The move comes as Kavanaugh’s historic hearing, in which he and one of his accusers, Christine Blasey Ford, will testify, approaches on Thursday and parties on both sides clash over whether a second woman’s recent allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior by the nominee will also be discussed during the hearing.
Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court in October 2018, after Blasey Ford and two other women accused him of sexual misconduct, which he denied. The Senate voted to confirm Kavanaugh on a 50-48 vote.
Blasey Ford’s attorneys said in their statement that the investigation into Kavanaugh “never should have been an ordinary background check,” adding that the FBI and Trump administration “hid the ball on this” with regard to the 4,500 tips about the now-Supreme Court justice.
On June 30, the FBI responded to the senators, revealing new information about the investigation. Notably, the letter said that the tip line for Kavanaugh’s investigation received over 4,500 tips — and that this was the first time the bureau had set up such a line.
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) listens to Senator Dianna Feinstein (D-CA) Speak at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh on Capitol Hill September 27, 2018 in Washington, DC.
Brett Kavanaugh was nominated by President Donald Trump to fill Justice Anthony Kennedy’s seat on the Supreme court in July. Kavanaugh served on the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia Circuit for 12 years. He is a former legal aide to President George W. Bush and clerked in the Supreme Court under Justice Kennedy.
Rep. Anna Eshoo represents California’s 18th congressional district and was the first member of Congress to hear Ford’s story. Ford said she called Eshoo’s office on July 6 because Eshoo is her congressional representative. She told a receptionist that someone on President Trump’s shortlist for Supreme Court nominees had “attacked me.”
Mark Judge was Kavanaugh’s classmate at the all-male Catholic private school, Georgetown Preparatory. Ford alleged Judge was in the bedroom with Kavanaugh when she was assaulted at a gathering in the 1980s. In her opening statement on Thursday, Ford said, “Both Brett and Mark were drunkenly laughing during the attack. They both seemed to be having a good time. Mark was urging Brett on, although at times he told Brett to stop. A couple of times I made eye contact with Mark and thought he might try to help me, but he did not.”
Leland Ingham Keyser was at the high school gathering in the 1980s where Ford was allegedly sexually assaulted, Ford told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. But in a statement emailed to the Senate Judiciary Committee and later shared with Politico, Keyser’s lawyer said she “has no recollection of ever being at a party or gathering” where Kavanaugh was present.
Feinstein is the lawmaker Ford first approached with her allegations against Kavanaugh in July. In a letter, Ford identified the judge as her abuser and said that as a constituent she expected Feinstein to keep her identity anonymous and the matter confidential.
Leahy was on the Senate Judiciary Committee when Anita Hill testified in 1991, along with Republican Senators Chuck Grassley and Orrin Hatch. The Vermont lawmaker took the lead on writing a letter to the committee on behalf of all Democratic members asking for an FBI investigation to look into the "potential federal crimes being committed against Ford" since she came forward with the allegation against Kavanaugh. Those crimes included the death threats, hacking of her email and the harassment she's faced.
Harris made headlines during her questioning of Kavanaugh when she asked the judge if he could think of "any laws that give the government the power to make decisions about the male body."
On the first day of Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing, Durbin requested that the judge "step up" and ask for the meeting to be postponed due to the last minute release of more than 40,000 documents. Durbin told MSNBC on Tuesday that Ford had "everything to lose and nothing to gain" from coming forward with her allegation against Kavanaugh.
Senator Klobuchar, a former prosecutor, said that Democrats on the Committee were being "shut out" from getting any information from the witnesses and accusers of Kavanaugh. "Even in the Anita Hill hearing, we had dozens of witnesses that came forward and were allowed to testify. This time all of that is being shut out," Klobuchar told CBS This Morning on Tuesday.
Booker immediately moved to dismiss Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing just minutes after it began. He dared Republicans to expel him from the Senate and called his actions at the hearing his "I am Spartacus" moment. In response to the rush by Republicans to get Ford to testify, Booker asked: "Will we listen to a woman who is making a credible accusation?"
Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh will testify to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday before it delivers a vote on whether Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee should move toward confirmation by the full Senate.
Lawyers for Christine Blasey Ford, who accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct before he was confirmed in 2018 as a Supreme Court justice, said Thursday that the FBI’s investigation into her allegations was a “sham and a major institutional failure.”. The attorneys' comments came after the FBI sent a letter to Sens.
Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court in October of 2018, after Blasey Ford and two other women accused him of sexual misconduct, which he denied. The Senate voted to confirm Kavanaugh on a 50-48 vote.
Notably, the letter said that the tip line for Kavanaugh’s investigation received over 4,500 tips — and that this was the first time the bureau had set up such a line.
The attorneys' comments came after the FBI sent a letter to Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.), who wrote to FBI Director Christpher Wray two years ago with questions about how the investigation into Kavanaugh was conducted.
Christine Blasey Ford lawyers call Kavanaugh investigation a "sham" after new details emerge. A June 30 letter from the FBI revealed that the bureau got over 4,500 tips about the now-justice.