Grassley: No corroboration of Kavanaugh accusers' allegations in FBI report
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said Thursday there's no corroboration of sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in a supplementary FBI report submitted to the Senate.
"I've now received a committee staff briefing on the FBI's supplement to Judge Kavanaugh's background investigation file. There's nothing in it that we didn't already know," Grassley said in a statement.
"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. There's also no contemporaneous evidence," he added.
"This investigation found no hint of misconduct...I'll be voting to confirm Judge Kavanaugh."
Grassley made his statement after being briefed by Senate GOP staff who viewed the report.
Senators have been filing into and out of the secure compartmented information facility in the Capitol Visitor Center to view the report Thursday morning.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, declined to comment after reviewing the document.
Her staff was seen leaving the secure information facility shortly after she left.
"This is now the 7th. time the FBI has investigated Judge Kavanaugh," President Trump tweeted . "If we made it 100, it would still not be good enough for the Obstructionist Democrats."
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has vowed to bring Kavanaugh's nomination to the full Senate this week, though several key GOP and Democratic senators have so far refused to say how they will vote.
--This breaking news report was last updated at 10:29 a.m..
No Corroboration.
No comment from DiFi?
I'm just shocked she had NOTHING to say
Instead of investigating behind the scenes and checking the veracity of the accusation made by Dr. Ford...all the while maintaining the anonymity of Dr. Ford...she chose to sit on it and then allow the public to decide.
This was her circus and the performance flopped. What could she say?
Actually she did comment this morning. She claims the investigation was incomplete (even though twice as much time was put into it as the Anita Hill investigation that the Democrats used as their model for this one) and she suggested that the White House somehow did something to tie the FBI's hands. She did not explain how that could be done.
Her reason - and Schumer's - is that the FBI didn't sit Ford down and talk with her again after she had already put in two days of testimony. Evidently they believe the FBI would conduct a much more in-depth investigation in a few hours.
"They walk among us".
The investigation amounted to a police report after the fact of a traffic accident. The police didn't see it happen, they go and interview both parties (in this case they had to accept the Senate interview as their testimony) and then they write a report based on that testimony. They do not assign fault, they do not come to a conclusion and they don't interview all available witnesses, they aren't investigating a crime yet so it's not required. When the insurance company gets the report they don't just take the two descriptions given in the report as gospel, they look at the damage, they compare scratches and their direction showing physically which vehicle was moving into the other.
In this case, the majority of Americans listening to Dr. Fords testimony believe her story, they believe she was sexually assaulted in her teens. The majority of those who believe this believe it was Bret Kavanaugh, while some of those who believe her story believe she is mistaken on the identity of her attackers. Sadly, those who believe her story and believe it was Bret Kavanaugh, aren't enough to prevent his confirmation to the supreme court.
Whaaat??? What has sour grapes got to do with letting Kavanaugh get away with lying to Congress????
An "investigation" is not hampered by being limited to very few days and allowed very few interviews.
What results did you expect when the FBI was not allowed to complete a thorough investigation?
To borrow a phrase and a defense useful the left.
"Hillary got away with it "
They are when they occur rather last minute and have no credible evidence to back them up .
It was a given to the majority of people able to think logically and for themselves that the progressive liberal Democrats were never going to accept anything on that FBI report that did not exactly gel with their skewed version of events. I'm sure DiFi and her ilk are already busy planning their next hate filled move, but they do not realize they lost the momentum before Dr Ford and Judge Kavanaugh ever stepped into the Senate hearing chambers for that inquisition they tried to call job interview.
What does that have to do with the accusations made.
He did it, just ask any snowflake.
The best you have is a fake whataboutism??? Sad, so very very sad. You don't even have any defense for his lies to Congress.
I might suggest you familiarize yourself with the facts of the case before you make yourself look even more foolish. She submitted the accusation against Kavanaugh when he was listed as one of 10 prospects by Trump. He had not been chosen, and it was far from being "last minute".
I known I should have known that that type of answered is for the exclusive use of the liberals. How foolish of me.
You might want to look up the facts. She sent a letter to her congresscritter and to senator Feinstein. She asked for confidentiality . No one else knew of her accusations until the last minute when Feinstein and/or someone on her staff leaked the info . Ford can not get any corroboration for her accusations, attempted to stall things by claiming she was afraid to fly ( a lie) and when that didnt hold things up long enough demanded an FBI investigation .When the investigation they called for was done they complain about it being to short. This whole affair has been nothing but an attempt to smear a good man and postpone his confirmation. The democrats should be shamed of themselves.
Oh BTW, since you seem to want something done because he allegedly lied, are you in favor of prosecuting her further lies she told congress
Prosecuting who?
And yes, anyone that commits perjury should be prosecuted.
Definition of thorough
The FBI never even interviewed Ford or Kavanaugh. In what weird, bizarre, right wing world can an investigation be considered "thorough" when both the accuser and the accused are not interviewed???
Limited to the accusations is what was agreed to, not limiting the number of days and people to interview. This was done so that any additional illegalities discovered during the investigation would not be admissible, only additional information about the various submitted sexual assault complaints.
Apparently the Republicans were so unsure of him, they were afraid that the FBI would turn up new illegal activities committed by Kavanaugh.
Why YES..… Yes she did.
Democrats on the Committee decided to take 4 minutes and 59 seconds of their 5 minutes to flower her with praise instead of asking questions....Now it's "They didn't have enough time".
Time to pass out the pacifiers again !
A majority? In who's eyes? Puhlease. Must be the same CNN pollsters that said 99% plus that Hillary would win on Nov. 6, 2016.
Because their sworn testimony is on the public record? I understand that you think that the inquisition and their techniques should be brought back for (***Republican Only****) nominees, but we don't do that here.
"In choosing who is telling the truth, 45 percent said Ford is, up from 32 percent ahead of her Sept. 27 testimony . A third (33 percent) said Kavanaugh is the one telling the truth, up slightly from 26 percent before he testified but not as much of a rise as for Ford."
So 45% believe Dr. Ford, 33% believe Kavanaugh and 22% are unsure. So a majority believe Dr. Ford.
You'll also notice 53% of Americans disapprove of how President Trump is doing as President. That's one of the highest disapproval ratings in history and the lowest approval rating at 41%.
Gallup Historical Presidential Job Approval Statistics (first term averages).
Donald Trump January 2017 - October 2018 41%
A little under half the people that listen to National Public Radio believe the doctor and approx. a third believe Judge Kavanaugh......
I'll take that.
You know what 66 % of NPR listeners believed that Trump was going to lose.
If that's all she can muster today, in the absolute hate filled world of democrat politics, I would say it's safe to believe that more Americans don't believe her than do.....
Anyone who follows current american politics would expect that percentage to be well over 66%. Especially in a Marist poll of NPR listeners.
Smear campaign failed....
I'm sure the FBI might have different questions since they are trained in questioning both suspects and victims.
The poll was not done of just NPR listeners. At the top of the poll it lists who were surveyed.
"Adults 18 years of age and older residing in the contiguous United States were contacted on landline or mobile numbers and interviewed in English by telephone using live interviewers. Mobile telephone numbers were randomly selected based upon a list of telephone exchanges from throughout the nation from Survey Sampling International."
So that pretty much demolishes your entire argument.
No it doesn't.
But I don't expect you to understand or accept why it doesn't.
You produce zero numbers except some fantasy "66% of NPR listeners" statistic which by the smell of it came out of a random rectum. How can anyone understand your invented statistics? The facts show that of a random sampling of Americans from nearly every demographic, there are those who believe Dr. Ford, those who believe Kavanaugh and those who have no opinion either way. The largest of those three categories, or a majority, are those who believe Dr. Ford. That is why I made the initial claim that "the majority of Americans listening to Dr. Fords testimony believe her story, they believe she was sexually assaulted in her teens."
So your attempt at deflection by making a false claim (claiming the survey was only of NPR listeners) failed miserably. The rest of your claim, that well over 66% of NPR listeners should be expected to believe Dr. Ford, is irrelevant (as well as pure conjecture with no basis in fact). Thus your bogus argument was annihilated as I pointed out. Your insistence that it wasn't is also irrelevant without any further evidence to the contrary.
Bazinga!!
Considering the source, it's more likely "No truth."
never ask a question you do not already know the answer to.
they had her nailed to the wall before she showed up to testify test-a-lie
why on earth would they ask her that question? that was the trap.... and she fell into it.
the following headline says fords credibility is under attack by republicans?
yet her own testimony shows she is full of shit on a level rarely even seen in the wild.
violence or lies.. the left has nothing else to choose from.
the communist playbook has become tired, worn out and predictable.
cheers
So what in the FBI report will be leaked by the Democrats to the New York Times? And turned into another smear tactic.
feainstein now says she wants to keep the fbi report sealed.
I wonder why...
(rhetorical)
" Her staff was seen leaving the secure information facility shortly after she left."
That's a major leak waiting to happen....even though they aren't "supposed" to.
Feinstein and Schumer bitching about the short time frame for the FBI's redress of background checks, full of "Nothingness" in the first place ....Blame Miss Feinstein for that Mr. Schumer.
Even though they kept repeating that it should be done because the Anita Hill investigation only took three days. This took a week and suddenly it's not long enough.
You have to train like an Olympian to be that full of shit. No one comes by it naturally.
Yeah, so now he should be disqualified because he got mad during the hearing.
There will be a leak - and it will come from, probably, both of their offices.
Which is the usual method of getting it out there, and if I remember Grassley said it will probably be leaked AFTER the senators and their staffs had the chance to review it....
It will come out something that heavy never stays secret...
Now for the backlash of …… not everyone was interviewed, there were limits to the scope of the investigation [as there should be .. otherwise it becomes a fishing expedition] ….. the gnashing of teeth has not yet begun... there will be multiple reason why the FBI failed to fill in all the blanks and substantiate the accusations against Kavanaugh.... most likely it will have something to do with 'Trump did it'...
Dr. Ford's legal team is piping in. — nor the witnesses who corroborate her testimony — I believe this refers to her husband and the friends she told in 2012. We all know that those witnesses can only corroborate that she spoke about a sexual assault after revealing it to her Therapist(s). If the assault is uncorroborated, there's no need to question those she told 30 years later.
I think it is coming down to, as long as an individual has something negative to say about Kavanaugh then it is relevant, in the minds of many.
What I cannot figure out is why would the FBI question Ford - the FBI's investigation was in search of corroboration .. Ford already told her story, what could she add of relevance to a reopening of a background check?
Perhaps she, or her legal team, were looking to steer the FBI in their investigation. Remember, she, or her legal team, wanted Kavanaugh to testify at the hearing FIRST.
Good point... I had forgotten about that, having Kavanaugh go first made no sense...
I have questioned why she [Ford] would think anyone would give her the dates that Judge worked at Safeway (think she said something like) 'in order to be able to give more accurate testimony … I was told that an FBI investigation would have provided her with that type of information - so if the FBI had investigated before the hearing .. Ford's accusations 'would have been' more accurate ….. ?
Your speculation may be on track! I have more questions today than I had a week ago, I went back to her testimony yesterday, just to make sure I had not missed anything .... Looks like a vote is eminent … while I have yet to pick a winner in the believable category....
Maybe you should ask Rachell Mitchell since she also observed that investigating a sexual assault allegation via 5 minutes bursts in public testimony was exactly the wrong way to do it. Or you could simply ask why the FBI wasn't allowed to look at the other evidence which Ford says she was unwilling to provide in that public testimony.
Unfortunately since when do any of US get a peek behind the curtain to see or ask these people anything ?
Especially anything they will answer with a truthful full answer.
IMO: The country is being ran 144 characters at a time by one unpredictable character. Personally I think we're doing better than I expected.
I agree that having a tweeting sociopath in charge is a problem. As a result we'll soon have Justice Rapist on the supreme court.
Yeah, cuz we need all that hearsay on the record. /s
It does help when you don't allow the FBI to even interview the perp or the victim, much less interview corroborating witnesses who learned about the sexual assault later, or even examine any other evidence which the victim says she was unwilling to reveal in public testimony. It also helps a lot when you don't permit the FBI to interview the 42+ person who have come forward with relevant information.....or even allow them to interview all the victims.
Sounds like the GOP sought a foregone conclusion not a real investigation.
And it's also never a bad idea to doubt Grassley's version of the facts either.
Yeah - and I'm thinking of the thousands of folks who also know/knew Kavanaugh that surely someone would want to step up and admit Brett told them he didn't like Pistachio/Chocolate Ice Cream, or the thousands of attorneys/judges who have read and utilized the findings in Kavanaugh's opinions, including SCOTUS and found that he didn't put a comma someplace which changed the meaning of his opinion.
Over 1400 law professors and a former SCOTUS Justice have demanded that the nomination be withdrawn, and the ABA is considering withdrawing its recommendation based on his poor temperament and dishonesty.
Who exactly are those corroborating witnesses? No one supported her stry form 36 years ago. Who exactly are you talking about? Both Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh's sworn testimony is on the record and available to investigators?
There are 4 corroborating witnesses on the public record and they've all signed sworn affidavits. It sounds like you're just to lazy to learn who they are.
.
No one claimed that they're eyewitnesses or from 36 years ago. It sounds like you still have no clue what a corroborating witness is.
.
Interesting that the FBI was prohibited from interviewing Kavanaugh or Ford, particularly given that Ford says she has other evidence which she didn't want made public. No doubt that's why the GOP didn't want the FBI to interview her.
That comment is an obvious lie since there are 4 sworn affidavits from corroborating witnesses. You simply don't understand what a corroborating witness is. From what I can tell none of the conservatives here do.
Well they have her sworn testimony on record, they don't need to rehear it or offer the opportunity to embellish it.
That just for starters.
Grassley has asked for the supposed corroborating "Evidence" for weeks, since the start of this mess in fact. and Dr Fords attorney's have refused all requests for it.
Have you wondered why?
Because they wanted Grassley to subpoena it using the committee's power of subpoena. Doing such interjects even more court appearances and testimony and argument which could take 4 to 8 weeks until the judge orders them to turn it over.
What would that do?
Delay the nomination until after the midterms. which is what the democrats have been wanting all along. all the while using the media to spread more and more trash.
Grassley didn't take the bait and is forcing the democrats to stand on their already very weak and probably invented position. based upon testimony without a shred of proof.
Grassley took the position that if this is real then the accuser should be ready willing and able to produce all evidence in defense of their claims. The fact that they are not willing to do such calls the whole into serious question.
This is why Feinstein et al, are unwilling to comment, there is no good path forward for them at this point.
How do I know?
13 years inside the beltway......
They took their best shot to derail the nomination until after the election cycle in the belief that they can flip the senate and pigeonhole the nomination.
They failed.
Grassley has the 4 sworn affidavits from corroborating witnesses. What he doesn't have is the other evidence which Ford was willing to show the FBI but which she didn't trust the GOP with for rather obvious reasons.
Well then I guess her politics got in the way of giving full and truthful testimony and evidence to the committee...
And as a side note, it is only the democrats that know the "obvious reasons"
to everyone else, it is obvious as to why not....
Is she claiming that the White House controls the FBI and that sworn testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee is not to be believed and must be investigated?
The 'tenor' of Judge Kavanaugh's testimony is removed when you read his opening statement and transcripts of his testimony...but she's right. If Kavanaugh spoke to anyone other than Feinstein and other's who have labeled him in the press, his tenor would be quite different.
Meanwhile..
Pretty much. Talk about your wacky conspiracy theories. Then she walked it back a touch and said she didn't know that for sure. But, you know, she's just throwing it out there and that's harmless. Imagine if Trump had said something like that. It would be the only thing the media talked about for the next week. But Feinstein said it, so they'll just pretend no one heard it.
Funny that no one in the GOP has the balls to admit which of them so constrained the supplemental investigation as to be meaningless.
Absolutely. Kavanaugh cleared of all accusations
Grassley must immediately demand the DOJ arrest and charge Christine Ford for lying under oath to the congress, obstructing official government business and using false pretenses to create a maelstrom of confusion and division in the media and electorate.
If Grassley will not proceed then his is either afraid of the truth or afraid of the lie. Which is it?
Sorry, no federal parade. The Senate wants this thing done. The Republicans want to show they are compassionate; and the Dems just want it to go away.
If Kavanaugh wants to pursue slander charges against Ford (and the other accusers), and their Democrat paid for lawyers- that is his decision. Forcing them to prove their charges in a court of law will expose the truth. Of course the left may not like it- and I am sure the accusers and their lawyers wallets won't.
Wonder if any Senators that accused Kavanaugh of being a rapist should be worried as well? That is a very powerful position to lobbing around unfounded, unsubstantiated accusations from. Especially if he isn't confirmed now.
The left will claim Kavanaugh shouldn't sue for slander for the good of the country. He will be the one responsible for starting the healing. He also needs to forget all of those remarks about impeachment if he is confirmed. What would the Dems impeach him for now if they gain power in the Senate again.
If only the Dems would have argued about Kavanaugh's time as a Bush White House legal consultant- and his legal work around of enhanced interrogation techniques. But that was too hard; and probably still wouldn't have worked. Instead they divided the country further with this three ring circus that accomplished nothing.
"Lock Her Up!"
Why? Afraid?
Afraid?
No, we are not afraid. Locking up Kavanaugh's accusers would accomplish nothing; besides, how would they ever manage to pay him if he decides to sue them all for slander? They wouldn't be earning money in prison.
Damn, I am defending someone I don't even want on the Supreme Court to the bitter end. Thanks Democrats for appealing to the lowest part of your base with this political hit. Now I have to look at each and every Democratic candidate on the upcoming ballot and try to figure out if they would condone this type of shit show. Be nice if they comment on it to save the effort. I might be forced to vote straight Republican ticket for the first time in over 27 years.
So much for my stance on never voting for the "lesser of two evils".
I'm sure there is a liberal cabal somewhere working on that right now.
Now who sounds like the Cowardly Lion?
Multiple counts of lying under oath during his confirmation:
Brett Kavanaugh Lies About Everything
Lol, dream on ....
Everyone deserves their fantasies...
From the mouths of [..............fill in the blank................].
That's what we kept hearing over and over and over.
OK, so we let the FBI do their thing and they put a week into it. Twice as much time as Anita Hill got. The response from Democrats? A week is not enough. Talk about moving goal posts!
We heard that over and over and over as well.
Now the report is done and everyone seems to agree that it doesn't do anything to support the accusations. We know this because that's precisely what Republicans are saying, while Democrats whine that the investigation was somehow incomplete. Obviously if it did support her story, they'd be shouting it from the rooftops. Instead Feinstein and Schumer are whining.
Incredibly, they make this judgment on how the FBI should do its job only a week after insisting that they themselves were not qualified to conduct an investigation and that's why we needed the FBI! It's cliché, but you can't make this stuff up.
Disgusting and dishonest, but sadly, not surprising. Predicted everywhere by people with common sense.
And let's not forget that all of this comes after their insistence on the hearings. "Dr. Ford must be heard!" They declared. "The committee must have her testify!"
And then, of course, the hearing was inadequate (obviously so).
Today, they want more done. Hopefully the Senate leadership finally recognizes the boy crying "wolf!"
September Democratic Hot Take: "It will only take a few days! We must do it"
October Democratic Hot Take: "It only took 5 days? It's a travesty!"
also,
Old Democratic hot take, "to question the integrity of the FBI is beyond the pale"
New Democratic hot take,"The FBI is engaged in a cover up"
Democratic talking points have a shelf life of days...
Or seconds, whichever occurs first.
It helps a LOT if you don't wait 36 years and choose a critical political moment to ask people to listen to you.
While I agree with you, I sure as Hell wouldn't want to deal with what DR Ford had to.
If you knew something important like that I'd think your since of patriotism would pull you to speak (even though before you had decided to move on) and your sense of protecting yourself would pull you back towards the safety of silence.
IMO: It is too bad it all unfolded as it did. DR Ford I believe brought on much of this by the way she came forward but she is not the only one I see blame accounted to. The congress and even the president did little to find out the truth. It wasn't convenient.
It would have been "in the way" if true and was easier to brush off as easily as could be and move on. I think I remember something like this when we really didn't know what was in the ACA as well and it was voted on anyway and passed.
Gee that worked out great perhaps this will as well.
Good Luck America.
Honestly, the person I blame the most is Dianne Feinstein. She made it impossible for the Senate to handle this in a dignified and discreet way. Would the ultimate outcome be different? I don't know. The FBI seems confident that we haven't missed anything relevant, and I'm not going to pretend I know better. I wish we didn't have this story at all.
Honestly, the person I blame the most is Dianne Feinstein.
I did too till someone pointed out that DR Ford had come to her with the stipulation Dr Ford's name remain anonymous.
WTF as a senator are ya gonna do with that ?
I wish we didn't have this story at all.
Thank you , besides me I have heard no one else voice that feeling.
The senators, at least, seem to feel the allegations could have been investigated without using her name.* I have heard several of them say so, and I haven't heard any of the other senators dispute the claim.
*Especially since no one seems to remember the event anyway. Investigators could ask if they remember an event like that happening and since no one remembers, it's not like asking would give her identity away. And if someone did say, "oh yeah, I remember that thing with Christine" without knowing she had tipped the Senate, that would be substantial corroboration.
Pretty simple really. Keep it confidential while starting an investigation immediately. Both can and are done regularly. And Feinstein knows that all too well. She is complicit in this goat rodeo .... big time.
You two are far from alone in that feeling.
Senator Collins speech on the Senate Floor, just made the Democrats in congress and on the committee, and those Liberal Protestors, look like SHIT STAINS on Society !
She was very specific !
I Applaud her for what she just said IN DETAIL !
Sounds like women in Maine are royally pissed at Collins. I wonder if she'll even bother to try to keep her office after this bad vote? Maybe she was getting ready to retire and doesn't give a crap what people back in Maine think about her.
Might be a loud few....but we all know what the "Few" actually means when it comes to elections. 2016 Says it all.
When will Democrats get it ?
EVER ?
You mean when the guy who couldn't even win a plurality of votes was installed by the EC? Every time that's happened it's been a complete disaster and we're seeing history repeat itself....but this time we're getting a rapist and belligerent drunk on the supreme court, someone who repeatedly lied under oath, who lacks a judicial temperament and who has no respect for the judiciary committee. Woo-hoo!
Collins is a traitorous BITCH. She just said fuck you to all women who have been sexually assaulted. BITCH
Yep. It's been a disaster for the country every time a prez installed by the EC is the one who lost the popular vote.
Well, I guess we know where you stand don't we.... Integrity, basic honesty and respect for the law means nothing.
Thank you
That makes no sense. WTF are you talking about?
Well said.