Here We Go: Kavanaugh Accuser's Legal Team Rejects 'Artificial' FBI Investigation Deadline
Today was supposed to be simple. The Senate Judiciary Committee was
set to vote on advancing the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh
to the Senate floor. Then, 60 hours of debate, followed by a final vote
on Tuesday. It was going to be a party-line vote. It was going to be
dotted with Democrats once again whining about the process. They also
want an FBI investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations lobbed
against Kavanaugh. One of the women, Christine Blasey Ford, testified
before Congress yesterday. Judge Kavanaugh addressed the committee later
that afternoon. In a fiery speech, he defended his name, reputation,
and career, which has been tarnished by what appears to be a coordinated
political hit job. He stringently denies the allegations; Ford alleges
Kavanaugh tried to rape her at a high school party. None of the three
allegations hurled against him have any evidence or witnesses. It's
devolved into a circus. On top of that, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) decided
to stab his party in the back.
Yes,
the committee voted to advance the nomination, but not before Flake
decided to take the role of Benedict Arnold, suggesting a delay in the
final confirmation vote in order to have
the FBI investigate the claims.
It’s on a weeklong timetable. Sens. Murkowski (R-AK), Collins (R-ME),
and Manchin (R-WV) all jumped onboard supporting this measure. The White
House, now forced into a corner,
has formally ordered the FBI to conduct
an investigation. It’s the wrong move. Flake decided to give this left
wing smear campaign another week of oxygen, allowing more time for last
minute shenanigans to possibly occur. We know that when the FBI submits
their preliminary report, the Democrats will demand more time. There is
nothing that will ever make them change their minds about this man. It’s
delay, delay, and delay some more. That’s the playbook Democrats are
reading to derail Kavanaugh. And to no one’s surprise, Ford’s legal team
rejects the “artificial limits” of the investigation (via
Fox News):
President
Trump on Friday ordered the FBI to conduct a limited "supplemental"
background investigation into the allegations of sexual assault against
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, as Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell delayed plans for votes but said Republicans are still moving
"forward."
“I’ve ordered the FBI to conduct a supplemental
investigation to update Judge Kavanaugh’s file," Trump said in a
statement. "As the Senate has requested, this update must be limited in
scope and completed in less than one week.”
Trump's order came
after after several undecided senators whose votes are needed to confirm
Kavanaugh called for a weeklong FBI probe before a floor vote.
[…]
An
attorney for Kavanaugh accuser Christine Ford, Debra S. Katz, said in a
statement Friday that Ford “welcomes this step in the process.” But
Katz took issue with the one-week limit, saying no “artificial limits as
to time or scope should be imposed on this investigation."
When
asked if they could get the investigation done in a week, a senior FBI
official told Fox News, "That depends on the schedules of everyone we'd
have to interview, including the accuser, accused and witnesses.”
Ford
has named three other people she said attended the 1982 party where she
claims she was assaulted. All three named people have said they have no
memory of the event, though two said Friday they’re willing to
cooperate with the FBI.
“I will cooperate with any law
enforcement agency that is assigned to confidentially investigate these
allegations,” Kavanaugh friend Mark Judge said.
“My client, Patrick J. Smyth, is happy to cooperate fully with this FBI investigation,” said attorney Eric B. Bruce.
In
the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that the nomination is
moving forward—and all 51 Republicans have agreed to that end. Also,
this FBI investigation is not a criminal one, meaning they can’t force
people to testify or subpoena records. In other words, it’s all part of
the delay tactic deployed against this Supreme Court nomination. It’s
now a street fight. It’s open warfare—and it seems clear that the GOP
was not ready to get this deep into the muck when it came to fighting
Democrats. It’s going to be another intense and nasty seven-to-ten days.
Brace yourselves.
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