September 28, 2018

The FBI Will Investigate Sexual Misconduct Accusations Against Brett Kavanaugh

President Trump gave the agency a week to look into his Supreme Court nominee.

Michael Reynolds/ZUMA

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It’s official: The FBI will reopen its background investigation into Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. President Donald Trump ordered the new investigation late Friday afternoon, giving the FBI a week to explore the allegations of sexual abuse raised against Kavanaugh in the last month.

Kavanaugh cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee by a 11-10 party-line vote earlier Friday, but it came with a catch. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said that while he was willing to support Kavanaugh out of committee, he wanted a one-week FBI investigation into the allegations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh. Democrats had used much of Thursday’s nearly nine-hour questioning of Kavanaugh and one of his accusers to demand the FBI reexamine Kavanaugh’s background in light of Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony detailing allegations of sexual assault committed by Kavanaugh when he was in high school.

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