The White House reportedly has now issued a new directive telling the FBI to interview anyone it deems necessary to complete its supplemental investigation into Judge Brett Kavanaugh. The New York Times was the first to report the claim, one made by President Trump himself, that has differed with credible reporting this weekend.
“The F.B.I. should interview anybody that they want within reason, but you have to say within reason,” President Trump repeated Monday in the Rose Garden.
NBC News, The Wall Street Journal, and other outlets have reported the White House has blocked the FBI from interviewing two Kavanaugh accusers: Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, Julie Swetnick. It also was blocking the FBI from interviewing Kavanaugh BFF Mark Judge. In fact, the approved list contained just four people.
“The new directive came in the past 24 hours after a backlash from Democrats, who criticized the White House for limiting the scope of the bureau’s investigation into President Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court,” the Times reports Monday afternoon.
Confirming earlier reporting that the Bureau could complete the investigation as early as Monday, the Times adds, “The F.B.I. has already completed interviews with the four witnesses its agents were originally asked to talk to, the people said.”
It’s unclear if the White House has actually cleared the FBI to conduct the investigation as it sees fit, or if it has just told reporters it has. No letter from White House counsel Don McGahn has been released. Democrats have been asking for the letter detailing the scope of the probe.
Nine of the ten Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday afternoon sent a letter to FBI Director Chris Wray and White House counsel Don McGahn demanding the Bureau interview Julie Swetnick and 23 other people or entities.