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WASHINGTON – The FBI investigation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh found “no corroboration of the allegations” of sexual misconduct against him.
That conclusion was part of an executive summary of the report released by Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, late Thursday night.
“The Supplemental Background Investigation confirms what the Senate Judiciary Committee concluded after its investigation:Â there is no corroboration of the allegations made by Dr. Ford or Ms. Ramirez,” the report concluded.
The conclusion refers to allegations by Christine Blasey Ford that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were in high school and allegations by Deborah Ramirez that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a dorm party when they were students at Yale University. Kavanaugh has vehemently denied the allegations.
Democrats have complained that Grassley and the Republican majority on the Senate Judiciary Committee are refusing to release a copy of the entire report to the public, preventing Americans from reading details of the witness interviews for themselves.
The White House, which ordered the reopened background investigation of Kavanaugh last week, said privacy laws prevent them from releasing the report to the public. But Democrats argued that a redacted version could be made public, with some names and sensitive information blacked out.
In the executive summary released by Grassley’s office, the FBI said it decided to reach out to 11 people to try to corroborate the allegations by Ford and Ramirez. The bureau ultimately interviewed 10 people, according to the summary.
Six people were interviewed in connection with Ford’s allegations: Kavanaugh’s high school classmates Mark Judge, P.J. Smyth, Timothy Gaudette, and Christopher Garrett. Agents also interviewed Ford’s friend, Leland Keyser. An attorney for one of the witnesses was also questioned.
The FBI also interviewed Ramirez and two alleged eyewitnesses to the Yale University incident. Agents also interviewed a “close friend” of Ramirez’s from college.
The FBI did not interview Kavanaugh or Ford, prompting Democrats to call the investigation a sham. Republicans said it wasn’t necessary because Kavanaugh and Ford testified under oath before the Judiciary Committee last week.
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Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., speaks during the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on Friday, Sept. 28, 2018, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Flake said it would be “proper” to delay a Senate floor vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh for a week.
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Senate Judiciary Committee members (L-R) Sheldon Whitehouse, Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar, Kamala Harris, Christopher Coons, and Richard Blumenthal look on during a hearing on Capitol Hill on the nomination of Brett M. Kavanaugh to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., center, talks to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif, left, and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., during a delay in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Sept. 28, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Senator Kamala Harris, D-CA, along with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, right, Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-CT, and Senator Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii address protesters gathered at the United States Supreme Court ahead of a Senate Judiciary Committee vote on Brett Kavanaugh for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on Sept. 28, 2018 in Washington.
Senate Judiciary Committee member Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., joined by from left, Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, speaks to media about the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
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