White House gives FBI freer rein in Kavanaugh probe
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 was issued to the FBI over the weekend in response to Democratic and news media claims 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 Mr 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 Mr Kavanaugh.
Donald Trump, addressing concerns about the probe’s remit at a news conference, said he wants the FBI to carry out a “comprehensive” investigation and “it wouldn’t bother me at all” if agents pursued accusations made by three women who have come forward.
But the president 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,” Mr Trump said. “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 a source.
The revised guidance is aimed at promoting an investigation that could tamp down Democratic criticism and satisfy on-the-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, that the bureau could complete its work before Friday.
Mr Trump said a comprehensive investigation is “a good thing” for Mr Kavanaugh and that while it was fine that the FBI wants to interview all three women who have made accusations, “we don’t want to go on a witch hunt, do we?”
As Republicans and Democrats clashed 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 multiple witnesses from Mr Kavanaugh’s high school and college years.
They include Mark Judge, a high school friend of Mr Kavanaugh who Ms Ford has said was in the room when a drunken Mr Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her.
Mr Judge has denied misconduct allegations. On Monday, his lawyer Barbara “Biz” Van Gelder said he had been interviewed “but his interview has not been completed”.
Another witness, Patrick PJ Smyth, answered “every question” he was asked and told agents he had “no knowledge” of the small gathering Ms Ford described, according to his lawyer, Eric Bruce.
Mr Smyth also told the FBI does not have “knowledge of Ford’s allegations of improper conduct against Kavanaugh”, Mr Bruce said.
Ms Ford has said Mr Smyth was downstairs, not anywhere near the event.
Ms Ford shared her allegation at an extraordinary congressional hearing last week that also included Mr 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 Mr Kavanaugh exposed himself to her when both were students at Yale University in the 1980s.
Ms Ramirez also provided investigators with the names of others who she said could corroborate her account, according to a source.
Mr Kavanaugh has denied that allegation.
White House officials insisted that they were not “micromanaging” the new one-week review of Mr Kavanaugh’s background and insisted Republican senators were dictating the inquiry’s scope.
But questions about the investigation’s reach mounted as additional witnesses came forward with accounts they wanted to present to the FBI about Mr Kavanaugh’s behaviour.
In a statement on Sunday, a Yale classmate of Mr Kavanaugh said he was “deeply troubled by what has been a blatant mischaracterisation by Brett himself of his drinking at Yale.”
Charles “Chad” Ludington, who teaches at North Carolina State University, said he was a friend of Mr Kavanaugh at Yale and he was “a frequent drinker, and a heavy drinker”.
A third woman, Julie Swetnick, accused Mr Kavanaugh and Mr Judge of excessive drinking and inappropriate treatment of women in the early 1980s, among other accusations.
Mr Kavanaugh has called her accusations a “joke”, and Mr Judge “categorically” denies the allegations.