Senate Judiciary Committee Receives Supplemental Background Investigation File on Kavanaugh Nomination
WASHINGTON
– Pursuant to
last Friday’s request
from the Senate Judiciary Committee, the administration instructed the FBI to
conduct a supplemental background investigation with respect to the nomination
of Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. The FBI has now concluded that
supplemental investigation, and the White House delivered the updated file to
the committee at approximately 2:30 this morning.
As
with all background investigation (BI) files, the file and the information
therein is held confidential under a 2009 memorandum of
understanding between the White House and the committee. All 100 senators
and a very limited number of cleared committee staff can have access to the
information in the BI file. This is how such files have been handled for
several administrations.
As
a security and confidentiality precaution, this BI file will be held in the
Office of Senate Security. Amidst concerns over recent leaks of sensitive or
confidential information, the legal restrictions imposed by the Privacy Act
and the expected interest among senators to review the information, the use of
the Senate’s secure space will best facilitate access for senators. The use of
the secure space in this case will satisfy the physical custody requirements
outlined in the memorandum of understanding.
What
Democrats have said about an FBI Supplemental Background Investigation:
·
“It
will not take a “tremendous amount of time,” but it is necessary if you truly
want the facts to be known.” –Sens.
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)
·
“It
will only take a few days.” –Sen.
Chuck Schumer
·
“The
FBI has ample resources to do this within the 1-week period requested by the
members of the Judiciary Committee. No one is asking that it take longer than a
week …” – Sen. Chuck Schumer
·
“I
have proposed and talked to some of my colleagues, and I know others have as
well, about a finite period for an FBI investigation, maybe a week. George H.W.
Bush ordered that in the Anita Hill case, a three-day investigation. That
happened.” – Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)
·
“I think I'm satisfied. … This is a
very small universe of witnesses here and a very big FBI.” – Sen.
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)
·
“And I have conveyed to my friends and
colleagues that I had wished we would take a one-week pause, one week only.” –Sen.Chris
Coons (D-DE)
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