GOP senators say FBI report on impending Kavanaugh allegations

The Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, starting the countdown for a critical procedural vote on Friday for the high court hopeful.

But the FBI has still not interviewed Christine Blasey Ford as of Wednesday afternoon, according to a member of her team, a controversial move that will be angry Democrats and some key Republicans.

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Ford alleges that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her while they were both in high school in 1982, an explosive charge that's at the heart of the scandal surrounding the Supreme Court nominee. Another Kavanaugh accused, Deborah Ramirez, that the courts appealed to him when they were both students at Yale University.

Kavanaugh has vehemently denied the allegations from both women. The brief FBI probe was designed to look into the charges.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) Will close today on the Kavanaugh nomination, according to GOP Senators and Leadership Aids. That cloture vote would occur on Friday. If successful, a final vote on Kavanaugh could take place Saturday night at the earliest.

The FBI report will be made available to senators and a handful of senior aides in the Capitol basement.

"I think it's likely to happen this afternoon," Corker said following a closed-door meeting of Senate Republicans. "It could be tomorrow, but they can not do this."

"It could come today. I can not guarantee it but it's a realistic possibility, "said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), A member of the Judiciary Committee. "There is a reasonable possibility … that it will be ready today. I've been told they're working very, very hard. "

"I think we'll vote Friday," Kennedy added.

"Said Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) of the FBI report.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said earlier Wednesday that the FBI report is "very close," but the Iowa Republican would not predict when Kavananaugh will get a vote.

"I think it's very close," Grassley said. "I have not talked to the FBI, and I do not think I should talk to the FBI.

Grassley said two days before the closing vote is "full time for people to review" the FBI report.

GOP Sens. Jeff Flake (Ariz.), Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), asked for a one-week delay in the Kavanaugh nomination so the FBI could review the Ford and Ramirez allegations. GOP leaders agreed that when it became clear that they could muster 50 votes to press forward with the appointment.

In an extraordinary session, Ford testified for four hours before the Senate Judiciary Committee last Thursday. Grassley and other panel They are said to have been sexually assaulted, yet they doubt Kavanaugh was involved.

With so much at stake, President Donald Trump and other Republicans backing Kavanaugh are stepping up their attacks on Ford, with their sexual abuse allegations are at the heart of the scandal.

But the harsh criticism of Ford from the Trump and Kavanaugh supporters could backfire, alienating the handful of the Kavanaugh's nomination. Flake said Trump's remarks Rallies are pushing back on the president, saying Wednesday that Trump's comments are "just plain wrong."

Even Kavanaugh and Trump's closest allies were not happy with the remark.

"There's a lot of time expiring in memory here. I think it would have been better left unsaid, "said Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, a strong GOP defender of Kavanaugh's.

The shift in tactics is part of an effort to undermine Ford's credibility while the Senate awaits the FBI report. Thursday's extraordinary Judiciary Committee hearing featuring Ford and Kavanaugh's captivated the nation, Kavanaugh's supporters have questioned her version of events and personal integrity.

On Tuesday night, Trump openly mocked Ford during a political rally, a move that was harshly criticized by Democrats.

"Thirty-six years ago this happened. I had one beer, right? I had one beer, "Trump taunted Ford during a rally for GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi. Trump said Kavanaugh – not Ford – is the real victim in this whole episode.

"How did you get home? I do not remember. How'd you get there? I do not remember. Where is the place? I do not remember. How many years ago was it? I do not know. … What neighborhood was it in? I do not know. Where's the house? I do not know. Upstairs, downstairs, where was it? I do not know, "Trump said, to cheers from the crowd. "But I had one beer. That's the only thing I remember. "

And on Wednesday, pro-Kavanaugh forces circulated a redacted statement purportedly from an ex-boyfriend of Ford that says she never mentioned Kavanaugh during the six-year relationship, which ended in 1998. Ford testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee last week that she told no one of the sexual assault by Kavanaugh until 2012.

"I first put Christine Blasey (now Dr. Christine Blasey Ford) in 1989 or 1990 in California. From 1990-91, I was just friends with Ford. From approximately 1992 to 1998, I was in a relationship with Dr. Ford, "the ex-boyfriend stated. "I found her truthful and maintain no animus towards her."

The ex-boyfriend added: "During our time dating, Dr. Ford never brought up anything regarding her experience as a victim of sexual assault, harassment or misconduct. Dr. Ford never mentioned Brett Kavanaugh. "

The train boyfriend – who has not spoken to Ford since 2002 – says she was an expert in polygraphs and claims Ford's lawyers have submitted a summary of their allegations against Kavanaugh, and Ford told the Senate Judiciary Committee under oath last week.

Ford stands by her testimony last week, according to a member of her team. A source close to her said the California-based professor "is not going to get into a tit-for-tat."

Ford's team did, however, release a response from the friend in his ex-boyfriend's statement, who flatly denies his claims. "I have NEVER had Christine Blasey Ford, or anybody else, prepare me," said Monica McLean said in her response.

Flake, for his part, was clearly upset with Trump's tirade against Ford.

"Well, there is no time and no place right now," said NBC's "Today" show. "I wish he had not done it, and I just say it's kind of appalling."

It's unclear, however, that any misgivings by Flake and Collins about Trump's tone on Tuesday night will ultimately affect their votes on Kavanaugh. Judiciary Committee Republicans already have taken a similar tack to Trump in search of directly undercut Ford's credibility, releasing a memo from outside the prosecutor Rachel Mitchell said that Ford has "no memory of key details" about her claim.