Former FBI director James Comey said the bureau’s investigation into allegations of sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh shouldn’t be limited to one week, as Republicans have stipulated, calling the process “deeply flawed” and “idiotic.”

But, Comey added, the bureau “can find out a lot” during even a one-week investigation.

“It is idiotic to put a shot clock on the F.B.I.,” Comey wrote in an op-ed published Sunday in the New York Times. “But it is better to give professionals seven days to find facts than have no professional investigation at all.”

The White House authorized the FBI to conduct the one-week investigation after Sen. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, shocked lawmakers by saying he would only vote for Kavanaugh if such a probe took place.



But Comey argued neither Republicans nor Democrats are really focused on finding the truth.

“If truth were the only goal, there would be no clock, and the investigation wouldn’t have been sought after the Senate Judiciary Committee already endorsed the nominee,” he wrote. “Instead, it seems that the Republican goal is to be able to say there was an investigation and it didn’t change their view, while the Democrats hope for incriminating evidence to derail the nominee.”

But Comey said he expected the agents will conduct scores of interviews and produce a “granular factual presentation.”

“Although the process is deeply flawed, and apparently designed to thwart the fact-gathering process, the F.B.I. is up for this,” Comey wrote. “It’s not as hard as Republicans hope it will be.”

