FBI probe of Kavanaugh
White House says talk to anyone, but be done by Friday
President Trump sows further confusion about the scope of the FBI's investigation into allegations of sexual assault naming Brett M. Kavanaugh.
WASHINGTON — The White House has given the FBI clearance to interview anyone it wants to by Friday in its investigation of sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
The new guidance, described to The Associated Press by a person familiar with it, was issued to the FBI over the weekend in response to Democratic and news media pushback that the scope of the probe was too narrow.
It comes as the FBI presses ahead with its investigation, questioning in recent days at least three people about accusations of misconduct against Kavanaugh dating to when he was in high school and college. Among the witnesses interviewed were men who California college professor Christine Blasey Ford says were present at a party of teenagers in the early 1980s at which she says was sexually assaulted by Kavanaugh.
President Donald Trump said he wants the FBI to do a “comprehensive” investigation and “it wouldn’t bother me at all” if agents pursued accusations made by three women who have come forward. But he also said Senate Republicans are determining the parameters of the investigation and “ultimately, they’re making the judgment.”
“My White House will do whatever the senators want,” Trump said at a news conference Monday. “The one thing I want is speed.”
The White House instructed the FBI to interview anyone it deems relevant to the inquiry, but required the work to be done by Friday, according to the person familiar with the discussions, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The revised guidance was aimed at promoting an investigation that could tamp down Democratic criticism and satisfy onthe-fence Republicans about its thoroughness and fairness while also ensuring a fixed deadline to prevent the probe from becoming open-ended and spanning weeks. Officials said it was possible, but not likely, the bureau could complete its work before Friday.
Senior Senate Republicans don’t want to prolong Kavanaugh’s confirmation fight beyond this week, although the leadership has yet to lock down the 50 Republican votes needed to install Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court. Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, have yet to announce their decision.
“The time for endless delay and obstruction has come to a close. Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination is out of committee. We’re considering it here on the floor,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Monday. “We’ll be voting this week.”
In a letter Monday to the White House and FBI, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee listed more than two dozen people they would like to see interviewed as part of the investigation.
As the fresh review unfolded, the prosecutor brought in by Republicans to question Ford at last week’s hearing outlined in a memo why she did not believe criminal charges would be brought against Kavanaugh if it were a criminal case rather than a Supreme Court confirmation process.
Rachel Mitchell argued that that there were inconsistencies in Ford’s narrative and said no one has corroborated Ford’s account.
As Republicans and Democrats quarreled over whether the FBI would have enough time and freedom to conduct a thorough investigation before a vote on the nomination, FBI agents have been interviewing witnesses from Kavanaugh’s high school and college years.
They include Mark Judge, a high school friend of Kavanaugh’s who Ford has said was in the room when a drunken Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her. Judge has denied misconduct allegations. On Monday, his lawyer Barbara Van Gelder said Judge had been interviewed “but his interview has not been completed.”
Another witness, Patrick “P.J.” Smyth, answered “every question” he was asked and told agents he had “no knowledge” of the small gathering that Ford described, according to his attorney, Eric Bruce.
Ford has said Smyth, whom she remembered as “P.J.,” was downstairs, not anywhere near the event.
Ford shared her allegation at a congressional hearing last week that also included Kavanaugh’s angry and emotional denial. As of Monday afternoon, she had not been contacted by the FBI to schedule an interview, according to a person close to her.
The FBI interviewed a separate accuser over the weekend — Deborah Ramirez, who has said Kavanaugh exposed himself to her when both were students at Yale University in the 1980s. Ramirez also provided investigators with the names of others who she said could corroborate her account, according to a person familiar with her questioning.
Kavanaugh has denied that allegation.
Additional witnesses have come forward with accounts they wanted to present to the FBI about Kavanaugh’s behavior.
In a statement Sunday, a Yale classmate of Kavanaugh’s said he is “deeply troubled by what has been a blatant mischaracterization by Brett himself of his drinking at Yale.” Charles “Chad” Ludington said he was a friend of Kavanaugh’s at Yale and that Kavanaugh was “a frequent drinker, and a heavy drinker.”