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White House Finds No Support In FBI Report for Claims Against Kavanaugh
By Rebecca Ballhaus, Michael C. Bender, Kristina Peterson and Natalie Andrews
Updated Oct. 4, 2018 12:35 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON—The White House has found no corroboration of the allegations of sexual misconduct against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh after examining interview reports from the FBI’s latest probe into the judge’s background, according to people familiar with the matter.
It was unclear whether the White House, which for weeks has raised doubts about the allegations, had completed its review of the FBI interview reports. Officials were expected to be sending the FBI report to the Senate Judiciary Committee late Wednesday.
Still, the White House’s conclusions from the report are not definitive at this point in the confirmation process. Senators who will decide Mr. Kavanaugh’s fate are set to review the findings on Thursday, and some of them may draw different conclusions.
The result could leave senators in much the same position as last week—faced with two witnesses providing mutually exclusive accounts and forced to decide between them. The investigation, which concluded two days before its Friday deadline, has faced mounting criticism in recent days from Democrats who have said the probe wasn’t appropriately comprehensive. Investigators spoke to one of the three women who made accusations of sexual misconduct against Judge Kavanaugh.
A White House spokesman declined to comment.
President Trump late Wednesday tweeted praise for his Supreme Court nominee. “Wow, such enthusiasm and energy for Judge Brett Kavanaugh,” he wrote, calling the judge “a fine man and great intellect.”
Republicans have said the extended background check by the Federal Bureau of Investigation was a concession to Democrats and wavering Republicans, who demanded it and said its completion without a major revelation should allow Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination to proceed to a Senate vote. Democratic senators on the Judiciary Committee, where Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination hearings were heard, have claimed that the White House imposed too many restrictions on who the FBI could interview—they didn’t talk to Christine Blasey Ford, Judge Kavanaugh’s accuser, for instance—to make their inquiry’s findings credible.
In an emotional hearing last Thursday, senators heard from Judge Kavanaugh and from Dr. Ford, the California psychology professor who accuses him of assaulting her when they were teenagers. Judge Kavanaugh denies the allegation.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) took a step Wednesday night to set up a Friday procedural vote on Judge Kavanaugh. He said the Senate would later Wednesday receive the FBI supplemental background investigation into Judge Kavanaugh, giving senators enough time to review the bureau’s findings before voting later this week.
Senators were expected to study the report at a secure location on Thursday. Three uncommitted Republicans—Jeff Flake of Arizona, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska—have said the FBI report would factor significantly into their decision.
Republicans have a narrow 51-49 edge in the Senate, so two defections would doom the nomination. In the event of a 50-50 tie, Vice President Mike Pence would cast a deciding vote on Judge Kavanaugh’s behalf.
The FBI probe was launched last Friday as the Judiciary Committee prepared to vote on sending Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Senate floor. Mr. Flake voted yes, but asked for the FBI to be given up to a week for a supplemental background check into allegations by Dr. Ford and another accuser, Deborah Ramirez, who says Judge Kavanaugh exposed himself to her in college.
Judge Kavanaugh also denies Ms. Ramirez’s allegations, saying he has never sexually assaulted anyone and characterizing the assertions as a political smear.
FBI agents have interviewed three people Dr. Ford said were at the social gathering where the alleged assault took place. The bureau also questioned two friends Judge Kavanaugh named in his 1982 calendar, Tim Gaudette and Chris Garrett, known as “Squi,” according to their lawyers.
Democrats have already signaled they consider the FBI investigation insufficient. The decision not to interview Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford, among others, “raises serious concerns that this is not a credible investigation,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
An attorney for Dr. Ford late Wednesday criticized the probe. “An FBI supplemental background investigation that did not include an interview of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford—nor the witnesses who corroborate her testimony—cannot be called an investigation,” the attorney said. “We are profoundly disappointed that after the tremendous sacrifice she made in coming forward, those directing the FBI investigation were not interested in seeking the truth.”
Democrats also said they were concerned about Judge Kavanaugh for reasons beyond the sexual-assault allegation, including his partisan attacks at last Thursday’s hearing.
GOP leaders say the renewed investigation wasn’t necessary, given that Judge Kavanaugh had already been subjected to several FBI background checks.
Whether Judge Kavanaugh is confirmed or rejected, the fight over his nomination has added fuel to the country’s sharp political divide. It has damaged relationships in the Senate, prompted predictions of nasty confirmation fights in the future, and spurred warnings about the potential politicization of the Supreme Court.
“This cannot be the new normal, because it will destroy the ability of people to come forward and be judges,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) said Wednesday at an event sponsored by the Atlantic magazine. “What goes around comes around.”
—Peter Nicholas contributed to this article.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-finds-no-corroboration-of-sexual-misconduct-allegations-against-kavanaugh-in-fbi-report-1538625927
White House Finds No Support In FBI Report for Claims Against Kavanaugh
By Rebecca Ballhaus, Michael C. Bender, Kristina Peterson and Natalie Andrews
Updated Oct. 4, 2018 12:35 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON—The White House has found no corroboration of the allegations of sexual misconduct against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh after examining interview reports from the FBI’s latest probe into the judge’s background, according to people familiar with the matter.
It was unclear whether the White House, which for weeks has raised doubts about the allegations, had completed its review of the FBI interview reports. Officials were expected to be sending the FBI report to the Senate Judiciary Committee late Wednesday.
Still, the White House’s conclusions from the report are not definitive at this point in the confirmation process. Senators who will decide Mr. Kavanaugh’s fate are set to review the findings on Thursday, and some of them may draw different conclusions.
The result could leave senators in much the same position as last week—faced with two witnesses providing mutually exclusive accounts and forced to decide between them. The investigation, which concluded two days before its Friday deadline, has faced mounting criticism in recent days from Democrats who have said the probe wasn’t appropriately comprehensive. Investigators spoke to one of the three women who made accusations of sexual misconduct against Judge Kavanaugh.
A White House spokesman declined to comment.
President Trump late Wednesday tweeted praise for his Supreme Court nominee. “Wow, such enthusiasm and energy for Judge Brett Kavanaugh,” he wrote, calling the judge “a fine man and great intellect.”
Republicans have said the extended background check by the Federal Bureau of Investigation was a concession to Democrats and wavering Republicans, who demanded it and said its completion without a major revelation should allow Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination to proceed to a Senate vote. Democratic senators on the Judiciary Committee, where Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination hearings were heard, have claimed that the White House imposed too many restrictions on who the FBI could interview—they didn’t talk to Christine Blasey Ford, Judge Kavanaugh’s accuser, for instance—to make their inquiry’s findings credible.
In an emotional hearing last Thursday, senators heard from Judge Kavanaugh and from Dr. Ford, the California psychology professor who accuses him of assaulting her when they were teenagers. Judge Kavanaugh denies the allegation.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) took a step Wednesday night to set up a Friday procedural vote on Judge Kavanaugh. He said the Senate would later Wednesday receive the FBI supplemental background investigation into Judge Kavanaugh, giving senators enough time to review the bureau’s findings before voting later this week.
Senators were expected to study the report at a secure location on Thursday. Three uncommitted Republicans—Jeff Flake of Arizona, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska—have said the FBI report would factor significantly into their decision.
Republicans have a narrow 51-49 edge in the Senate, so two defections would doom the nomination. In the event of a 50-50 tie, Vice President Mike Pence would cast a deciding vote on Judge Kavanaugh’s behalf.
The FBI probe was launched last Friday as the Judiciary Committee prepared to vote on sending Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Senate floor. Mr. Flake voted yes, but asked for the FBI to be given up to a week for a supplemental background check into allegations by Dr. Ford and another accuser, Deborah Ramirez, who says Judge Kavanaugh exposed himself to her in college.
Judge Kavanaugh also denies Ms. Ramirez’s allegations, saying he has never sexually assaulted anyone and characterizing the assertions as a political smear.
FBI agents have interviewed three people Dr. Ford said were at the social gathering where the alleged assault took place. The bureau also questioned two friends Judge Kavanaugh named in his 1982 calendar, Tim Gaudette and Chris Garrett, known as “Squi,” according to their lawyers.
Democrats have already signaled they consider the FBI investigation insufficient. The decision not to interview Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford, among others, “raises serious concerns that this is not a credible investigation,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
An attorney for Dr. Ford late Wednesday criticized the probe. “An FBI supplemental background investigation that did not include an interview of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford—nor the witnesses who corroborate her testimony—cannot be called an investigation,” the attorney said. “We are profoundly disappointed that after the tremendous sacrifice she made in coming forward, those directing the FBI investigation were not interested in seeking the truth.”
Democrats also said they were concerned about Judge Kavanaugh for reasons beyond the sexual-assault allegation, including his partisan attacks at last Thursday’s hearing.
GOP leaders say the renewed investigation wasn’t necessary, given that Judge Kavanaugh had already been subjected to several FBI background checks.
Whether Judge Kavanaugh is confirmed or rejected, the fight over his nomination has added fuel to the country’s sharp political divide. It has damaged relationships in the Senate, prompted predictions of nasty confirmation fights in the future, and spurred warnings about the potential politicization of the Supreme Court.
“This cannot be the new normal, because it will destroy the ability of people to come forward and be judges,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) said Wednesday at an event sponsored by the Atlantic magazine. “What goes around comes around.”
—Peter Nicholas contributed to this article.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-finds-no-corroboration-of-sexual-misconduct-allegations-against-kavanaugh-in-fbi-report-1538625927
