Ten people were contacted by the FBI over the course of a week for the supplementary investigation into Brett Kavanaugh, the White House said Thursday.
Deputy press secretary Raj Shah said on CNN’s “New Day” that the White House could offer few details about the report, which is confidential, but said that 10 individuals were contacted by the bureau after an initial list of four names were provided by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
{mosads}”Ten individuals were contacted. There was an initial list of four provided to us by the Senate, they were interviewed and then leads were followed up on,” Shah told CNN on Thursday.
“Without getting in to the details, we feel very confident that when the senators have the opportunity to review this material, as they’re just beginning to right now, that they are going to be comfortable confirming Judge Kavanaugh,” Shah added.
The report’s completion and delivery to the Senate came amid concerns from Democrats including high-profile attorney Michael Avenatti that the FBI investigation did not contact an adequate number of witnesses about the allegations of sexual assault, which Kavanaugh forcefully denied last week during a hearing.
“The FBI investigation was no investigation at all. @realDonaldTrump, @senatemajldr and @ChuckGrassley ensured that numerous key witnesses, including six very damaging witnesses I am aware of, were never even interviewed. Their conduct is a disgrace – they never wanted the truth,” Avenatti tweeted Thursday morning.
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee sent a letter to the White House this week upon news reports that the Trump administration was limiting the scope of the investigation, urging White House counsel Don McGahn to ensure that the FBI’s investigation was not restricted.
“We ask that you confirm that the FBI background investigation will include the allegations of Christine Blasey Ford, Deborah Ramirez and Julie Swetnick and that the FBI will perform all logical steps related to these allegations, including interviewing other individuals who might have relevant information and gathering evidence related to the truthfulness of statements made in relation to these allegations,” the senators wrote.
Senators will have a chance to review the confidential FBI report Thursday, as the two parties will trade access to one copy of the document in alternating one-hour shifts over the course of the day.