The White House on Thursday defended the FBI’s investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against Brett Kavanaugh, which Democrats have said did not take a close enough look at the Supreme Court nominee.
In a Fox News interview, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders accused Democrats of making the confirmation process “a total disgrace” and said the FBI “did exactly what they do best” by looking into Kavanaugh’s background.
{mosads}”They have that information. It’s time for the Senate to vote and it’s time to confirm Judge Kavanaugh,” she said, referring to senators.
Those comments echoed remarks from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who said the investigation turned up “no hint of misconduct” by Kavanaugh and called for a speedy confirmation vote.
But Democrats have accused the White House of limiting the scope of the investigation and refusing to allow interviews of key witnesses, including the woman who accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her while the two were in high school in the 1980s.
“The most notable part of this report is what’s not in it,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), the top Democrat on the Judiciary panel.
Sanders pushed back on those comments, saying the woman, Christine Blasey Ford, testified under oath for hours last week before the Senate committee.
“The idea somehow that the FBI needs to interview her again is ludicrous,” she said.
“The White House accommodated the Senate’s request,” Sanders later told reporters in the White House driveway. “Anybody who pushes back on the fact that Dr. Ford wasn’t given ample opportunity to make her case and state her case has been living in a cave.”
The spokeswoman said White House officials have not “micromanaged this process.”
“We accommodated all of the Senate’s requests,” she said. “The president was very clear about that and allowed the FBI to make those decisions.”
The Senate is set to hold a procedural vote on Kavanaugh on Friday, which will determine whether his nomination moves forward.
“It’s time for the Senate to vote. Everything that has been asked by the Democrats is out there,” said Sanders.