Trump authorises expansion of Kavanaugh probe

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

Flake is trying to turn the Kavanaugh standoff into a teachable moment that he hopes will help usher in a new political era, one that will produce greater compromise and expand the appeal of a Republican Party he says has put its long-term survival at risk by appealing to a narrow swath of Americans. “When I see friends of mine that are having difficulty with not having that drink at dinner, where it’s literally nearly impossible for them to stop, I say to myself, ‘I can’t even understand it, why would that be difficult?'” Trump said. He said he did not want the probe to become a “witch hunt” and that it should be completed quickly.

CBS News has learned that as part of the investigation, the FBI has reached to Deborah Ramirez, the second woman who accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault.

Chris Coons on Friday when they left a meeting on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination together, just before the Senate Judiciary Committee was set to vote. They have deliberately and consciously turned the confirmation process into a witch hunt, knowing that any allegation – no matter how freakish or unlikely – would be lovingly reported by their allies in the media.

File image: US President Donald J. Trump drinking water.

“I’m guided by the Senate”.

“It has not been in my plans to run for president, but I have not ruled it out”, Flake said at the time.

Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, said it would not be unlawful for the White House to restrict the investigation’s scope because the FBI is under the executive branch.

Several news outlets reported over the weekend that the probe ― which began on Friday after an extraordinary hearing featuring Christine Blasey Ford, one of Kavanaugh’s accusers ― was being tightly controlled by the White House counsel’s office in coordination with Republicans in the Senate. “They should interview, but they should be guided by what the senators are looking for”.

He has also denied misconduct allegations. This would explain why Dr. Ford does not know how she attended the party or where the alleged incident happened, even though she’s confident that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in 1982.

Lawyers for PJ Smyth and Leland Ingham Keyser, two others who Ms Ford said were in the house when she was attacked, have said their clients are willing to cooperate “fully” with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. “Absolutely, I have a very open mind”.

“I continue to strongly support Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court”.

Republicans have 51 seats in the closely divided 100-member Senate and could afford to lose one vote, but not two or more on confirmation.

Trump turned to the subject in a Rose Garden press conference Monday when asked whether he would withdraw Kavanaugh’s nomination if he lied to the committee by understating his alcohol use. On Friday, Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona broke with his fellow Republicans and said that although he supported moving Kavanaugh’s nomination out of the committee, he called for the FBI to investigate credible allegations against Kavanaugh.

“Donnelly’s decision to oppose President Trump’s highly qualified nominee is a grave mistake, but proves he is more concerned with standing with his liberal Democrat leaders than standing for Hoosiers”.