Jeff Flake and Susan Collins say investigation appears ‘thorough’ but Democrats criticize inquiry as too narrow in scope

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Two key Republicans whose support for Brett Kavanaugh hinges on an FBI report into allegations of sexual misconduct against him have expressed satisfaction with its scope and findings, boosting the nominee’s chances of being confirmed to the US supreme court.

The confidential FBI report about allegations that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted women three decades ago was made available for senators to view on Thursday morning.

Voters plead with Susan Collins to oppose Kavanaugh – but which way will she swing? Read more

“It appears to be a very thorough investigation,” said Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine.

Senator Jeff Flake, a Republican of Arizona whose 11th-hour revolt at a vote last week triggered the supplemental FBI background check into the allegations, said: “We’ve seen no additional corroborating information.”

Both senators are seen as critical swing votes for the conservative judge’s nomination to the nation’s highest court. They have not said how they intend to vote at a crucial Senate ballot on his confirmation, which is expected on Friday.

The limited FBI investigation was triggered after Dr Christine Blasey Ford testified at a Senate hearing last week, detailing her allegation that Kavanaugh attempted to rape her when the pair were teenagers in high school. Two other women have accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault and misconduct. Kavanaugh denies the allegations.

On Thursday, the Senate judiciary committee chair, Chuck Grassley, said the FBI report “found no hint of misconduct” but Democrats criticised the investigation, implying that it was narrow in scope to protect Donald Trump’s supreme court nominee.

Play Video 0:10 Anti-Brett Kavanaugh protesters take over US Senate building – video

“Having received a briefing on all of the documents, I disagree with Senator Grassley’s statement that there was no hint of misconduct,” Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer told reporters. He did not elaborate, citing confidentiality constraints.

The committee’s ranking Democrat, Senator Dianne Feinstein, criticized the report as incomplete.

“The most notable part of this report is what’s not in it,” Feinstein told reporters. She suggested the FBI may have been constrained by the White House.

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The conflicting assessments came as Republicans and the White House were increasingly confident that Kavanaugh would be elevated to the nation’s highest court after a tumultuous week that left serious doubt about his confirmation.

On Wednesday night, Senator Mitch McConnell set the stage to move forward with a pair of votes in the polarized chamber. The move sets up a crucial “cloture vote” on Friday morning to end debate on Kavanaugh’s nomination. Should Republicans get the majority of votes they need, a final vote on his confirmation could take place as early as Saturday.

In an angry speech on the Senate floor on Thursday, McConnell said: “We will not be hoodwinked by those who have tried hard to smear this good man, to drag him through the mud.”

Republicans hold a 51-49 majority in the Senate and a simple majority is needed to advance Kavanaugh’s nomination. A handful of Republican and Democratic senators are undecided on whether to support Kavanaugh and their votes will decide whether he is confirmed.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Large numbers of protesters gather at the Senate building in Washington. Photograph: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images

Later on Thursday, North Dakota senator Heidi Heitkamp, one of a handful of Democrats running for re-election in states Trump won easily, said she would not vote to confirm Kavanaugh.

“This isn’t a political decision. If this were a political decision for me I certainly would be deciding this the other way,” Heitkamp said in an emotional interview with WDAY News. She is facing a strong Republican challenge, but said: “I can’t get up in the morning and look at the life experience that I’ve had and say yes to Judge Kavanaugh.”

Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia is the only remaining Democrat who has yet to publicly announce his decision on Kavanaugh.

The limited FBI report was delivered to Capitol Hill at 2.30am on Thursday morning, with a statement from the White House saying it was “fully confident the Senate will vote to confirm Judge Kavanaugh to the supreme court”.

No copies will be made of the report, as is standard, and senators are not supposed to disclose its contents to the public.

Throughout the day, senators took turns viewing the only available copy of the FBI’s most recent findings, which were placed in a secure facility in the basement of the US capitol.

Q&A What is cloture? Show Hide In short, cloture is a way of cutting off debate and ending a filibuster on a particular issue before the US Senate – part of a multi-step process that culminates in a final vote on legislation or a nomination.

In the case of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, filed for cloture, setting the stage for a final vote on Kavanaugh's supreme court nomination. McConnell did so on Wednesday, after which the motion had to “ripen”, meaning that it could not be voted on until a full legislative day had passed. Thus a cloture vote could not take place before Friday.

The cloture vote – as opposed to the final vote – is often where the real drama happens. Republicans have a narrow 51-49 majority in the Senate and could vote to invoke cloture without support from a single Democrat. If only 50 senators agreed to end debate, Vice-President Mike Pence would be brought in to break the tie. If the motion failed, McConnell could try again or he could opt to pull the nomination.

Invoking cloture for supreme court nominees once required 60 votes but was lowered in 2017 to a simple majority threshold last year during the nomination fight over justice Neil Gorsuch. Sixty votes are still required to approve legislation.

Once cloture is invoked, debate on the matter is limited to an additional 30 hours. After that, the full Senate would proceed to a final vote. Lauren Gambino



“I feel more comfortable than I did before,” Republican senator Tim Scott of South Carolina said after viewing the report. He plans to support Kavanaugh.

But Democrats felt different.

“We have not done as thorough or fulsome a job as we should,” said Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, who used a floor speech to read letters from women who shared why they didn’t report their sexual assaults.

White House spokesman Raj Shah said the FBI contacted 10 people and interviewed nine, includingDeborah Ramirez, who says Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a party when both were students at Yale.

“The president, the White House are firmly behind Brett Kavanaugh,” he said during an appearance on CNN. “We believe that all the Senate’s questions have been addressed through this supplemental FBI investigation.”

On Thursday, Ford’s lawyers also criticized the investigation, calling it a “stain on the process, on the FBI and on our American ideal of justice”. In a four-page letter to the FBI, they said the bureau had declined to interview Ford and witnesses whom they had suggested.

The FBI report arrived at the Capitol days after Trump inflamed tensions over Kavanaugh’s nomination by mocking Ford at a Republican rally in Mississippi.

Play Video 1:03 'Just plain wrong’: three Republicans condemn Trump’s mockery of Ford – video

The rising tensions over Kavanaugh’s nomination have led to heightened security at the Capitol, with some senators, including Collins, using police escorts to shield them from protesters eager to confront them.

Hundreds more anti-Kavanaugh demonstrators descended on the Capitol on Thursday, and more are expected over the weekend.

Fresh questions have been raised about Kavanaugh’s temperament and the evidence he gave to the judiciary committee last week. Several high school and college classmates have come forward to challenge his characterisation of his teenage years and his drinking habits.

On Thursday, a letter signed by more than 1,000 law professors will be delivered to senators urging them not to confirm Kavanaugh.

“We regret that we feel compelled to write to you, our Senators, to provide our views that at the Senate hearings on Sept. 27, Judge Brett Kavanaugh displayed a lack of judicial temperament that would be disqualifying for any court, and certainly for elevation to the highest court of this land,” they wrote.