Graham said the parameters of the probe are based on the wishes of three wavering Republican colleagues — Sens. Jeff Flake of Arizona, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — for a "limited review."

"They wanted ... the FBI to talk with the witnesses that Dr. Ford named," he said Sunday on ABC's "This Week." "They want to talk to Ms. Ramirez, because she refused to talk to the committee. They're going to Mark Judge — 'Did you ever see Brett Kavanaugh drug women or engage in gang rape?' I think that's going to be the focus of it."

Collins said in a statement Sunday that she is "confident that the FBI will follow up on any leads that result from the interviews."

Aides to Flake and Murkowski did not respond to messages sent Sunday asking about their own expectations for the new review.

Flake, who prompted the new FBI probe by threatening to withhold his vote to confirm Kavanaugh, said in a "60 Minutes" interview set to air Sunday that he found Kavanaugh's testimony Thursday to be "partisan" at times and that "his interaction with some of the members was a little too sharp."

But, he said, he understood his anger. "If I was unjustly accused, that's how I would feel, as well," Flake said.