WASHINGTON – Two pivotal Republican senators in the debate over Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court made initially positive comments Thursday on an FBI background investigation of the nominee, raising the chances of his confirmation.
A procedural vote on the Kavanaugh nomination was scheduled for 10:30 a.m. EDT. If it passes, it could pave the way for a final vote as early as Saturday.
Republican leaders scheduled the vote after senators viewed a highly anticipated FBI report into sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh that had been sent to Capitol Hill.
Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., who was instrumental in persuading Senate leaders to move forward with the FBI investigation last week, said the report showed "no additional corroborating information" to suggest Kavanaugh committed sexual assault.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, indicated that she did not share Democrats' concerns that the FBI report was incomplete and inconclusive.
"It appears to be a very thorough investigation, but I’m going back later to personally read the interviews," Collins said.
Flake said he agreed with Collins that the report was thorough.
Flake and Collins are swing votes who could make or break Kavanaugh's confirmation vote. They didn't say how they would vote.
Republicans hold 51 seats in the Senate, and every other GOP senator except Flake, Collins and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska has come out in support of President Donald Trump's nominee. If there is a 50-50 tie, Vice President Mike Pence would break it in favor of Kavanaugh.
Murkowski's spokeswoman, Karina Peterson, said the senator hadn't finished the report, "so she doesn't know if it is thorough enough."
The FBI’s report could sway swing votes on the other side of the aisle.
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., one of two Democratic senators who were on the fence about Kavanaugh, said she would vote against him. Heitkamp faces intense pressure over her vote because she's running for re-election this fall in a state Trump won in 2016.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a second key Democrat vote, had not viewed the FBI’s investigation as of Thursday afternoon and was undecided.
The FBI investigated accusations by Christine Blasey Ford that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her while they were in high school 36 years ago. The agency looked into allegations by Deborah Ramirez that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a dorm party while they were students at Yale University. Kavanaugh vehemently denied the allegations.
Only one copy of the FBI report was sent to Capitol Hill based on a 2009 bipartisan memorandum that Republican leaders said was guiding their handling of it.
Throughout the day Thursday, senators gathered in a secure room in the Capitol Visitor Center to view the 46 pages of interviews and other notes provided on loan from the FBI. Each party was allotted blocs of time for senators to view the information and Republicans and Democrats alternated visits for two-hour increments to the secure room.
Inside, lawmakers passed around different sections of the report while Judiciary Committee staffers read passages aloud into a microphone, according to GOP senators.
"I've never seen anything like this," Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told reporters as he described what had taken place inside the room. But he added, “this is unusual circumstances calling for kind of an unusual process."
Republican Senate leaders and White House officials said the FBI report revealed no evidence of wrongdoing.
Democrats said the White House tied the FBI's hands, so agents could not conduct a thorough investigation. They were especially upset that the FBI did not interview Kavanaugh or Ford. According to the FBI, nine witnesses were interviewed for the report, and neither the nominee nor Ford was among them.
"Candidly, what we reviewed today in a very limited time ... looks to be a product of an incomplete investigation that was limited, perhaps by the White House, I don't know," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the FBI's report found "no hint of misconduct," and he declared, "It's time to vote."
"There’s nothing in (the report) that we didn’t already know," Grassley said. "These uncorroborated accusations have been unequivocally and repeatedly rejected by Judge Kavanaugh, and neither the Judiciary Committee nor the FBI could locate any third parties who can attest to any of the allegations."
Attorneys for Ford wrote a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray on Thursday, saying eight witnesses that the FBI never interviewed are willing to talk to agents about information relevant to Ford's accusations against Kavanaugh.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said he disagreed with Grassley's statement that there was "no hint of misconduct." Schumer did not elaborate during a news conference Thursday morning.
More: Republicans plan careful steps to protect secrecy of FBI report on Brett Kavanaugh
White House officials said they stand behind Kavanaugh's nomination and are confident he will be confirmed.
Spokesman Raj Shah said the FBI did comprehensive interviews of nine witnesses. He did not provide names. A 10th witness was contacted, but it is unclear whether this person submitted to a full interview.
Shah said, "I can't outline the details of the background investigation," but he indicated that nothing in the documents disqualified Kavanaugh.
He said privacy laws prevent the White House from making the report public.
Trump tweeted Thursday morning that the "harsh and unfair treatment" of Kavanaugh is mobilizing voters for the midterm congressional elections.
More: The Senate could vote on Kavanaugh's nomination over the weekend. Here's how that goes down
More: Republicans plan careful steps to protect secrecy of FBI report on Brett Kavanaugh
More: Jeff Flake says Trump mocking Christine Blasey Ford is 'kind of appalling'
Contributing: Christal Hayes, David Jackson, Maureen Groppe, and Ronald B. Hansen, The Arizona Republic
WASHINGTON – Two pivotal Republican senators in the debate over Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court made initially positive comments Thursday on an FBI background investigation of the nominee, raising the chances of his confirmation.
A procedural vote on the Kavanaugh nomination was scheduled for 10:30 a.m. EDT. If it passes, it could pave the way for a final vote as early as Saturday.
Republican leaders scheduled the vote after senators viewed a highly anticipated FBI report into sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh that had been sent to Capitol Hill.
Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., who was instrumental in persuading Senate leaders to move forward with the FBI investigation last week, said the report showed "no additional corroborating information" to suggest Kavanaugh committed sexual assault.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, indicated that she did not share Democrats' concerns that the FBI report was incomplete and inconclusive.
"It appears to be a very thorough investigation, but I’m going back later to personally read the interviews," Collins said.
Flake said he agreed with Collins that the report was thorough.
Flake and Collins are swing votes who could make or break Kavanaugh's confirmation vote. They didn't say how they would vote.
Republicans hold 51 seats in the Senate, and every other GOP senator except Flake, Collins and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska has come out in support of President Donald Trump's nominee. If there is a 50-50 tie, Vice President Mike Pence would break it in favor of Kavanaugh.
Murkowski's spokeswoman, Karina Peterson, said the senator hadn't finished the report, "so she doesn't know if it is thorough enough."
The FBI’s report could sway swing votes on the other side of the aisle.
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., one of two Democratic senators who were on the fence about Kavanaugh, said she would vote against him. Heitkamp faces intense pressure over her vote because she's running for re-election this fall in a state Trump won in 2016.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a second key Democrat vote, had not viewed the FBI’s investigation as of Thursday afternoon and was undecided.
The FBI investigated accusations by Christine Blasey Ford that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her while they were in high school 36 years ago. The agency looked into allegations by Deborah Ramirez that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a dorm party while they were students at Yale University. Kavanaugh vehemently denied the allegations.
Only one copy of the FBI report was sent to Capitol Hill based on a 2009 bipartisan memorandum that Republican leaders said was guiding their handling of it.
Throughout the day Thursday, senators gathered in a secure room in the Capitol Visitor Center to view the 46 pages of interviews and other notes provided on loan from the FBI. Each party was allotted blocs of time for senators to view the information and Republicans and Democrats alternated visits for two-hour increments to the secure room.
Inside, lawmakers passed around different sections of the report while Judiciary Committee staffers read passages aloud into a microphone, according to GOP senators.
"I've never seen anything like this," Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told reporters as he described what had taken place inside the room. But he added, “this is unusual circumstances calling for kind of an unusual process."
Republican Senate leaders and White House officials said the FBI report revealed no evidence of wrongdoing.
Democrats said the White House tied the FBI's hands, so agents could not conduct a thorough investigation. They were especially upset that the FBI did not interview Kavanaugh or Ford. According to the FBI, nine witnesses were interviewed for the report, and neither the nominee nor Ford was among them.
"Candidly, what we reviewed today in a very limited time ... looks to be a product of an incomplete investigation that was limited, perhaps by the White House, I don't know," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the FBI's report found "no hint of misconduct," and he declared, "It's time to vote."
"There’s nothing in (the report) that we didn’t already know," Grassley said. "These uncorroborated accusations have been unequivocally and repeatedly rejected by Judge Kavanaugh, and neither the Judiciary Committee nor the FBI could locate any third parties who can attest to any of the allegations."
Attorneys for Ford wrote a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray on Thursday, saying eight witnesses that the FBI never interviewed are willing to talk to agents about information relevant to Ford's accusations against Kavanaugh.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said he disagreed with Grassley's statement that there was "no hint of misconduct." Schumer did not elaborate during a news conference Thursday morning.
More: Republicans plan careful steps to protect secrecy of FBI report on Brett Kavanaugh
White House officials said they stand behind Kavanaugh's nomination and are confident he will be confirmed.
Spokesman Raj Shah said the FBI did comprehensive interviews of nine witnesses. He did not provide names. A 10th witness was contacted, but it is unclear whether this person submitted to a full interview.
Shah said, "I can't outline the details of the background investigation," but he indicated that nothing in the documents disqualified Kavanaugh.
He said privacy laws prevent the White House from making the report public.
Trump tweeted Thursday morning that the "harsh and unfair treatment" of Kavanaugh is mobilizing voters for the midterm congressional elections.
More: The Senate could vote on Kavanaugh's nomination over the weekend. Here's how that goes down
More: Republicans plan careful steps to protect secrecy of FBI report on Brett Kavanaugh
More: Jeff Flake says Trump mocking Christine Blasey Ford is 'kind of appalling'
Contributing: Christal Hayes, David Jackson, Maureen Groppe, and Ronald B. Hansen, The Arizona Republic
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