Posted on 10/02/2018 8:36:00 AM PDT by yesthatjallen
The FBI has concluded its interview with Brett Kavanaugh's friend Mark Judge as part of its investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against the Supreme Court nominee.
“Mr. Judge completed his FBI interview,” Barbara Van Gelder, Judge’s attorney, told The Hill in an email. “We are not commenting on the questions the FBI asked Mr. Judge.”
Judge is at the center of allegations from Christine Blasey Ford that Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed and groped her during a high school party in the 1980s. Ford testified last week that Judge was the only other individual in the room at the time of the alleged assault.
While initially resistant to speaking about the alleged incident, Judge agreed to cooperate with a confidential investigation into the claims against Kavanaugh.
Judge, a recovering alcoholic, wrote in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee following Ford's testimony last week that he was friends with Kavanaugh in high school, but that the two have not been in direct contact in "several years."
"I do not recall the events described by Dr. Ford in her testimony before the US Senate Judiciary Committee today," he wrote. "I never saw Brett act in the manner Dr. Ford describes. I am knowingly submitting this letter under penalty of felony."
The White House on Monday reportedly authorized the FBI to interview anyone deemed appropriate in its investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against Kavanaugh.
The White House had previously only allowed the FBI to review claims from two of the three women who have accused Kavanaugh of misconduct, and gave the bureau permission to interview a list of four individuals in its investigation, according to multiple reports.
Judge was reportedly among the four individuals originally approved for an FBI interview, The New York Times reported.
In addition to Ford's allegation, Deborah Ramirez has accused Kavanaugh of exposing himself to her at a college party in the 1980s, and Julie Swetnick has claimed that Kavanaugh and Judge were part of a group of high schoolers in the same decade who intoxicated women so they could be "gang raped."
Kavanaugh has adamantly denied the allegations, and Judge has refuted Swetnick's claims, saying in a statement that he would remember such "outlandish" actions even while suffering from alcoholism.
The White House has refuted criticism from Democrats that it is "micromanaging" the FBI investigation by limiting its scope.
President Trump on Monday insisted that he is in favor of a "comprehensive" review that wraps up quickly.
"I think the FBI should do what they have to do to get to the answer," Trump told reporters during a press conference announcing a new trade deal with Mexico and Canada.
"Now with that being said, I’d like it go quickly," he continued. "And the reason I'd like it to go quickly — very simple, so simple — because it’s unfair to [Kavanaugh] at this point."
Trump and the White House have stressed that the investigation should fall within parameters set out by Senate Republicans.
"I’m guided by the Senate," Trump said. "I want to make the Senate happy, because ultimately they’re making the judgment. I’m not making the judgment."
I would suspect that Mr. Judge gave, essentially, the same statement as he did previously since it the initial testimony was under oath.
Something about how Mark Judge’s lawyers said he had a lot of anxiety and depression problems and didn’t want to do interviews or speak publicly made me wonder if all that was real or if he had something to hide. Hopefully it was the former.
So what’s the likelyhood this gets wrapped up by day’s end?
How is it that every step in the FBI investigation is known to the press? Someone in the FBI/DOJ is pushing this info out. These organizations lead like sieves.
This steady stream of leaks should be investigated and prosecuted.
It's interesting that this interview of Judge took two days. I suspect the FBI asked him a lot of questions about things he wrote in his book that Ford apparently used to fabricate her story.
I can’t stand so many lies about this FBI interviewing process. Senator Graham said last night that it was the Senate instructing the FBI about the scope of the interview. He explicitly said the scope was not the decision of anyone at the Whitehouse. And in the same interview he outlined what Jeff Flake, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski were looking for from this interview. Flake wanted the FBI to interview four specific people. Collins and Murkowski wanted the FBI to double-check the work of the committee investigators.
Even after Brett is confirmed to the Supreme Court, Jeff Flake will go down in GOP history as one of the biggest fools the party has ever produced. He will be persona non grata even moreso than he already is. Sort of the way Jimmy Carter is sort of ‘left alone’ by today’s Dem party.
They have little use for him.
I believe almost every report I’ve seen about these FBI interviews has come from a lawyer for the person involved in the interview. This is the first report I’ve seen where that is not explicitly stated.
One might not be surprised to see things wrap up pretty quickly now, and a vote on Thursday.
In the meantime our country is going to hell in a handbasket thanks to these ne'er-do-wells in Congress.
Thank you.
If Ford crafted her testimony’s credibility based on events related in Judge’s book, and if Judge used poetic license to craft a fictional tale, then the FBI can correlate the specifics invented by Judge, and afterwards used by Ford, to determine whether on not Ford is using his book to bolster her claim for credibility.
Let’s nominate Hillary Clinton for the Supreme Court - then finally the FBI can look into her thousands of crimes against humanity AND our country.
Right. But it's not just the specifics invented by Judge that matter here ... it's also the gaps in Judge's fictional story that are very damning to Ford's allegation.
Supposedly Judge describes a scene in the book that is very similar to Ford's tale, but -- by sheer coincidence (not)! -- he also leaves out the same things she can't remember. These would include the location of the house where the incident took place and the exact number of people at the party.
The FBI probably identified Ford's story as a work of fiction very early on.
let’s hope he didn’t work at the potomac safeway summer of 82....and gave permission to check his witholding records from irs and employer.. be nice if he neve met chrissie but heard about her reputation..never saw her at work etc..etc etc..
ah the suspense builds..it is what it is..
who’s next? 2 front door, erased social media chrissie who can’t remember what happened 2 weeks ago much less 36 years ago? ok FBI reclaim some of your reputation ask her for permission to talk to her shrink and get the notes! why not as the dems say what has she got to hide?
It must be good for Kavanaugh. If he said anything that would hurt Kavanaugh, it would have been leaked by now to the MSM.
What the FBI really needs to be doing is investigating all the holes in Ford’s lie. Too many to point out here, but there are all over the internet.
Flake is using this whole process as an audition for a gig at CNN after his term ends in January.
As of 90 min ago Ford Team has not yet heard from FBI.
I’m kind of impressed that it has moved along so quickly. Liar Swettyneck should be happening ASAP, and I’d assume 1 day for write-up.
My bet is FBI sends their file to the committee Wednesday evening. Seconds later without reading it, the DEMS will send out a response the put together last Sunday stating the investigation is insufficient, biased, etc. Predict full day of wailing and gnashing of teeth, followed by a vote on Friday morning moving this to full up/down vote on Saturday with Brett Kavanaugh getting a Senate stamp of approval.
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