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WASHINGTON – The White House limits the scope of the FBI's investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
While the FBI will consider the allegations of Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez, the office was not allowed to investigate complaints from Julie Swetnick, who accused Kavanaugh of committing sexual misconduct at school parties. Georgetown Preparatory In the 1980s, these people familiar with the investigation told NBC News. A White House official confirmed that Swetnick's claims would not be pursued as part of the Kavanaugh investigation.
Ford said Thursday in the Senate that she was "100%" certain that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her in high school. Ramirez claimed that he was exposed to her when there were students at Yale. Kavanaugh firmly denied the allegations of Ford, Ramirez and Swetnick.
Instead of investigating Swetnick's requests, the White House board office has provided the FBI with a list of witnesses they are allowed to question, according to several people who discussed the parameters on condition of anonymity. They described the White House's instructions as major constraints to the FBI's investigation and cautioned that such limited scope, though unusual under normal circumstances, may complicate research. additional tracks. sexual assault.
The limited scope seems to be at odds with what some members of the Senate bench seemed to expect when they agreed to give the FBI more than a week to investigate the allegations against Kavanaugh, a federal judge who grew up in the Washington DC area an elite high school for boys before going to Yale.
President Donald Trump said Saturday that the FBI had "a free reign" in the investigation. "They will do everything they have to do," he said. "Whatever they do, they'll do it – things we've never even thought of, and I hope everything will be fine in the end."
The president also said that he thought Flake's role in postponing the vote was going well. "In fact, it could be a blessing in disguise," Trump continued. "Because getting the FBI out, doing a thorough investigation, whether it's three days or seven days, I think it will be less than a week, but I think it will be a blessing in disguise. a good thing. "
"I do not need a backup plan," Trump said, adding that he thinks Kavanaugh "will be fine."
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., Said Saturday that he supported the scope of the investigation for one week. "The FBI is working at the White House leadership to investigate the background of an administration candidate like Judge Kavanaugh," he told the Global Citizen Festival in New York. "" This is the scope of the pursuit of the investigation. "
Senator Jeff Flake, Republican of Arizona, who led an FBI inquiry before the Senate committee, said he thought the office would decide how to carry it out. His Democratic colleague, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, said that he expected the FBI investigation to include "sufficient staff", committee support for "decisions prompt immunity and subpoena as required, as well as the opportunity to investigate inappropriate treatment of women, particularly when it is specifically related to incidents under investigation . "
An FBI spokeswoman declined to comment, referring questions to the White House.
A White House official did not specifically dispute the limitations of the scope of the FBI's investigation, but denied that it "micromanaged" the investigation.
White House spokesman Raj Shah said "the scope and duration have been set by the Senate, and the White House is letting the FBI agents do what they have learned to do."
The Senate has only stated that the FBI's additional background investigation "should be limited to the current credible allegations against the candidate and must be completed no later than one week from today."
White House advisor Don McGahn, who has sponsored Kavanaugh's appointment since President Trump chose him for high court on July 9, is taking the lead for the White House in his FBI talks.
An informed US official on the subject said that it was not unusual for the White House to set the parameters for an FBI background check for a presidential candidate. The FBI has had no choice but to accept these conditions, the sources told NBC News, as it conducts the background investigation on behalf of the White House.
If the FBI learns that other people may corroborate what the existing witnesses say, it's not clear whether the officers will be able to contact him under the conditions set by the White House, said the two sources informed about it.
Some areas are prohibited, sources said.
The investigators plan to meet Mark Judge, a high school classmate and friend of Kavanaugh, whom Ford has cited as a witness and participant in his alleged assault.
But from now on, the FBI can not ask the supermarket who used the records judge to check when he was employed there, one source told them. Ford said Thursday during a congressional testimony that the records would help her reduce the delay of the alleged incident she recalls during the summer of 1982 in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Two sources close to the survey said the FBI would not be able to examine why Kavanaugh's account of his consumption at Yale University differs from that of some of his former classmates. These details may be relevant to investigating Ramirez's complaints that allegedly described an alleged sexual misconduct that occurred while Kavanaugh was intoxicated. Ramirez's lawyer said Saturday that she had been contacted by the FBI and that she would cooperate.
The conditions under which the FBI's re-opened background check are underway seem to differ from that envisioned by Flake, who was using his influence as a pivotal vote to pressure the Trump government to order an FBI investigation.
Flake said Friday that he thought the FBI had to decide the scope of the investigation.
"They will have to decide – the FBI, you know, where it's going," he told reporters. "It's limited in time and scope and I think it's appropriate when it's a lifetime appointment and such serious allegations and we should let people know that we are seriously about it. "
After the publication of this article, an administration official familiar with the process explained that even though investigators do not question Swetnick herself, this does not stop them from questioning her. 39, other witnesses on the allegations she made.
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