WASHINGTON – Republican Senate leaders and White House officials said Thursday that an FBI background investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh revealed no evidence of wrongdoing.
But Democrats said the White House tied the FBI's hands so that agents could not conduct a thorough investigation. They were especially upset that the FBI did not interview Kavanaugh or Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were both in high school.
A final vote on Kavanaugh's nomination could come as early as Saturday, following a procedural vote on Friday morning.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the FBI's report found "no hint of misconduct" and declared that "it's time to vote."
"There’s nothing in (the report) that we didn’t already know," Grassley said. "These uncorroborated accusations have been unequivocally and repeatedly rejected by Judge Kavanaugh, and neither the Judiciary Committee nor the FBI could locate any third parties who can attest to any of the allegations."
But Democratic senators said the investigation was incomplete and was unfairly limited by the White House, in collaboration with Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Nine witnesses were interviewed by the FBI, according to the White House.
"Candidly, what we reviewed today in a very limited time...looks to be a product of an incomplete investigation that was limited, perhaps by the White House, I don't know," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee.
Feinstein said Democrats agreed to limit the scope of the investigation but "we did not agree that the White House should tie the FBI's hands."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he disagreed with Grassley's statement that there was "no hint of misconduct." However, Schumer did not elaborate during a news conference Thursday morning.
The highly anticipated report centers on allegations of sexual assault and misconduct when Kavanaugh was in high school and college and could be pivotal in determining whether Kavnaugh is confirmed.
A key moderate senator, Republican Susan Collins of Maine, said Thursday that the FBI probe "appears very thorough" – which may be good news for Kavanaugh's supporters.
More: Republicans plan careful steps to protect secrecy of FBI report on Brett Kavanaugh
The results of the FBI's investigation were first given to the White House then sent to Capitol Hill early Thursday.
After receiving the report, White House officials said they stand behind Kavanaugh's nomination and are confident he will be confirmed.
Spokesman Raj Shah said the FBI did comprehensive interviews of nine witnesses. He did not provide names.
A tenth witness was contacted, but it is unclear whether this person submitted to a full interview.
Shah said, "I can't outline the details of the background investigation," but indicated that nothing in the documents disqualified Kavanaugh.
He said privacy laws prevent the White House from making the report public.
President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday morning that the "harsh and unfair treatment" of Kavanaugh is mobilizing voters for the midterm congressional elections.
The president followed that tweet a few hours later with a second that said: "This is a very important time in our country. Due Process, Fairness and Common Sense are now on trial!"
Late Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell filed a cloture motion that paves the way for a procedural vote on Kavanaugh's nomination on Friday and a final up-or-down vote on confirmation as early as Saturday.
Though the Senate has the key procedural vote scheduled for Friday, lawmakers "have plenty of time to digest" the new information, Shah said.
Democrats have questioned the scope of the report repeatedly, as some connected to the allegations had not been interviewed by the FBI and amid reports that the White House had a hand in who was contacted and who was not.
Ford's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee led to Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., pushing for the FBI investigation when the committee voted to advance Kavanaugh's nomination last week.
His vote and the votes of two other Republican senators, Collins and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, could determine whether Kavanaugh is confirmed.
More: The Senate could vote on Kavanaugh's nomination over the weekend. Here's how that goes down
More: Republicans plan careful steps to protect secrecy of FBI report on Brett Kavanaugh
More: Jeff Flake says Trump mocking Christine Blasey Ford is 'kind of appalling'
Attorney Michael Avenatti said Wednesday that agents also had not contacted his client, Julie Swetnick, who alleged in a sworn statement that Kavanaugh and his friend, Mark Judge, tried to get teenage girls drunk so they could be "gang-raped" by multiple boys.
Contributing: Eliza Collins, Nicole Gaudiano, Maureen Groppe, Deborah Barfield Berry
WASHINGTON – Republican Senate leaders and White House officials said Thursday that an FBI background investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh revealed no evidence of wrongdoing.
But Democrats said the White House tied the FBI's hands so that agents could not conduct a thorough investigation. They were especially upset that the FBI did not interview Kavanaugh or Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were both in high school.
A final vote on Kavanaugh's nomination could come as early as Saturday, following a procedural vote on Friday morning.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the FBI's report found "no hint of misconduct" and declared that "it's time to vote."
"There’s nothing in (the report) that we didn’t already know," Grassley said. "These uncorroborated accusations have been unequivocally and repeatedly rejected by Judge Kavanaugh, and neither the Judiciary Committee nor the FBI could locate any third parties who can attest to any of the allegations."
But Democratic senators said the investigation was incomplete and was unfairly limited by the White House, in collaboration with Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Nine witnesses were interviewed by the FBI, according to the White House.
"Candidly, what we reviewed today in a very limited time...looks to be a product of an incomplete investigation that was limited, perhaps by the White House, I don't know," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee.
Feinstein said Democrats agreed to limit the scope of the investigation but "we did not agree that the White House should tie the FBI's hands."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he disagreed with Grassley's statement that there was "no hint of misconduct." However, Schumer did not elaborate during a news conference Thursday morning.
The highly anticipated report centers on allegations of sexual assault and misconduct when Kavanaugh was in high school and college and could be pivotal in determining whether Kavnaugh is confirmed.
A key moderate senator, Republican Susan Collins of Maine, said Thursday that the FBI probe "appears very thorough" – which may be good news for Kavanaugh's supporters.
More: Republicans plan careful steps to protect secrecy of FBI report on Brett Kavanaugh
The results of the FBI's investigation were first given to the White House then sent to Capitol Hill early Thursday.
After receiving the report, White House officials said they stand behind Kavanaugh's nomination and are confident he will be confirmed.
Spokesman Raj Shah said the FBI did comprehensive interviews of nine witnesses. He did not provide names.
A tenth witness was contacted, but it is unclear whether this person submitted to a full interview.
Shah said, "I can't outline the details of the background investigation," but indicated that nothing in the documents disqualified Kavanaugh.
He said privacy laws prevent the White House from making the report public.
President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday morning that the "harsh and unfair treatment" of Kavanaugh is mobilizing voters for the midterm congressional elections.
The president followed that tweet a few hours later with a second that said: "This is a very important time in our country. Due Process, Fairness and Common Sense are now on trial!"
Late Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell filed a cloture motion that paves the way for a procedural vote on Kavanaugh's nomination on Friday and a final up-or-down vote on confirmation as early as Saturday.
Though the Senate has the key procedural vote scheduled for Friday, lawmakers "have plenty of time to digest" the new information, Shah said.
Democrats have questioned the scope of the report repeatedly, as some connected to the allegations had not been interviewed by the FBI and amid reports that the White House had a hand in who was contacted and who was not.
Ford's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee led to Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., pushing for the FBI investigation when the committee voted to advance Kavanaugh's nomination last week.
His vote and the votes of two other Republican senators, Collins and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, could determine whether Kavanaugh is confirmed.
More: The Senate could vote on Kavanaugh's nomination over the weekend. Here's how that goes down
More: Republicans plan careful steps to protect secrecy of FBI report on Brett Kavanaugh
More: Jeff Flake says Trump mocking Christine Blasey Ford is 'kind of appalling'
Attorney Michael Avenatti said Wednesday that agents also had not contacted his client, Julie Swetnick, who alleged in a sworn statement that Kavanaugh and his friend, Mark Judge, tried to get teenage girls drunk so they could be "gang-raped" by multiple boys.
Contributing: Eliza Collins, Nicole Gaudiano, Maureen Groppe, Deborah Barfield Berry
https://desimpul.blogspot.com/2018/10/gop-leaders-white-house-says-kavanaugh.html
No comments:
Post a Comment