Under public pressure and with Donald Trump wavering and lying in his public statements, the White House has given the FBI permission to interview anyone relevant to its investigation of sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Trump and Republicans are still giving the agency a one-week deadline—several days of which have already passed with the FBI’s hands tied by Trump—but this is progress. It’s progress Republicans didn’t want, because they don’t want any further negative information about Kavanaugh uncovered, especially after he perjured his way through two hearings.
Trump had been publicly back and forth about what guidelines he’d put on the investigation, tweeting that he had not placed false limits on the FBI even as reports made clear that the FBI had received a different message. Monday he went back and forth in the very same statement. But make no mistake, the initial limitations on the scope of the investigation were out of the ordinary:
In interviews, several former senior F.B.I. officials said that they could think of no previous instance when the White House restricted the bureau’s ability to interview potential witnesses during a background check. Chuck Rosenberg, who served as chief of staff under James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, said background investigations were frequently reopened, but that the bureau decides how to pursue new allegations.
“The White House normally tells the F.B.I. what issue to examine, but would not tell the F.B.I. how to examine it, or with whom they should speak,” he said. “It’s highly unusual — in fact, as far I know, uniquely so — for the F.B.I. to be directed to speak only to a limited number of designated people.”
Because Republicans want to cover up for Kavanaugh, not find out the truth. Now they’re just hoping that there isn’t time left for anything serious to surface or be nailed down as reliable.
Monday, Oct 1, 2018 · 7:28:48 PM +00:00 · Laura Clawson xFwiw, as of about 30 minutes ago, a member of Dr. Ford’s team said she had still not been contacted by the FBI
— Sam Stein (@samstein) October 1, 2018
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