Heading into the confirmation hearing of President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) was one of the few undecided senators. She tells FRONTLINE she faced intimidation and harassment: “I received a fax in which the person threatened to cut off my arms and legs and slit my throat if I voted for Judge Kavanaugh.”
In this extensive interview conducted by Michael Kirk on Dec. 12, 2018 during the making of FRONTLINE’s “Supreme Revenge,” Collins, who ultimately cast a deciding vote in Kavanaugh’s favor, speaks out about her decision-making process — including how she reacted when she learned of Christine Blasey Ford’s sexual assault allegation against Kavanaugh (which Kavanaugh denied).
This extended interview is being published as 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:
Watch the full documentary, Supreme Revenge: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/supreme-revenge/
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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.
