WASHINGTON(TIP): Democrats are angry over FBI “clean chit” to President Trump’s nominee for Supreme Court Brett Kavanaugh. Protests have erupted in Washington against Brett Kavanaugh whose   confirmation vote is soon to be taken up by the Senate.  Republican Senators appear confident that Kavanaugh will win confirmation.

The FBI report, sent by the White House to the Senate Judiciary Committee in the middle of the night, was denounced by Democrats as a whitewash that was too narrow in scope and ignored critical witnesses. But Republicans moved forward with plans for a key procedural vote on Friday and a final vote on Saturday on confirming the conservative federal appeals judge chosen by Trump for a lifetime job on the nation’s top court.

The FBI report represented the latest twist in a pitched political battle over Kavanaugh, and comments by two crucial Republican senators — Jeff Flake and Susan Collins — indicated it may have allayed concerns they had about the judge. Flake was instrumental in getting Trump to order the FBI investigation last Friday.

Republicans control the Senate by a razor-thin margin, meaning the votes of those two could be crucial in securing Kavanaugh’s confirmation. Collins said the investigation appeared to be thorough, while Flake said he saw no additional corroborating information against Kavanaugh, although he was “still reading” it.

A previously undecided Democratic Senator, Heidi Heitkamp, said she would vote against Kavanaugh, citing “concerns about his past conduct” and questions about his “temperament, honesty and impartiality” after his defiant testimony a week ago to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Heitkamp’s decision left Senator Joe Manchin as the only undecided Democrat. Most Democrats opposed Trump’s nomination of Kavanaugh from the outset.

Meanwhile, Kavanaugh, in a column for the Wall Street Journal Judge Brett Kavanaugh has admitted to saying some things he should not have during a Senate hearing last week, a tacit acknowledgement of the questions being raised about his conduct and emotions as he seeks confirmation to the Supreme Court.

“I was very emotional last Thursday, more so than I have ever been. I might have been too emotional at times,” Kavanaugh wrote. “I know that my tone was sharp, and I said a few things I should not have said.”

Kavanaugh also said in the column that he would be an independent and nonpartisan judge.

More than 2,400 law professors from across the political spectrum signed a letter this week arguing that the lack of “judicial temperament” that Kavanaugh displayed would be disqualifying for any court, let alone the highest in the land. A former Supreme Court justice, John Paul Stevens, has also weighed in, calling Kavanaugh’s hearing performance disqualifying during an event Thursday, according to the Palm Beach Post.

Thousands assembled today, October 4, to protest Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh by marching on the Senate Office Building where his confirmation vote will take place. Among the masses a few celebrities have been spotted speaking out against the judge, with Amy Schumer and Emily Ratajkowski ending up detained by law enforcement.