FBI Director Chris Wray faces new control of the office’s management of its in-depth investigation into Brett Kavanaugh in 2018, including his claim that the FBI had no authority to conduct an additional investigation into the then-Supreme Court candidate.
At the heart of the new questions Wray will face later this week, when he testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a 2010 memorandum of understanding that the FBI has recently said limited the capacity of the agency to conduct further investigations into allegations of misconduct.
It is unclear whether this claim is accurate, based on a detailed reading of the MOU, which was published in court records following a request for the Freedom of Information Act.
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The FBI was called in to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh during the Senate confirmation process in 2018, after he was charged with assault by Christine Blasey Ford, a teacher who knew Kavanaugh when they were both in the high school. He also faced other charges, including that of exposing himself to a Yale classmate named Deborah Ramirez. Kavanaugh denied both charges.
The FBI closed the Kavanaugh fund review after four days and did not interview either Blasey Ford or Kavanaugh. The FBI also revealed to the Senate in June – two years after questions were initially asked – that it had received 4,500 tips from the public during the background check and that at the time it had shared all the “relevant advice” with the White House lawyer. It is unclear whether these tips were ever investigated.
The FBI said in its letter to two senators – Sheldon Whitehouse and Christopher Coons – that the FBI did not have the authority under the 2010 MOU at the time to “unilaterally conduct further investigative activities without the instructions of the requesting entity “. In other words, the FBI has said it would have required explicit instructions from Trump’s White House to conduct additional investigation under current 2010 guidelines on how such investigations should be conducted.
But an examination by the Guardian of the 2010 MOU, which was signed by then-Attorney General Eric Holder and later by White House attorney Robert Bauer, does not make it clear that the FBI was restricted. as to how he would conduct his research.
The MOU, which was published in court documents in 2019 as part of the Freedom of Information Act litigation brought against the U.S. government by Buzzfeed, also does not explicitly state that the White House had the power to set the parameters of the process in no research. The MOU seems to suggest that the White House had the authority to limit the FBI to investigating particular issues and issues.
It is likely that Wray will be able to examine why the specific information on allegations of sexual misconduct was not fully explored, including evidence that allegedly offered witnesses an alleged witness named Max Stier, a lawyer and former co-worker. class of Ramirez, who as reported by senators who had witnessed an event similar to that narrated by Ramirez.
Stier’s account was never examined by the FBI.
In a statement to The Guardian, Whitehouse, the Rhode Island senator who has led the Democrats’ demand for answers to the investigation, said: “In its response to our years, the FBI was firmly grounded in the notion that this MOU limited his authority to be the FBI and investigate the misdemeanors.Now that we have the MOU, it is even harder to understand the Office’s excuses for ignoring the credible information it received.Director Wray should be prepared for answer my questions about this episode, I will not stop asking until I do.
The FBI declined to comment.
Wray will testify before the Senate Wednesday in a hearing that will focus on the FBI’s handling of its investigation into Larry Nassar, the convicted sex offender who served for 18 years as a national gymnastics team doctor. female of the United States. Simone Biles, the American gymnast and Olympic gold medalist, will also testify.
Kavanaugh was confirmed for life in court on October 6, 2018 by a 50-48 vote and helped consolidate a conservative majority of the powerful body.