Would It Make A Difference If The FBI Were To Investigate Kavanaugh Allegations?

KPCC-FM ^ | September 28, 2018 | Philip Ewing, NPR

[2ndDivisionVet]

One of the biggest disputes in the Brett Kavanaugh saga has not been over what questions should be asked about the alleged sexual misconduct of which he's been accused and which he strongly denies — but over who asks them.

Specifically, Democrats and outside groups want the FBI to conduct an investigation into the accusations made by Christine Blasey Ford and others about the Supreme Court nominee's conduct from decades ago.

That looked as though it wasn't going to happen until a dramatic Judiciary Committee meeting on Friday morning. After some offstage horse-trading, senators voted along party lines to move Kavanaugh's confirmation forward to the full Senate — while also getting behind an informal agreement to delay the floor vote by a week for an FBI investigation.

Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said he would vote to advance Kavanaugh if that meant a weeklong interim before a floor vote during which the FBI could investigate the allegations made by Ford and others.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said he would go along with the caveat that the decision about when to schedule the floor vote is up to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and the decision about whether or not to involve the FBI is up to President Trump.

But Grassley said that for what it's worth, he would put in a word for Flake.

"I would advocate for the position he took — but I don't control that," Grassley said.

Democrats voted along party lines to oppose reporting Kavanaugh favorably to the full Senate, but they welcomed the prospect of a one-week gap to give time for an FBI investigation.

"This was kind of a surprise to all of us," said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.

Trump told reporters at the White House that he deferred to the wishes of the Senate on how to handle this stage of the Kavanaugh process but the president did not address whether he would activate the FBI.

Battle royale

Democrats had been demanding an FBI investigation all along, including at a dramatic hearing on Thursday, during which both Ford and Kavanaugh testified before the committee. An outside prosecutor assisted senators with the questioning.

Grassley and Kavanaugh both said on Thursday the committee was what's important here. Its members and staff are the ones who must draw conclusions about what they believe so its members can vote on whether to recommend his nomination to the full Senate.

The FBI, as Grassley and Kavanaugh pointed out, wouldn't make any independent findings about the substance of the claims. Its investigators would very likely just conduct interviews with the people involved and then pass them along.

If that's so, why is the role of the FBI still such a big deal even after the historic, emotional marathon of open testimony?

The weight of the FBI

There are several reasons an FBI investigation would be different.

First, it's a crime to lie to the FBI. It's a crime to lie to Congress, too, but there is a practical difference between people in the Kavanaugh case issuing written statements about their versions of events and actually sitting down with human FBI special agents.

And second, because the FBI might hear from, and ask questions of, people who so far have only spoken out on paper. Special agents might talk in more detail with bystanders and witnesses and glean details from them that aren't yet in the public eye.

So although Grassley and Kavanaugh are correct that the FBI might serve only as a gold-plated transcription service in this case, the completeness of those transcripts might exceed the body of evidence that now exists — and it would be evidence obtained from witnesses who could be prosecuted if they lied to the feds.

That leads to the third important point in all the discussion about an FBI investigation: the politics. Democrats and outside groups want whatever evidence the Judiciary Committee or the Senate considers to have the imprimatur of the world's premier law enforcement agency.

An interview given to the FBI by Kavanaugh's boyhood friend Mark Judge, for example — whom Ford has accused of being a bystander to sexual assault — would have much greater political heft than the written statement he has released on his own.

Earlier on Friday, the committee voted along party lines to defeat a Democratic motion to attempt to subpoena Judge to testify before the panel.

The case made by Democrats and outside groups goes beyond Judge. They also want interviews with other accusers and witnesses in the case, some of whom have already said they want to talk with investigators.

One big question after the committee vote on Friday afternoon was, if the FBI does get involved, who might it interview and who might it exclude.

What about Senate investigators and Kavanaugh's background checks?

Many Republicans have been arguing that the call for an FBI investigation is a transparent bid to continue delaying Kavanaugh's nomination. The Senate already has been reviewing his case for weeks.

There's no way to know how much more time it might require for the FBI to interview all the people now involved with the Kavanaugh case. Some of them are spread around the country.

Moreover, Grassley has said, the Judiciary Committee also already has federal investigators detailed to help it talk with people involved — they just come from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

These ATF and ICE investigators, however, so far apparently haven't spoken to Judge or other people directly connected with the allegations made by Ford and the other women.

The committee's staffers and investigators have been dealing with other allegations, according to transcripts released by the Judiciary panel, including ones they and Kavanaugh have concluded were false.

And the FBI has conducted background checks into Kavanaugh in the past, as he and Judiciary Committee Republicans pointed out several times on Thursday.

If the bureau didn't find anything that disqualified him for his executive branch positions or his current seat on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, what difference, they ask, would a new inquiry make?

One difference is what the people involved are willing to say now.

Ford says she didn't talk with anyone about her alleged assault at the time it happened in 1982, including in the 1990s at the time the FBI might have looked into Kavanaugh's background so he could join the Justice Department, or in the early 2000s when he worked for then-President George W. Bush.

What Democrats and some outside groups want is to see what the FBI might come up with if it looked into Kavanaugh today, with everything that has happened in the past month.

So far, Trump has declined the request of Democrats to order another FBI investigation. Kavanaugh has said he will not ask the White House to request one, and Grassley argued that one wasn't necessary.

What most Republicans say is that the due diligence on Kavanaugh is complete and now that the Judiciary Committee has voted to recommend him to the full Senate, the full chamber must decide.

[Bratch]

Mission Accomplished – Senator Jeff Flake Supports The Democrat DC Scheme – Kavanaugh FBI Investigation To Be Manipulated By Michael Bromwich…

Posted on September 28, 2018 by sundance

The events surrounding the use of Jeff Flake by politically corrupt democrats, with the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh are beyond transparent. This is a scheme.  All of it.  A strategic approach to eliminate the current threat (Kavanaugh confirmation) and simultaneously gain leverage for use in this years mid-term elections. This is a scheme.

Today the democrats in the judiciary committee, fully engaged political operatives, talked Jeff Flake into supporting a call for a week-long delay in the full senate confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh.  Flake, who is not running for re-election, advances the nomination out of committee – and simutaneously states he will not support a full senate vote until the FBI conducts an investigation into the ridiculous claims against Kavanaugh.

Jeff Flake will be financially rewarded *after* the spotlight fades, when no-one is paying attention, through the matrix of big business interests in 2019.  This is all DC corrupt politics at its worst.

Senator Flake (R-AZ) provides political cover for Senator Murkowski (R-AK) and Senator Collins (R-ME) to join with him with similar demands.  Under political pressure from rabid ideologues, and with general alignment toward those corrupt purposes, Murkowski and Collins will now make a similar demand for an extension of time for the FBI to conduct an investigation.

Now the real reason for FBI insider Michael Bromwich to join the efforts on September 22nd surfaces.  Bromwich, a former inspector general within the DOJ/FBI, is part of the corrupt FBI operational system we have seen surface over the past year.  Bromwich represents fired Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe.  The career operatives within the FBI have a risk from the ongoing internal investigations; and as an outcome, have a mutual interest in assisting Mr. Bromwith.  A natural alignment.

Democrat political operative and attorney Debra Katz (representing Ms. Ford), and Mr. Bromwich, are now aiding the efforts of their political allies.  The united interests want Kavanaugh’s confirmation pushed to the mid-term election so they can deploy maximum political benefit to get out their base in a quest to defeat the nomination.

The delay allows the corrupt FBI inside group to work on discovering more Christine Ford’s, so the process can be dragged out.  One week, becomes two weeks, becomes… well, you get the picture… an investigation timeline takes over the internal Senate confirmation timeline.  ie. “we can’t hold a vote until the investigation is complete”, blah, blah, blah.

This is all transparent.

This is how DC works.

How much is Jeff Flake’s position worth?   Likely tens of millions.

Flake gives the corrupt DC system a Collins and Murkowski delay.  Flake, Collins and Murkowski, give the democrats and corrupt system an endless and useful delay to the mid-terms.

This will not end in a week.

There will be more smears.

Even without more smears, the current smear investigation will continue until the mid-term narrative:  “let the voters decide“, is close enough to be deployed.   The media will advance this stage with great alignment.

This is the current state affairs.

This is the corrupt DC swamp everyone knows.

Shady Business Conducted At Brett Kavanaugh Hearing (September 27th, 2018)...

 

[chuckee]

Yes.This will give the Dems assisted by heroic porn lawyer time to find a “victim” that was abducted by aliens on flying saucers acting in consort with evil moustache twirling gang rapist Kavanaugh and subjected to a full orifice probe....

[bigbob]

Some saying Creepy Porn Lawyer was already planning a Sunday bombshell from his gang rape “lady”

[afsnco]

Something being lost in this shuffle is that the “victims” need to have background checks run on them that are as thorough as the 5 investigations Kavanaugh’s have been. They can throw a lot of manpower at a problem in a hurry and could easily do this in a week. They need to do this for no other reason than to help determine their credibility. My guess is all 3 accusers so far were the class sluts, else why would they be at the events they claimed to attend, and that would come out of such a background investigation.

[ManHunter]

Let’s agree on at least one thing - THERE IS NOTHING TO INVESTIGATE! No time, no location and the so-called named witnesses weren’t there and have no knowledge of the alleged event.

[NKP_Vet]

It’s not a ridiculous FBI “investigation” of a 37 year old allegation to be worried about. It’s the one a day skank that will allege Kavanaugh has sexually assaulted them, and you can bet your bottom dollar one will claim she was recently a victim of Kavanaugh and she’s a republican that voted for Trump. Democrats are already getting them lined up.

[Williams]

Regarding Ford, if the FBI gets her social media and therapy notes it’s worth it. Ramirez is ridiculous, and I doubt K was doing weekly gang bangs.

[poinq]

Some saying Creepy Porn Lawyer was already planning a Sunday bombshell from his gang rape “lady”

---

Yes creepy porn lawyer will sayanything. People get that. But when the NYT throws out stories from FBI leaks on stuff they have confiscated from everyone and their mother, we will never have an end to it. It certainly will never be a week as they are saying.

[LibFreeUSA]

Will the FBI investigate the Democrats, coordinating, talking with, and getting the attorney for the accuser?

[Hugin]

It’s all about the stall. They will agree to one week for the FBI to investigate. If the FBI does investigate, they will ask for more time. Then when the report is done, Dems will demand a new hearing to discuss it. Then new women will come forward. Rinse and repeat.

[alloysteel]

Any investigation by the FBI would be window dressing.

First and foremost, no Federal law was violated. And secondly, whatever “investigation” took place, would be a sort of glorified background check, with inquiries only to known or alleged witnesses, as there is no address, date, or even month specified, and there are WAY too many gaps in the narrative to be filled with anything but sheer speculation.

The Maryland authorities, who do have jurisdiction, would probably spurn any efforts at this late date to undertake an investigation of their own.

[PIF]

Will the FBI find his spine?
—

Sure, but it will not be able to report before January of 2019; then it will be buried under the Impeachment proceedings against DJT & Pence

[Alberta's Child]

Once they investigate, someone has to review and analyze their findings. This puts us out weeks.

No, it doesn't.

Anita Hill's allegations were investigated in three days.

Go back and see how remarkably similar the timelines are in the Thomas and Kavanaugh charades. Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas testified before the Judiciary Committee during the second week of October in 1991.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Speaking of Tom Carper:

Hillary Introduced In The Most Awkward Way Possible
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkQdfGzqGe8

[Jim Noble]

Why don’t they ask Fusion GPS for help?

They can contact them on Nellie Ohr’s shortwave radio

[TheConservativeTejano]

Partner, the main problem is that the idiot Senator Flake who really is a Flake asked that he wanted an FBI investigation which delays the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh into the USSC.

Actually, this is what the Rats wanted all along and they finally got it from a Republican Senator named Jeff Flake who is an A-Hole since he will not be representing the great state of Arizona ever again.

Jeff Flake is a one Piece of Work and I am guessing that he is the one that does not even know that the FBI and the DOJ led by that incompetent idiot Jeff Sessions.

He probably does not even know this, but he is a member of the LDS church and he is also dragging the LDS church into this mess, whether he likes it or not or whether he even is aware of this little fact.

Jeff Flake has been a "Never Trumper " from Day One.

[flamberge]

Would It Make A Difference If The FBI Were To Investigate Kavanaugh Allegations?

No.

The Democrats will still oppose the nomination regardless of what results an FBI investigation might produce.

And the FBI cannot be trusted in any case. They have revealed themselves to be corrupted partisan allies of the Democrats. They would take months to do an "investigation" and then they would simply refer Kavanagh to the "Justice Department" for prosecution on unsubstantiated charges.

The whole point of a sham investigation is to delay a confirmation until the Democrats can win a majority in the mid-term elections. If they could manager that condition, then they could ensure that President Trump never got another judge appointed to any court. And they would certainly press for an impeachment of the President.

Of course that is a very big "If".

We must make sure that things go in a different path.

[stanne]

If the Dems are asking for FBI they know what the outcome will be

[Chewbarkah]

The investigation that is needed is of Ford. A review of her entire medical and psychiatric history, claims and charges she has filed, her youthful drinking and sex life, her political activism and connections, her social history, interviews with all her friends from high school, college, and graduate school, contents of all her computer and smartphone devices, etc.

A woman told me today that an FBI investigation was needed to force Mark Judge to admit he had a job at a grocery store in the summer of 1982. If he did, the whole accusation is proved. This is the sort of idiocy driving this crap.

[vigilence]

I can just hear Rosenstein telling Trump, “Drop the threat to declassify FISA abuse and I’ll give you a clean report on Kavanaugh”. I don’t have a good feeling about giving this to the FBI.