GREGG NUNZIATA
Gregg Nunziata is a lawyer in Washington,DC,whopreviously served as chief nominations counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
THE FBI has completed a supplemental investigation into recent allegations against Judge Brett Kavanaugh, reportedly finding no troubling information. Frustrated that the bureau hasn’t helped them bring down a nomination they otherwise oppose, Democrats have pivoted to attacking the FBI — specifically, claiming that the inquiry was curtailed to prejudice the outcome by limiting the pool of interviewees.
They’re wrong: The FBI followed procedure precisely.
Indeed, the FBI followed the standard background investigation process the Senate uses for the hundreds of nominations it considers. And it’s exactly the process that Democrats were demanding only days ago.
In a letter to President Trump, Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Judiciary Committee ranking Democrat Dianne Feinstein discussed their understanding that “conducting background investigations on nominees has long been the FBI’s standard practice, and it is common for such background investigations to be reopened when new information about a nominee becomes known.”
They asked the president to “adhere to precedent and direct the FBI to immediately and thoroughly investigate [allegations against Kavanaugh] and provide a report to the Senate as soon as possible.”
Many Democrats echoed this position, in particular noting that such a follow-up investigation shouldn’t take very long. Sen. Amy Klobuchar said that she supported “a finite period for an FBI investigation, maybe a week.”
All these comments reflect the senators’ understanding of the FBI’s important, but limited, role in a background investigation.
What the bureau does do, and what it is excellent at, is compile evidence that has bearing on a nominee’s character and fitness to serve. It gathers facts and conducts interviews, both with witnesses willing to be identified by name and those who wish to remain anonymous. Agents talk to scores of people who knew the nominee at various stages of his or her life: neighbors, colleagues, former romantic partners, etc. It then compiles a file of its work, which the Senate reviews prior to making its determination on confirmation.
In rare cases, information or al-