Дружба

[tijd.livejournal.com]

Прошлая неделя завершилась геройским поступком сенатора Джефа Флейка, который настоял на проведении расследования ФБР прежде голосования в Сенате за утверждение Бретта Кавано в Верховный суд.

Решение Флейк принимал сам и несет за него ответсвенность, но этот день стал также звездным часом для сенатора Криса Кунса.

Coons told CBS News' Nancy Cordes that he was surprised and disappointed when he learned Flake had released a statement saying he would vote to confirm Kavanaugh, unleashing an expletive in front of reporters when a reporter showed him the headline on a phone. Coons then reworked his planned speech to the committee, in part to appeal to Republicans like Flake who were on the fence about Kavanaugh's confirmation. In a measured speech to his colleagues on the committee, Coons condemned the rank partisanship that had infected Kavanaugh's confirmation process, and quoted his Senate predecessor and the former Judiciary Committee chairman, former Vice President Joe Biden.
"I want to share one thing he said to me when I began my service here, which was: 'It is always appropriate to question another senator's policies, it is always appropriate to question another senator's priorities, but it is never appropriate to question another senator's motives,'" Coons said. "And there has been far too much of that that's happened in this process, in a way that will frankly make it very difficult for us to take off our partisan jerseys and at some point get back to the important work of finding solutions to the real challenges facing this country."
He said that after he gave his speech to the committee, Flake called him to the anteroom outside the hearing room to talk about his decision.
https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/jeff-flake-brett-kavanaugh-fbi-probe-today-elevator-protest-chris-coons-2018-09-28/

Следуя примеру своего предшественника Джо Байдена, Кунс долго и целенаправленно развивал дружеские и джентльменские отношения с республиканскими коллегами, особенно со своим сверстником Флейком.

Coons’ affinity for compromise doesn’t mesh with the combative posture Democrats have taken under Trump. But if Coons can survive a liberal base that has sometimes lashed him for his bipartisan tendencies, he has a chance to become one of the Senate’s historic deal-makers — a role once filled by the former vice president whose name is on the Amtrak station through which he often commutes home.
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/08/chris-coons-senate-dealmaker-democrats-republicans-569144

Наконец настал день, когда это пригодилось.

Chris Coons gets emotional when discussing Flake's decision: "He and I do not share a lot of political views but we share a deep concern— Sorry. Senator Flake and I share a deep concern for the health of this institution and what it means to the rest of this world." (via CBS) pic.twitter.com/A33aoE2S1p

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 28, 2018

Senator Chris Coons tells the full story of what happened in the anteroom today with Jeff Flake to @nancycordes. Attempting my best @SopanDeb impression through @EllenUchimiya's legwork pic.twitter.com/dtNhWfQYYO

— Alan He (@alanhe) September 29, 2018

Примечательна роль Рода Розенштейна, хотя рассказы об ней различаются. New York Times сообщает, что Кунс и Флейк разговаривали с Розенштейнрм вдвоём.

Mr. Coons and Mr. Flake squeezed into an oversize phone booth — a few still exist on Capitol Hill — to make the call. They needed privacy rather than a landline, so held a cellphone on speaker between them. Mr. Rosenstein told them the F.B.I. could complete a background check in a week, although it was unlikely to unearth much more than was already known.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/28/us/politics/jeff-flake-kavanaugh-confirmation.html

В репортаже CBS (со слов Кунса) говорится, что Кунс отошёл в сторону, чтобы позволить Флейку переговорить с Розенштейном конфиденциально.

Soon afterward, Flake said he wanted to speak to FBI Director Christopher Wray. He ended up talking with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein for what Coons estimated was about 10 minutes. Coons had left him alone for the conversation, but when he returned, Flake was no longer by himself.
"They had a long conversation. You know, by the time I got back 10 minutes later, there were three Republican senators and staff really beating on him, really leaning in and -- making their best arguments," Coons said.
https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/jeff-flake-brett-kavanaugh-fbi-probe-today-elevator-protest-chris-coons-2018-09-28/

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