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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the FBI should not look into an allegation that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford when they were in high school — a charge the jurist denies — because he did not believe the agency wanted to investigate the claim.
“I don’t think the FBI should be involved because they don’t want to be involved,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “If they wanted to be, I would certainly do that.”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, forwarded Ford’s claim to the FBI, which promptly sent it to the White House as an update to its background notes on Kavanaugh.
Since then, Ford has detailed her story to the Washington Post, Democrats have insisted that the FBI investigate the matter before any further action is taken on the nomination, and the Judiciary Committee has scheduled a Monday hearing with Kavanaugh and Ford as the only planned witnesses — even though Republicans on the panel have said they have not been able to reach Ford.
Committee Democrats slammed Republicans’ handling of the matter in a letter to Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, Tuesday.
“Given the seriousness of these allegations, and the scrutiny the committee is under, we are disappointed you decided to move forward without consulting the minority, without confirming witnesses, without demanding the FBI complete an independent review, and without allowing the committee to perform its duties,” they wrote.