans chatted amongst themselves, it signaled only one thing: Senator Jeff Flake was considering voting “nay.”

Graham, who has rapidly transitioned from leader of the “Never Trump” Republicans to jockeying for the soon-to-be-vacant Attorney General gig so shamelessly he’s going to pull a muscle, called out “any member of this committee” who might consider nixing or delaying Kavanaugh’s confirmation. If Graham smugly thought he had this sealed up, he’d have sat back and let Mitchell continue her dry examination. Or at most he’d offer some platitudes about Kavanaugh and move on. No, he reacted like a cornered animal and every bit of that bile landed squarely on the retiring senator from Arizona.

So when the committee turned the floor over to Flake to ask questions and offer some insight into his take on the proceedings, he… did nothing.

Seriously. A United States senator with aspirations for the White House was handed an opportunity to air his concerns after a public admonishment from a colleague and he sat on his hands and yielded his time. The man of mystery look isn’t a great interview for that “Mike Bloomberg faux centrist” lane in 2020.

Clarence Thomas doesn’t ask questions at oral argument either, but at least we know where he stands. Maybe Flake didn’t engage because he has a similar resolve. The committee vote is scheduled for 9:30. We’ll find out in short order if he’s just an easily bullied… well, flake.

HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.