The FBI report about U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh that landed on Capitol Hill Wednesday night contained “no hint of misconduct,” Judiciary Committee chieftain Chuck Grassley said, which might be one reason two crucial Republicans are satisfied with the report.
Senators Jeff Flake of Arizona and Susan Collins of Maine, either of whom could sink the Kavanaugh nomination, both are satisfied with the report’s conclusion but haven’t divulged how they will vote.
The question is whether liberal GOP Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska will bail on Kavanaugh, and whether he can pick up Trump-state Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia, but at any rate, having asked for a one-week delay and received it, Democrats aren’t satisfied.
Democrat Complaints
Said Flake, “We’ve seen no additional corroborating information.” Flake had caved to the committee Democrats’ demand for a week-long delay.
“It appears to be a very thorough investigation,” Collins said, “but I’m going back later to personally read the interviews.”
Democrats, not surprisingly, denounced the very report for which they begged, along with attorneys for Christine Blasey Ford and Debbie Ramirez. With no evidence, Ford claims that Kavanaugh attempted to rape her when she was 15. Ramirez claims he exposed himself to her, but she was drunk at the time and didn’t remember what happened until she was told.
Said Senator Chuck Schumer, a hard leftist from New York, “We had many fears that this was a very limited process that would constrain the FBI from getting all of the facts. Those fears have been realized.”
Senator Dianne Feinstein, ranking Democrat on the committee, opined that “the most notable part of this report is what’s not in it.” The leftist from California accused the White House of malfeasance. “It now appears that they also blocked the F.B.I. from doing its job.”
Attorneys for Ford and Ramirez denounced the report. Ramirez’s attorney, William Pittard, claims the FBI ignored 20 witnesses who can back up her story. “We can only conclude that the F.B.I. — or those controlling the investigation — did not want to learn the truth behind Ms. Ramirez’s allegation,” he said.
A letter from Ford’s attorneys to FBI head Christopher Wray says they gave the FBI eight possible witnesses and offered other evidence of her foggy claims, including “medical records,” but didn’t receive an answer.
“The ‘investigation’ conducted over the past five days is a stain on the process, on the F.B.I. and on our American ideal of justice,” Ford’s attorneys complained.
But Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) asked yesterday for all the notes from the therapy session at which Ford supposedly divulged Kavanaugh’s name in 2012. Ford’s attorney refused, instead telling Grassley they would give them to the FBI when the agency agreed to interview Ford.
As well, the letter to Wray shows, Ford’s witnesses are those to whom she revealed the attack within the last six years, not at the time of the purported attack.
As The New American reported Thursday, Ford’s attorneys falsely suggested the FBI did not speak to corroborating witnesses. But the FBI did indeed talk to the witnesses whom Ford claimed were in the house when Kavanaugh supposedly attacked her. They all said they don’t know what she’s talking about.
The FBI contacted 10 witnesses, nine of whom responded. Not one backed up Ford or Ramirez. The accusers’ attorney apparently expected to direct the FBI’s efforts and make them interview more than two dozen more “witnesses.”
No Right to Complain
Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), another leftist trying to sink Kavanaugh, also complained: “You can’t find what you don’t look for. This falls short of my expectations for this investigation.”
But a one-week investigation of “current credible allegations” is what the committee decided last week, largely at Flake’s insistence after the Democrats pulled him aside for the political equivalent of a rubber-hosing. Having said he would vote for Kavanaugh earlier that day, Flake emerged from the encounter looking chastised and browbeaten. He gave the Democrats what they wanted.
Coons specifically asked Kavanaugh to accept a one-week delay: “And why not agree to a one-week pause to allow the FBI to investigate … and for us to either clear your name or resolve these allegations by moving to a different nominee?”
The Democrats got their week, and as expected, it wasn’t enough.
That’s because most Democrats weren’t going to vote for Kavanaugh, regardless of what the report said and regardless of how much time and effort went into finding facts. North Dakota’s Heidi Heitkamp announced that Ford is credible and that was that. She will vote no.
Photo: FBI Photos
