Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona was interviewed on CBS’ “60 Minutes” on Sunday night and offered his view of the Kavanaugh-Ford hearings and his request for additional FBI interrogatories.

Flake told correspondent Scott Pelley that he didn’t feel like he could move forward immediately to a vote, that after his experience being confronted by two left-wing activists in the Senate elevator, that he needed to pause the entire process for a bit.

Flake told Pelley that he felt an historic moment was unfolding during the hearing and that the entire day’s testimonies were riveting and compelling. When asked about Kavanaugh’s statement, Flake agreed that it would be difficult to remain composed if accused of something he didn’t do, saying, “But boy, I had to put myself in that spot. And– you can– you can understand why he was angry. And you know, I think you give a little leeway there.

Also appearing on the program was Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware. Coons told Pelley that he could see how upset Flake was at the hearing and the elevator confrontation, saying he “was principally, concerned about helping my friend listen to his doubts and his conscience.”

Coons claims to have masterminded the compromise of voting Kavanaugh out of committee in exchange for a pause of up to a week for the FBI to have another go at the matter, saying, “And I cannot tell you how grateful I am. Jeff’s the hero here. He’s the person who– wanted a moment just to– just to, you know, go over, what are the legitimate concerns and grievances by Republicans on the committee about the process and the complaints and how we got here?”

Flake told Pelley that, had he been up for re-election, this kind of compromise would not have even been possible. He would not have been able to get any Democratic support due to the highly partisan nature of politics in the present day.

“60 Minutes” also got a quote from Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who offered some color as to how emotionally charged the situation was, and thus why Flake was apparently so distraught, saying, “It was really quite astonishing how the tone in the room changed when Judge Kavanaugh came out explosively– confrontational.

This statement was intercut with Senator Lindsey Graham delivering a blistering rebuke to the process, saying, “The politics of voting for the Supreme Court nominees are now about you. It’s not about the nominee. It’s not about the law. It’s about how does it affect you. And you can’t blame the Democratic Party for that. Both of us got here. And I don’t know if we’ll ever get out, but I do not, I don’t wanna go where we’re headed.”

The FBI was subsequently ordered by President Trump to do up to a week’s worth of additional investigation. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn has said that, as opposed to FBI background investigations for which results are usually kept confidential for Senators only, the agency may be forced to make a formal announcement to the public regarding what – if anything – the additional investigation revealed.