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A source familiar with the confirmation proceedings told Fox News that Feinstein received the letter back in July, but did not make its existence known publicly until Thursday. According to a report by The Intercept, the letter was relayed to lawmakers by an individual affiliated with Stanford University and concerns an incident involving the 53-year-old Kavanaugh and a woman while they were in high school. According to two officials who spoke anonymously with the New York Times, the incident involved possible sexual misconduct between Kavanaugh and the woman. The letter reportedly was given to Feinstein by Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., but has not been publicly disclosed by senators who have seen the document. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said that the letter in question has been referred to the FBI for investigation. The FBI conducts background checks on all major government appointees, including Supreme Court nominees. “Upon receipt of the information on the night of September 12, we included it as part of Judge Kavanaugh’s background file, as per the standard process,” the FBI said in a statement.

The timing is important. We don't know when Anna Eschoo initially got the letter, but if this reporting is accurate, she passed it on to Feinstein sometime in July. Feinstein did not give it to the FBI until September 12 -- i.e., yesterday. So: the Democrats seem to have sat on a hearsay accusation for at least six weeks, preventing the FBI from investigating and, of course, denying Kavanaugh any opportunity to defend himself. And after a six week delay, they rush it to the press. This is beneath contempt.