Senate Democrats Trash FBI for Kavanaugh Investigation, Accuse Bureau of Being ‘Politically Constrained by the Trump White House’

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The FBI was “politically constrained by the Trump White House” during its background investigation into then- Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in 2018, alleged a group of Senate Democrats this week.

In a July 21 letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray, a group of seven Senate Democrats – Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chris Coons (D-DE), Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senate President pro tempore Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) – wrote that Wray’s response last month to an August 2019 letter from “confirms that the FBI’s tip line was a departure from past practice and that the FBI was politically constrained by the Trump White House.”

“It also belies the former president’s insistence that his administration did not limit the Bureau’s investigation of Justice Kavanaugh, and his claim that he ‘want[ed] the FBI to interview whoever [sic] they deem appropriate, at their discretion,’” continued the letter.

Wray’s 2019 letter stated that “Kavanaugh’s nomination ‘was the first time that the FBI set-up a tip line for a nominee undergoing Senate confirmation,’ and that tip line received ‘over 4,500 tips, including phone calls and electronic submissions.’”

The letter this week from those Senate Democrats to Wray outlines questions about the FBI’s probe of Kavanaugh. The investigation was a result of accusations from Christine Blasey Ford, who alleged that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a party when they were in high school.

Ultimately, Kavanaugh was confirmed by the Senate to the Supreme Court in a 50-48 vote.