Kavanaugh letter sent to the FBI
Letter is said to allege misconduct in high court hopeful’s youth.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein passes on confidential tip that’s believed to allege misconduct in the nominee’s youth.
WASHINGTON — A letter reportedly alleging a decades-old incident involving Brett Kavanaugh has been referred to the FBI for review — the latest blow in the partisan and bitter battle over President Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court.
The letter originally was given to Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. She declined to release it publicly, and its details are unclear.
“I have received information from an individual concerning the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court,” Feinstein said in a statement. “That individual strongly requested confidentiality, declined to come forward or press the matter further, and I have honored that decision. I have, however, referred the matter to federal investigative authorities.”
Late last week, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee privately expressed frustration that Feinstein was refusing to share the contents of the letter even with them, according to several sources. The referral to the FBI was seen as a way to address the issue without violating the confidentiality that she sought to protect.
Several Democrats on the committee declined to talk about the contents of the letter Thursday after a hearing where a vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination was slated for Sept. 20. It was unclear whether they had seen the letter.
The existence of the letter was first reported by the Intercept, an online news publication. It said the letter apparently describes an incident involving Kavanaugh and a girl while they were in high school, but included no details.
Anyone can make a referral to the FBI, and it does not mean Kavanaugh is under investigation.
His nomination is under intense scrutiny by Democrats who note he would be the fifth solid conservative justice on the Supreme Court — a lock for Republican priorities such as scaling back abortion rights.
Republicans said a committee vote on Kavanaugh would move forward as planned next week, and a White House official assailed Feinstein’s referral of the letter to the FBI as an “11thhour attempt to delay his confirmation.”
“Throughout his confirmation process, Judge Kavanaugh has had 65 meetings with senators — including with Sen. Feinstein — sat through over 30 hours of testimony, addressed over 2,000 questions in a public setting and additional questions in a confidential session,” said White House spokeswoman Kerri Kupec. “Not until the eve of his confirmation has Sen. Feinstein or anyone raised the specter of new ‘information’ about him.”
Kupec said the FBI had vetted Kavanaugh dating back to 1993 for his White House and judicial roles.
An FBI spokesperson confirmed that the bureau had received the referral on Wednesday evening and included it as part of Kavanaugh’s background file “as per the standard process.”
Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) is aware of the referral but hasn’t seen the letter, a spokesman said.
“There’s no plan to change the committee’s consideration of Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination,” said Grassley spokesman Taylor Foy.
The letter was given to Feinstein by Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Menlo Park), who got it from a college professor who wrote about the incident, according to Democratic sources. A spokeswoman for Eshoo declined to comment on what she called a constituent matter.