WASHINGTON, D.C., July 22, 2021 – In an exchange of letters reported today between the FBI and Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Chris Coons, the FBI acknowledged that the Trump administration only authorized the agency to conduct an extremely limited investigation into the sexual assault allegations made against Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court confirmation process.
FBI Assistant Director Jill Tyson confirmed, as was previously reported, that the Trump White House put strict parameters on its investigation of Justice Kavanaugh, resulting in only ten interviews over the course of the FBI’s five-day investigation. The FBI did not include Justice Kavanaugh or Dr. Christine Blasey Ford in these ten interviews.
The FBI also acknowledged that it received over 4,500 tips over the course of its investigation, but failed to specify how those tips were evaluated, or if any action was taken to follow up on them. All of the tips were turned over to the Trump White House.
In a separate letter dated July 21, seven Senate Democrats requested additional information from the FBI, including the White House’s specific instructions for the investigation, details about how the tip line was used or not, and all details about the ten interviews conducted and how the participants were determined.
Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron issued the following statement:
“We have said since the beginning that the FBI’s investigation during Justice Kavanaugh’s confirmation process was a sham designed to protect his reputation instead of investigate credible allegations of sexual assault against him. The FBI has now confirmed that the Trump White House was pulling the strings behind the scenes to limit the scope of the investigation, and lied to the American people about doing so. The Justice Department should immediately reopen its investigation into the past behavior of Justice Kavanaugh and determine if he intentionally misled Congress and the American public during his confirmation hearings.
“The Justice Department should also conduct an expeditious review of how this investigation was conducted and share the details with the public. Survivors deserve justice, and the country deserves to know the full truth of this situation, as well as the lengths the Trump administration was willing to go to cover up the truth about Kavanaugh’s behavior and ensure his confirmation. I applaud Senators Whitehouse, Coons, and all the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee for continuing to push for a full accounting of what occurred in this shameful moment in our history.”