'Sham effort': Report claims Trump stymied investigation into Kavanaugh sex abuse claims
Donald Trump prevented the Federal Bureau of Investigations from investigating Brett Kavanaugh — even as the then-president claimed publicly its agents had "free rein" to look into sexual misconduct allegations levied against his then-Supreme Court justice nominee, according to a new report.
The Washington Post revealed Tuesday an imminent new report from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) about limitations Trump quietly put on the FBI in September 2018 — then denied those limitations were in place as senators were tasked with confirming the nominee's position on the nation's highest court, the Washington Post revealed Tuesday
“Assurances that everything was being done by the book and according to standard FBI procedures omitted the fact that for supplement background investigations, there is no book and there are no procedures,” Whitehouse told the Post.
“You simply do what the White House tells you.”
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While Trump declared on social media that he wanted the FBI to investigate "at their discretion," internal correspondence shows the White House never authorized them to proceed, according to the Washington Post.
"The report found that messages to the FBI tip line regarding Kavanaugh were forwarded directly to the White House and never probed," the Post reported.
"The FBI was instructed by the White House to talk to 10 potential witnesses and was not given the leeway to pursue corroborating evidence — the absence of which was cited by senators as they narrowly voted to confirm Kavanaugh, marking a major triumph for the conservative movement and locking in a right-leaning majority that would later overturn the constitutional right to abortion."
Kavanaugh did not reply to the Post's request for comment, but Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said he had been “unfairly slandered and smeared with lies.”
Attorneys for Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who publicly accused Kavanaugh of groping her at a high school party, told the Washington Post the report confirmed long-held suspicions.
“The FBI supplemental investigation of then-nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh was, in fact, a sham effort," said Debra Katz and Lisa Banks, "directed by the Trump White House to silence brave victims and other witnesses who came forward and to hide the truth."
An attorney for Deborah Ramirez, who accused Kavanaugh of shoving his penis in her face at Yale University, added, "It’s really disappointing since our client was so candid about something that was a pretty awful experience.”
The FBI received more than 4,500 calls and electronic messages about Kavanaugh which were forwarded to the White House without investigation, according to the Post.
Senators were then given about an hour to review more than 1,600 pages of material collected by the FBI before his confirmation vote, Whitehouse reportedly said.
“It all went up to the White House for a decent burial,” Whitehouse said, “with no investigation whatsoever.”