Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's merits debated during Senate hearing

(7 Sep 2018) John Dean, the former White House counsel to President Richard Nixon, predicts the nation will have the most "pro-presidential powers" Supreme Court in modern history if Donald Trump's nominee is confirmed. Dean, a critic of Trump, is testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee at the invitation of Democrats. Dean cooperated with prosecutors during the Watergate investigation and helped bring down Nixon's presidency. He served four months in prison after being convicted of obstruction of justice. Others are also testifying today in support of and against Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court. A student who survived the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, is urging senators to reject Kavanaugh. The student, Aalayah Eastmond, says that if Kavanaugh doesn't have the decency to shake hands with the father of a shooting victim, he shouldn't be able to "make life-changing decisions" affecting real people. She is referring to Fred Guttenberg, who tried to shake hands with Kavanaugh earlier in the week. Guttenberg's daughter, Jamie, died in the February 2018 attack at the high school. Guttenberg extended his hand Kavanaugh, but said the judge turned his back and walked away. A White House spokesman said security intervened before Kavanaugh could take his hand. Kenneth Christmas, a close friend of Kavanaugh who attended Yale Law School with the judge said he supports the judge, despite it being inconvenient as a Democrat, adding that Kavanaugh "cares- about truly understanding my black experience and point of view." Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...