Feinstein asks FBI to review letter involving Kavanaugh

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 Donald Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court.

The letter originally was given to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-calif., the senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. She declined to release it publicly, and its details remain 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 Feinstein sought to protect.

Several Democrats on the committee declined to talk about the contents of the letter Thursday after a hearing in which a vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination was slated for Sept. 20. It was unclear whether they had seen it.

Anyone can make a referral to the FBI and it does not mean Kavanaugh is under federal investigation. Kavanaugh’s nomination is under intense scrutiny by Democrats who argue he would be the fifth solid conservative justice on the Supreme Court, a lock for Republican priorities such as scaling back abortion rights.