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."
Attorneys for Ford wrote a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray on Thursday, saying that eight witnesses that the FBI never interviewed are still willing to talk to agents about information relevant to Ford's accusations against Kavanaugh.
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.
Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, who essentially forced the White House to reopen the investigation last week, told reporters Thursday: "We’ve seen no additional corroborating information" – which also bodes well for Kavanaugh.
A third Republican moderate, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, has not yet reacted to the FBI report.
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.
Ford's testimony before the Judiciary Committee last week led to Flake pushing for the reopened FBI investigation as a condition for him voting to advance Kavanaugh's nomination through the panel last Friday.
Ford testified that Kavanaugh pinned her down on a bed at a high school house party and tried to remove her clothes while holding his hand over her mouth so she couldn't scream. She said she was able to flee to a bathroom after Kavanaugh's friend, Mark Judge, jumped on them, sending them toppling off the bed.
Kavanaugh and Judge have denied that the incident ever took place.
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 that agents also never contacted his client, Julie Swetnick, who alleged in a sworn statement that Kavanaugh and Judge tried to get teenage girls drunk so they could be "gang-raped." Kavanaugh and Judge have vehemently denied the accusations.
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."
Attorneys for Ford wrote a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray on Thursday, saying that eight witnesses that the FBI never interviewed are still willing to talk to agents about information relevant to Ford's accusations against Kavanaugh.
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.
Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, who essentially forced the White House to reopen the investigation last week, told reporters Thursday: "We’ve seen no additional corroborating information" – which also bodes well for Kavanaugh.
A third Republican moderate, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, has not yet reacted to the FBI report.
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.
Ford's testimony before the Judiciary Committee last week led to Flake pushing for the reopened FBI investigation as a condition for him voting to advance Kavanaugh's nomination through the panel last Friday.
Ford testified that Kavanaugh pinned her down on a bed at a high school house party and tried to remove her clothes while holding his hand over her mouth so she couldn't scream. She said she was able to flee to a bathroom after Kavanaugh's friend, Mark Judge, jumped on them, sending them toppling off the bed.
Kavanaugh and Judge have denied that the incident ever took place.
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 that agents also never contacted his client, Julie Swetnick, who alleged in a sworn statement that Kavanaugh and Judge tried to get teenage girls drunk so they could be "gang-raped." Kavanaugh and Judge have vehemently denied the accusations.
Contributing: Eliza Collins, Nicole Gaudiano, Maureen Groppe, Deborah Barfield Berry
https://desimpul.blogspot.com/2018/10/gop-leaders-white-house-says-kavanaugh_4.html
No comments:
Post a Comment