Internal emails dispute Trump’s claims that FBI had ‘free rein’ to probe Kavanaugh allegations, new report says

Then-President Donald Trump’s claims in 2018 that the FBI would have full leeway to investigate sexual assault allegations about his Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, appeared to confuse the agency, according to internal communications cited in a Senate Democrat’s new report.

Then-President Donald Trump’s claims in 2018 that the FBI would have full leeway to investigate sexual assault allegations about his Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, appeared to confuse the agency, according to internal communications cited in a Senate Democrat’s new report. The investigation into the allegations – which Kavanaugh has vehemently denied – was sought after an emotional hearing with his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, prompted some crucial senators to balk at confirming the nominee. The White House, however, instructed the FBI to only interview 10 witnesses, according to the report. The FBI was also not given authority to seek out other witnesses who might have corroborating information, nor did it have permission to go beyond the specific subject areas outlined by the White House for questioning the witnesses. The report sheds light on the tight limits the White House imposed on the FBI as it undertook a “supplemental” background investigation while Kavanaugh’s confirmation hung in the balance. Senate investigators were able to review contemporaneous internal communications between the White House and the FBI that showed how the public narrative Trump and his allies were pushing differed from the instructions the FBI had received. Senate investigators were not able to obtain copies of key emails between the FBI and Trump White House, and instead were only allowed to view many of the emails cited in the report in camera (meaning behind closed doors, with no option for making copies), so CNN has not had access to the emails themselves. When the FBI embarked on the so-called supplemental investigation into the Kavanaugh allegations, Trump claimed in public remarks that the agency was “talking to everybody” and had “free rein,” and even blasted an NBC News report on the investigation’s limitations on Twitter. According to the report, those Trump comments were then flagged by an FBI public affairs office in emails to others at the agency, including some top officials.