Brett Kavanaugh's anticipated FBI report released to Senate

Christal Hayes USA TODAY

Published 5:30 AM EDT Oct 4, 2018

WASHINGTON - The FBI's background investigation into Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was released early Thursday to the U.S. Senate.

The highly anticipated report centers around allegations of sexual assault and misconduct when Kavanaugh was a youth and could be a pivotal document in swaying a number of key votes on the Senate that could determine his future on the nation's highest court.

Republicans have carefully planned for the results of the investigation, including only allowing senators to view it in a secure room in the U.S. Capitol amid debate over how much of the report should be available for public view.

The results of the FBI's investigation were first given to the White House then sent to Capitol Hill.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley tweeted early Thursday, "Supplemental FBI background file for Judge Kavanaugh has been received."

Late Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell filed a cloture motion that paves the way for a procedural vote on Kavanaugh's nomination on Friday and a final up-or-down vote on confirmation as early as Saturday. While speaking on the Senate floor, McConnell, R-Ky., said the report would be in the hands of the Senate by Wednesday evening and members would have time to view it before a Friday vote.

"This evening, the Senate will receive the results of the FBI’s supplemental background investigation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh," McConnell said on the floor Wednesday. "This is now the seventh time the FBI has looked into Judge Kavanaugh’s background. And this information comes on top of what has already been one of the most thorough and most exhaustive Senate reviews of any Supreme Court nominee in the entire history of our country."

Democrats have questioned the scope of the report repeatedly, as some connected to the allegations had not been interviewed by the FBI and amid reports that the White House had a hand in who was contacted and who was not.

Christine Blasey Ford, the first to come forward with allegations of sexual assault, was not contacted throughout the FBI's supplemental investigation, even though she offered to cooperate and hand over additional documents to federal agents.

Her story and testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee led to Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., pushing for the FBI investigation when the committee voted to advance Kavanaugh's nomination last week.

His vote and two other Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, could determine whether Kavanaugh is appointed.

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Attorney Michael Avenatti said Wednesday that agents also had not contacted his client, Julie Swetnick, who alleged in a sworn statement that Kavanaugh and his friend, Mark Judge, tried to get teenage girls drunk so they could be "gang-raped" by multiple boys.

The report is expected to amount to a background file with separate documents, including either interview summaries or the transcript of interviews. White House officials said they do not expect to comment publicly on the report but may confirm its receipt because of the extraordinary circumstances surrounding Kavanaugh's nomination.

The Justice Department has referred questions about the probe to the White House.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders did not answer a question Wednesday about whether President Trump wants the report made available to the public.

“We’ve been very open and transparent throughout the process,” she said.

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