Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s (D-MN) exchange with Brett Kavanaugh over claims of his excessive drinking was one of the most-talked-about moments from the judge’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings. In an extensive interview with FRONTLINE, Klobuchar—who is seeking the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination—shares what she first thought when Kavanaugh asked her if she had ever blacked out: “My first reaction was, boy, if I had done that in your courtroom, I thought this in my head, you would kick me out.â€
Then, the Senate Judiciary Committee member shares why she ultimately chose a different response—citing growing up as the child of an alcoholic, and “remembering those moments where you’ve got to take the keys away when they’re driving. I thought, I’m going to take the keys away here; I’m not going to go with you in that car.â€
In this interview conducted by FRONTLINE filmmaker Michael Kirk on December 12, 2018 during the making of “Supreme Revenge,†the former prosecutor also speaks out on the Republican response to the death of Justice Scalia, the politicization of the nomination process, and why she says Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony was “a larger-than-life moment.â€
This extended interview is part of the FRONTLINE Transparency Project, an effort to open up the source material behind FRONTLINE’s reporting. View a version of this interview that includes an interactive text transcript, and explore dozens of other interviews shedding light on three decades of Supreme Court confirmation battles, on FRONTLINE’s website: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/interview-collection/supreme-revenge/
Watch the full documentary, Supreme Revenge, here: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/supreme-revenge/
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FRONTLINE is streaming more than 200 documentaries online, for free, here: http://to.pbs.org/hxRvQP
Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Major funding for FRONTLINE is provided by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Ford Foundation. Additional funding is provided by the Abrams Foundation, the Park Foundation, The John and Helen Glessner Family Trust, and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation.
"Fairness" means, "We get our way or no way at all"…Basically were always right and we win at any cost…😉
U can't judge a person fairly without an open mind. U voted no since the day he was announced. So u explanation means nothing.
Dignity of ford? She was treated with kid gloves. You have the right to confront your accusers.
Goresuch isn't "extreme" unless you consider reading the language of the Constitution to be "extreme".
Where were you Senator when Joe Biden said he would not confirm a SCOTUS justice in George W Bush's last year?
Shh
She’s a fraud
She's so full of sh!t. She could've been given every document on the planet and wouldn't have supported Kavanaugh.
Supreme court is a disgrace. The Elephants are making a mess of the zoo.
I am literally sick of her literally constant use of "literally"
Fascinating interview! Appreciate the in-depth questions and responses from Senator Klobuchar to better understand her perspective on these past events, and to assist us in understanding them. Dignity seems to be elusive these days.
she is more disgusting than pelosi. very evil people!!!
"Those moments when you have to take the keys away when they're driving"
That's unsafe Amy to pull the keys out of the ignition of a moving vehicle..
Typical Dem = lying sack of shit. Started with Kennedy the drunken killer (ask Mary Jo). Feinstein absolutely leaked that out.
Amy represents me, and she represents me well.
she's ideologically possessed. shame. not a great speaker either "literally".
All Mitch did was spare Garland the Bork/Thomas/Kavanaugh type circus and he should be grateful. After Teddy and Biden pulled that BS on Bork and Thomas, I don't want to hear anything from democrats about whats "fair."
Booooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!
Boooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!
So amusing the way any suggestion that the Democrats are humans who might have the capability and motivation to coordinate their efforts is immediately labeled a "conspiracy theory" but at the same time, Democrats talk as if they have a direct line into Republican's innermost thoughts.
I absolutely believe that her experience growing up with an alcoholic was the thing that kept her from ripping his head off when he went back at her… I'm glad she stayed calm and kept going without losing her temper, but part of me really wishes I could have seen her just lose her temper and chew him up one side and down the other.
You know a REALLY good way to make sure a supreme court member isn't biased against a party? NOT ATTACKING HIM AS AN ENTIRE PARTY!
"Do you pretend it didn't happen"
Oh no believe me we aren't going to pretend it didn't happen and we won't let you forget what you did either!
Love Senator Klobuchar! Unfortunately now we have another sexual assaulter on the court. SMH. As a woman that says a lot about GOP priorities.
What paper trail? He had been confirmed over and over and over, for all types of govt jobs.
Why does Minnesota have such horrible politicians 🤔
McConnell was administering payback for what Biden had done to Bush, and this will have to be ramped up now.
Kavanaugh and Garland had a 93% agreement on their lower court opinions. This is nonsense
If ONE person had corroborated the claim, he would've been finished. Nobody against him, really cared if he was guilty or not. He was the enemy. He had to be destroyed.
The hearings were never about justice for Christine Blasey Ford. She was nothing more than a pawn in their determination to stop Kavanaugh. I'm willing to bet anything that no Democrat on the Committee keeps in touch with Ford or checks in on her to see how she's doing now and again
Made me angry to listen to this filth that has done her level best to corrupt the confirmation process. Then I reminded myself of the anguish she'll feel as RBG's conservative replacement is confirmed and I was happy again.
Liar.
Klobushart
why does she brandish her resume and skip the first Q. SHE WOULD NEVER BE INTERVIEWED IN THIS CONTEXT IF HER CREDENTIALS WERE NOT APPARENT
I made it through 3:
Min and 26 seconds of this interview before I vomited. It’s nothing more than a stupid campaign ad. There’s too much to list here but just about every fourth word out of her mouth can easily be refuted and is absolute nonsense. She’s either a political hack or a mental midget… Or worse, she thinks that we are mental midgets.
"Fairness" ? How ironic. Doesn't know the meaning of the word.
Not partisan? Give me a break. It was completely partisan on both sides.
Oh look a sociopath
The democrats are bad people lol
Amy's awsome. Cool, calm and collected. I admire all Senators that took on this disgraceful judge who has no business being a justice.