Senate Receives FBI Report on Kavanaugh, McConnell Triggers Vote Process

The Senate has received the completed FBI investigation on allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and has begun moving toward a final vote on the candidate.

The supplemental background file was received by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, late on Oct. 3.

“Ranking Member Feinstein & I have agreed to alternating EQUAL access for senators to study content from additional background info gathered by non-partisan FBI agents,” Grassley wrote early Thursday on Twitter.

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Senate leaders from both sides have elected to keep the material confidential for now, with only Senators and a few select aides being able to view it. It’s unclear if some parts will be made public, on purpose or through leaks.

The material will be handled in accordance with a 2009 memorandum of understanding between the chairman of the committee at the time, Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and the White House Counsel for President Barack Obama, Grassley said.

Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during the third day of his confirmation hearing to serve as Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court at the Capitol in Washington on Sept. 6, 2018. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

Christine Blasey Ford testifies during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nomination of Brett M. Kavanaugh to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Sept. 27, 2018. Photo By Tom Williams-Pool/Getty Images

White House

The White House said there will be plenty of time for senators to view the FBI report.

“With Leader McConnell’s cloture filing, Senators have been given ample time to review this seventh background investigation. This is the last addition to the most comprehensive review of a Supreme Court nominee in history, which includes extensive hearings, multiple,” spokesman Raj Shah said in a statement.

The FBI report includes no evidence corroborating the sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh, reported Fox News. Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor, has not been able to present any evidence supporting her recent claim about an event from 36 years ago and has struggled with inconsistencies with her story. Her lawyers have refused to turn over therapist notes and information regarding a polygraph exam she took this year.

President Donald Trump initially said he would be watching closely to see what Ford said in the lead-up to a Sept. 27 public hearing, but afterward said he didn’t find her credible and backed Kavanaugh, as do a number of his supporters.

Cloture

Late Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-K.Y.) filed cloture on Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.

The filing of cloture triggers a multi-day process, including one day between the filing and the cloture vote.

That means the cloture vote will take place on Friday; according to the Republican Senators, that will be exactly one hour after the Senate convenes that day.

“There will be plenty of time for Members to review and be briefed on this supplemental material before a Friday cloture vote,” McConnell said in a statement.

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Cloture is the way the Senate can place a time limit on consideration, or debate, of a bill or another matter, or end debate on the matter and move toward a vote.

Following the scheduled cloture vote on Oct. 5, the full and final vote on Kavanaugh is expected to take place on Oct. 6. All Senators will vote on the nomination. The Senate is currently made up of 51 Republicans, 47 Democrats, and 2 Independents; the latter typically side with the Democrats.

Most or all of the Republicans are expected to vote for Kavanaugh, while some believe at least a few Democrats will vote for him as well. President Donald Trump’s first Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, was confirmed by a vote of 54-45, which included “yes” votes from Senators Joe Manchin (D-West Va.), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), and Joe Donnelly (D-Indiana).

From NTD.tv

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