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WaPo: Kavanaugh confirmation "rushed" over 2018 midterms and possibility of more allegations
Kavanaugh’s confirmation hinged on an FBI investigation that increasingly looks incomplete
As was noted at the time, one week was not a lot of time for a robust FBI probe. What’s more, the investigation wasn’t conducted under the Senate’s authority but through the Trump administration, which oversees the bureau. At first, the White House imposed strict constraints on the scope of what the FBI could look at, loosening those bounds only slightly as the probe progressed. Post reporting at the time suggested that fewer than 10 people had been interviewed by the FBI by the time the review concluded, most of them related to the Ford allegations.
Why the rush? One looming deadline was the 2018 midterm elections. Those elections could have made Kavanaugh’s nomination even more difficult, given the (unlikely) prospect that Democrats could gain seats in the Senate. Another problem was that it seemed possible that more accusations could arise if the process were any more prolonged. So one week and tight constraints were imposed on a bureau and a department that were already facing enormous pressure from the White House.
This wasn’t the probe that some senators appeared to expect. Collins, for example, expressed confidence that the FBI would pursue all leads that emerged from its interviews. The Post reported at the time, though, that while Ramirez had been interviewed by the bureau, her lawyers didn’t believe that the FBI had contacted any of the people on a list it provided of more than 20 potential witnesses who might be able to corroborate the story about the Yale party.
The FBI's probe didn't turn up anything new. Kavanaugh was confirmed, with Flake's and Collins's support, exactly one month before the midterm elections.
https://beta.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/09/16/kavanaughs-confirmation-hinged-an-fbi-investigation-that-increasingly-looks-incomplete/
As was noted at the time, one week was not a lot of time for a robust FBI probe. What’s more, the investigation wasn’t conducted under the Senate’s authority but through the Trump administration, which oversees the bureau. At first, the White House imposed strict constraints on the scope of what the FBI could look at, loosening those bounds only slightly as the probe progressed. Post reporting at the time suggested that fewer than 10 people had been interviewed by the FBI by the time the review concluded, most of them related to the Ford allegations.
Why the rush? One looming deadline was the 2018 midterm elections. Those elections could have made Kavanaugh’s nomination even more difficult, given the (unlikely) prospect that Democrats could gain seats in the Senate. Another problem was that it seemed possible that more accusations could arise if the process were any more prolonged. So one week and tight constraints were imposed on a bureau and a department that were already facing enormous pressure from the White House.
This wasn’t the probe that some senators appeared to expect. Collins, for example, expressed confidence that the FBI would pursue all leads that emerged from its interviews. The Post reported at the time, though, that while Ramirez had been interviewed by the bureau, her lawyers didn’t believe that the FBI had contacted any of the people on a list it provided of more than 20 potential witnesses who might be able to corroborate the story about the Yale party.
The FBI's probe didn't turn up anything new. Kavanaugh was confirmed, with Flake's and Collins's support, exactly one month before the midterm elections.
https://beta.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/09/16/kavanaughs-confirmation-hinged-an-fbi-investigation-that-increasingly-looks-incomplete/
11 replies
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