USA TODAY International Edition
FBI sprints to background Barrett
Dems critical of speedy timeline on confirmation
The nomination of federal appeals Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court centers on a debate over her conservative views on abortion, guns and health care.
In the background, the FBI is reviewing the Notre Dame Law School professor’s life as part of a vetting process that was thrust into the spotlight two years ago during the rocky Senate hearings preceding the confirmation of Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
After women accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault, which he denied, President Donald Trump ordered the FBI to reopen its background inquiry. Trump allowed just a week to complete the
work, prompting criticism from Democrats that the process was tilted in favor of the nominee.
This time, an expedited confirmation schedule – hearings are scheduled to start Oct. 12 before the Senate Judiciary Committee – has pushed the FBI inquiry into high gear.
Late Wednesday, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the Judiciary Committee’s ranking Democrat, objected to the accelerated confirmation timeline, asserting in part that it jeopardized the “FBI’s ability to thoroughly vet the nominee.”
“The timeline for consideration of Judge Barrett’s nomination is incompatible with the Senate’s constitutional role,” Feinstein wrote to committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R- S. C. “We again urge you to delay consideration of this nomination until after the presidential inauguration. The Senate and the American public deserve a deliberative, thorough process, and this falls far short.”
The FBI declined to comment on the status of its inquiry, which can be an
intrusive element of the confirmation process.
In a statement, the FBI described its role as “a fact- finder”: It provides the results of the inquiry and does not make recommendations about the qualifications or fitness of nominees.
“I imagine that the ( FBI’s) Indianapolis Division is a really busy place right about now,” former agent Jim Davis said, referring to the bureau’s main office in Barrett’s home state. Davis has participated in dozens of nominee inquiries.
“A lot of work is put into these investigations,” he said, “and everybody knows this is going to get a lot of attention.”
What is scope of FBI’s inquiry?
The inquiries, known as special investigations or “spins,” delve into the personal backgrounds of nominees to the Supreme Court and top posts in a presidential administration.
The White House sets the scope of the background investigation, the FBI said. The time needed to complete a review depends largely on the White House’s direction and the life experience of the nominee.
Among the considerations: the number of places the nominee has lived ( those neighborhoods are routinely canvassed by investigators), her financial history and foreign travel.
The reviews are not criminal investigations, but they can highlight conduct that may open nominees to additional scrutiny.
Acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan, whom Trump had planned to formally nominate to the post, resigned last year shortly after USA TODAY reported that the FBI investigated a violent encounter with his then- wife in 2010.
“Depending on the nominee, these can be pretty wide- ranging investigations,” Davis said. “They typically go everywhere they have ever lived.”
In Barrett’s case, investigators are not starting from scratch.
Three years ago, Barrett was the subject of a background investigation for her nomination and subsequent confirmation to the U. S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit.
Barrett’s Senate confirmation hearing for the appellate court largely focused on her legal philosophy, from capital punishment to abortion, and whether her Catholic faith would unduly influence her decisions. ( She vowed to follow Supreme Court precedent.)
The closest lawmakers came to reviewing Barrett’s personal conduct was when then- Sen. Al Franken, D- Minn., pressed her on her acceptance of speaking fees for addressing a group sponsored by the Alliance Defending Freedom, designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an anti- LGBT group.
What do investigators look for?
Oliver “Buck” Revell, a former FBI associate deputy director, said investigators would probably begin Barrett’s examination where the previous review left off in 2017.
“You really don’t have to go all the way back, given the substantive amount of data that’s already there,” Revell said. “It’s not like you are starting with a totally new nominee.”
Investigators will probably focus on
Barrett’s public writings in the past three years, any social media activity and speeches.
“This will be a 24/ 7 effort until it’s complete,” Revell said.
Subjects of these inquiries are typically interviewed shortly after their nomination is announced. Davis said those meetings often produce leads that direct the course of the investigation, which can require interviews of 50 to 100 people.
“The central question to be answered in these things is whether derogatory information is found,” Davis said. “If so, that certainly is highlighted. If not, that is the finding in the final report.”
Who can read the FBI’s report?
Since the president makes the nomination, the White House is the primary client, though the findings are shared with the Senate panel weighing the nominee’s confirmation.
If lawmakers call for additional investigation, as they did in Kavanaugh’s case, their requests go through the White House, which has the discretion to expand the inquiry.
During his time at the FBI, Revell said, he had a number of interactions with Sen. Sam Nunn, D- Ga., who served as chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, which weighs the nominations of Pentagon officials.
“He was very involved; he asked a lot of questions and took his job seriously,” Revell recalled.
Even a Senate chairman such as Nunn needed the approval of the White House to request that the FBI dig more into a nominee’s background. “Sometimes,” Revell said, “we had to negotiate.”