FBI chief defends bureau’s investigation of Kavanaugh
Wray says the probe was consistent with similar efforts
WASHINGTON — FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress on Wednesday that the FBI background investigation into sexual-assault allegations involving Brett Kavanaugh before he was confirmed to the Supreme Court was handled in a way “consistent” with other such probes.
“My folks have assured me that the usual process was followed,” Wray testified to the Senate Homeland Security Committee in response to questions by Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., about the White House’s High court considers detention of certain immigrants NEWS involvement in the process.
Wray declined to address whether the FBI investigated accusations that Kavanaugh lied during his Senate confirmation hearings, as Democrats have alleged. “That’s not something I can discuss here,” he said.
“My folks have assured me that the usual process was followed” during the investigation of allegations about Brett Kavanaugh.
The investigation lasted a week and did not include interviews with multiple people who said they had relevant information to share about Kavanaugh’s past.
Republicans say the FBI reached out to 11 people for interviews, including a Yale University classmate of Kavanaugh who had accused him of exposing himself to her in college, and that 10 people agreed to be questioned. The FBI did not interview Kavanaugh or a California college professor who had accused Kavanaugh of assaulting her when they were high school students.
Wray said that unlike criminal or national security investigations, the FBI’s authority in background investigations is determined by the agency that requested it — the White House in this case.
When Harris pressed Wray as to why the FBI did not interview Kavanaugh, his chief accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, or 40 other potential witnesses, the FBI director said the investigation was “very specific in scope, limited in scope, and that is the usual process.”
Wray and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen testified at a hearing focusing on threats, including terrorism and interference in elections, facing the country.
“Our nation continues to face a multitude of serious and evolving threats ranging from homegrown violent extremists to cyber criminals to hostile foreign intelligence services and operatives. Keeping pace with these threats is a significant challenge for the FBI,” Wray said in his opening statement.
It was Wray’s first public appearance Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh smiles as he serves meals to the homeless as he volunteers with Catholic Charities on Wednesday in Washington. since the FBI wrapped up a hasty background probe last week after three women had publicly accused Kavanaugh of sexual abuse.
The full Senate confirmed Kavanaugh, a former top appeals court judge, to the high court Saturday by a historically narrow 50-48 margin.
Democrats have decried the Kavanaugh inquiry for being insufficient and improperly constricted by the White House. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., called the investigation “a sham.”
Republicans have defended the supplemental FBI probe, saying it was extensive and did not uncover any new corroborating evidence supporting allegations of sexual misconduct.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who was seen as a key swing vote, said that “there was a lack of corroborating evidence no matter where you looked.”
Ford alleged that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a house gathering in the
Christopher Wray
Maryland suburbs when she was a 15-yearold high school student in the early 1980s.
Ford testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 27 about the alleged assault but conceded she could not remember key details.
Testifying later at the same hearing, Kavanaugh, 53, fiercely denied the accusations.
The next day, the FBI launched a limited probe into the matter after Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, a Republican, suggested he would not vote to confirm the judge unless the bureau conducted such an investigation.
The nomination was put on hold for a week while the FBI interviewed nine people, including those whom Ford named as having attended the house gathering. Agents also questioned Deborah Ramirez, who alleged that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her and thrust his genitals in her face when they were freshmen at Yale University.
Senators were permitted to review reports of those interviews before voting.