Three former law clerks for Brett Kavanaugh who wrote the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this year expressing support for his nomination have written to clarify they are "deeply troubled" by the allegations of sexual assault against him.

In a letter to the Judiciary panel reported by HuffPost on Tuesday, former clerks Will Dreher, Bridget Fahey and Rakim Brooks said that an expanded FBI investigation into allegations from Christine Blasey Ford and two other women is merited.

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"We write to clarify that, like many Americans, we have been deeply troubled by those allegations and the events surrounding them and were encouraged by the initiation of a formal FBI investigation," the three wrote in their letter.

"We hope, for the good of everyone involved, that the investigation will be independent and thorough," they continued.

In related news, three former Kavanaugh clerks who previously said he was great just wrote to the Judiciary Committee to clarify that they are "deeply troubled" by the allegations against him. pic.twitter.com/9s8Bb7Uhtx — Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) October 2, 2018

The Judiciary panel did not immediately respond to press requests from The Hill Tuesday night. Kavanaugh's nomination is expected to be taken up by the full Senate this week following the panel's advancement of the nomination in a party-line vote on Friday.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellPelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Senate GOP aims to confirm Trump court pick by Oct. 29: report Trump argues full Supreme Court needed to settle potential election disputes MORE (R-Ky.) has not said exactly when a vote will be scheduled on Kavanaugh's nomination, while several key GOP senators have said they want to see the results of the investigation before making their decision on his nomination. No Democrats have pledged their votes in support of Kavanaugh.

“What I can tell you with certainty is we’ll have an FBI report this week and we’ll have a vote this week," McConnell said Tuesday, adding that "only senators" would have access to the FBI's report once it is issued.