The FBI has concluded its “investigation” into sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, but what it did was so limited that it barely even qualifies as a serious effort to cover up. The FBI did as few as six interviews despite dozens of other possible witnesses having been identified or having come forward on their own. Now, senators will begin filing into a room at the Capitol to learn about the report’s contents, with Republicans and Democrats having access on a rotating hourly schedule.
The Trump White House has already announced that the report shows “no sexual misconduct,” but that claim comes from a pack of known liars just hours after Judiciary Committee Democrats sent a letter saying Republican claims that past FBI background checks of Kavanaugh didn’t turn up any hints of “inappropriate sexual behavior or alcohol abuse” are “not accurate.” So, yeah. Take it with an ocean of salt.
What didn’t this so-called investigation include? Brett Kavanaugh was not interviewed, which is not a minor issue:
“Last week’s hearing is no substitute for FBI interviews, especially when you consider the tenor of Judge Kavanaugh’s testimony,” [Sen. Dianne] Feinstein said in a statement. “When he wasn’t yelling and demeaning senators, he was making misleading statements that cast doubt on his overall trustworthiness. I don’t think that would happen with FBI agents seated across the table.”
That may be overly confident about Kavanaugh’s truthfulness, but it’s certainly true that his Senate testimony raised a lot more questions than it answered. Also not interviewed for the so-called investigation are Julie Swetnick, Kavanaugh’s third accuser, and a Yale classmate of Kavanaugh and second accuser Deborah Ramirez. The classmate told the New Yorker—and tried to tell the FBI—that he remembered hearing at the time about an incident that matched Ramirez’s account of Kavanaugh exposing himself to her.
Thanks to the Trump White House and Senate Republicans, this FBI investigation—which Republicans were forced into after resisting for weeks—was blindfolded and had its hands tied behind its back so it wasn’t even possible to grope around in the dark. That isn’t stopping Republicans from pretending it exonerates Kavanaugh, and we will not be able to believe a single word of what they say about what the FBI found, as they rush to a vote.
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