WASHINGTON — The FBI has received no new instructions from the White House about how to proceed with its weeklong investigation of sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, a senior U.S. official and another source familiar with the matter tell NBC News. According to the sources, the president’s Saturday night tweet saying he wants the FBI to interview whoever agents deem appropriate has not changed the limits imposed by the White House counsel’s office on the FBI investigation — including a specific witness list that does not include Julie Swetnick, who has accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct in high school. Also not on the list, the sources say, are former classmates who have contradicted Kavanaugh’s account of his college alcohol consumption, instead describing him as a frequent, heavy drinker. The FBI is also not authorized to interview high school classmates who could shed light on what some people have called untruths in Kavanaugh’s Senate Judiciary Committee testimony about alleged sexual references in his high school yearbook. The sources said nothing would preclude the FBI from asking Kavanaugh's high school friend Mark Judge, who is on the witness list, about Swetnick’s allegations, but the sources stressed that this is not a top priority. Separately, a White House official made clear that the White House is the client in this process. This is not an FBI criminal investigation — it is a background investigation in which the FBI is acting on behalf of the White House. Procedurally, the White House does not allow the FBI to investigate as it sees fit, the official acknowledged; the White House sets the parameters. Committee member Sen. Dianne Feinstein sent a letter Sunday to White House counsel Don McGahn and FBI Director Christopher Wray requesting a copy of the written directive the White House sent to the FBI. "In addition," she wrote, "if the FBI requests any expansion beyond the initial directive, please provide the names of any additional witnesses or evidence." Trump announced on Twitter late Saturday that the White House had placed no limitation on the FBI's ability to investigate the allegations against Kavanaugh. "I want them to interview whoever they deem appropriate, at their discretion," Trump tweeted in response to an NBC News report citing multiple people familiar with the process who said the White House was limiting the scope of the reopened background investigation of Kavanaugh. While the FBI will examine the allegations of Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez, the bureau had not been permitted to investigate the claims of Julie Swetnick, who has accused Kavanaugh of engaging in sexual misconduct at parties while he was a student at Georgetown Preparatory School in the 1980s, those people familiar with the investigation told NBC News. A source confirmed to NBC News that Ramirez spoke with the FBI on Sunday, and she provided investigators with a list of witnesses she says corroborate her claim. A member of Ford’s legal team told NBC News on Sunday that neither Ford nor her lawyers have been contacted by the FBI since Trump ordered a supplemental FBI background investigation Friday. A White House official had confirmed earlier Saturday that Swetnick's claims would not be pursued as part of the reopened background investigation into Kavanaugh. Trump described that as incorrect in a tweet late Saturday. The Wall Street Journal had also reported that Swetnick's allegations would not be investigated. Trump said the FBI had "free rein" in the investigation. "They’re going to do whatever they have to do," he said. "Whatever it is they do, they’ll be doing—things that we never even thought of. And hopefully at the conclusion everything will be fine." The New York Times reported Saturday night, after Trump’s tweet, that the White House has authorized the FBI to interview four witnesses: Judge; Leland Keyser, a high school friend of Ford’s whom she said attended the party but was not told of the assault; P.J. Smyth, another party guest; and Ramirez, the Yale accuser. Ford said in Senate testimony Thursday that she was "100 percent" certain that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were both in high school. Ramirez alleged that he exposed himself to her when they were students at Yale. Kavanaugh has staunchly denied allegations from Ford, Ramirez and Swetnick. Instead of investigating Swetnick's claims, the White House counsel’s office has given the FBI a list of witnesses they are permitted to interview, according to several people who discussed the parameters on the condition of anonymity. They characterized the White House instructions as a significant constraint on the FBI investigation and caution that such a limited scope, while not unusual in normal circumstances, may make it difficult to pursue additional leads in a case in which a Supreme Court nominee has been accused of sexual assault. The limited scope seems to be at odds with what some members of the Senate judiciary seemed to expect when they agreed to give the FBI as much as a week to investigate allegations against Kavanaugh, a federal judge who grew up in the Washington DC area and attended an elite all-boys high school before going on to Yale. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the FBI has "free rein" in the investigation. "They’re going to do whatever they have to do," he said. "Whatever it is they do, they’ll be doing — things that we never even thought of. And hopefully at the conclusion everything will be fine." The president also said he thinks Flake's role in delaying the vote is fine. "Actually this could be a blessing in disguise," Trump continued. "Because having the FBI go out, do a thorough investigation, whether its three days or seven days, I think it’s going to be less than a week. But having them do a thorough investigation, I actually think will be a blessing in disguise. It’ll be a good thing." "I don't need a backup plan," Trump said, adding that he thinks Kavanaugh is "going to be fine." Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said Saturday that he supports the week-long scope of the investigation. “The FBI works at the direction of the White House in investigating the background of an administration nominee like Judge Kavanaugh," he told MSNBC's Chris Hayes at Global Citizen Festival in New York. "So it’s the White House Counsel or the president who says, ‘This is the scope of the further investigation.'" Sen. Jeff Flake, Republican of Arizona, who led an 11th hour move in the Senate committee for an FBI inquiry, said he thought the bureau would decide how to carry it out. His Democratic colleague Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island said he expected the FBI probe to include "adequate staffing," support from the committee for "rapid immunity and subpoena decisions as needed, plus the ability to investigate claims of a "penchant for drunkenness and inappropriate treatment of women, particularly where specifically related to incidents under investigation." An FBI spokeswoman declined to comment, referring questions to the White House. A White House official did not specifically dispute limitations on the scope of the FBI's investigation but denied the White House was “micromanaging” the inquiry. White House spokesman Raj Shah said that "the scope and duration has been set by the Senate. The White House is letting the FBI agents do what they are trained to do.” The Senate has only said that supplemental FBI background investigation “be limited to current credible allegations against the nominee and must be completed no later than one week from today.” McGahn, who has shepherded Kavanaugh's nomination since President Trump chose him for the high court on July 9, is taking the lead for the White House in dealing with the FBI on the investigation, those involved in the process told NBC News. A U.S. official briefed on the matter said its not unusual for the White House to set the parameters of an FBI background check for a presidential nominee. The FBI had no choice but to agree to these terms, the sources told NBC News, because it is conducting the background investigation on behalf of the White House.<doc-sep>Donald Trump has claimed he would be happy if the FBI interviewed all three of the women who have accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual offences. Amid criticisms that the White House had limited the scope of an additional background check into his Supreme Court nominee, Mr Trump said it was up to FBI agents to speak to whomever they wanted to, including Mr Kavanaugh. He also said if the probe turned something up about his nominee, he would have to look at it. Asked if the bureau should speak to the three women who have accused Mr Kavanaugh – Christine Blasey Ford, Deborah Ramirez and Julie Smetnick – the president responded: “It would not bother me at all. I don’t know the third accuser. I’m sure they’re going to interview two of them.” He added: “The third, I don’t know much about, but it would not bother me at all. I have heard that the third accuser – I don’t know this to be true – has very little credibility. If there is any credibility, interview the third one.” On Monday, the New York Times reported FBI agents had been directed by the White House and senate Republicans to interview just four people – Mr Kavanaugh’s friend Mark Judge, PJ Smyth, another high school friend, Leland Keyser, a high school friend of one of Ms Ford and Ms Ramirez. Michael Avenatti, a lawyer representing Ms Smetnick, said it was very wrong that she was not being given a chance to speak to agents. “It is outrageous that my client has not been contacted by the FBI because Trump is instructing them not to. He is trying to ram through a nomination by purposely preventing the truth from being known. This is a threat to our very democracy,” he tweeted. ✕ Trump on Kavanaugh: 'I really believe that he was very strong on the fact that he drank a lot, so I don't know if there would be a big discrepancy' “Be clear: 1. I CANNOT just walk my client into an FBI office. We tried that. They claim they don’t have jurisdiction and they refuse to take a stmt. 2. While we may file a criminal complaint, that will have no bearing on any vote due to timing. We will proceed with other options.” Former FBI Director James Comey wrote an op-ed saying it appeared the limited nature of the probe was “designed to thwart the fact-gathering process”. “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 in the Times. In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing Show all 21 1 /21 In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing Getty Images In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing EPA In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing Getty Images In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing AP In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing Getty Images In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing Getty Images In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing AP In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing REUTERS In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing REUTERS In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing REUTERS In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing EPA In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing EPA In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Chaos and fury at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing AFP/Getty Images “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.” At the White House, where Mr Trump started by talking about a new trade deal agreed with Canada and Mexico – the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) – the president initially declined to answer questions about his nominee. As journalists continued to press him he said he wanted the FBI to do a “comprehensive investigation” into sexual assault allegations against Mr Kavanaugh, while seeking to suggest he would leave the parameters of the probe to Senate Republicans. “I want them to do a very comprehensive investigation. Whatever that means, according to the senators and the Republicans and the Republican majority, I want them to do that,” Mr Trump said. “With that being said, I’d like it to go quickly.” He also said he was happy agents spoke to Mr Kavanaugh again. “It’s up to them. I think the FBI should interview anybody they want, but within reason.” Reports from Capitol Hill suggest Republicans are determined the investigation satisfies the concerns of three senators in particular – Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Jeff Flake. It was Mr Flake who pressed for the probe, threatening to withhold his support if it did not take place. Mr Trump said he instructed White House counsel Don McGahn over the weekend to give the FBI a free hand to interview whatever witnesses the agency considered necessary. Mr Flake said he was in close touch with Mr McGahn’s office to ensure a thorough investigation. “We certainly want the FBI to do a real investigation and we are working to make sure that happens,” Mr Flake said at an event in Boston, according to Reuters. “It does no good to have an investigation that gives us more cover, for example. We actually need to find out what we can find out.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the chamber will vote this week on Mr Kavanaugh. A spokesman for Mr McConnell declined to clarify whether McConnell was referring to procedural votes or a final vote on whether to confirm the judge. Meanwhile, two more Yale classmates of Mr Kavanaugh, Dan Murphy and Chris Dudley, have released statements on the nominee saying they never saw him blackout while drinking. At the same time, in a letter sent on Monday to the White House and FBI, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee provided the names of more than than two dozen people they would like to see interviewed as part of the probe.<doc-sep>The FBI will not interview Julie Swetnick, the third woman to accuse Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, according to multiple reports and the Republican senator Lindsey Graham, highlighting the narrow scope of the agency’s supplemental investigation into Donald Trump’s supreme court nominee. After NBC News and the other outlets said Swetnick would not be questioned, the White House, which has stood by Kavanaugh through the fallout from an explosive Senate hearing on Thursday, denied it was limiting the investigation. On Saturday Donald Trump said on Twitter he wanted the FBI “to interview whoever they deem appropriate, at their discretion”. On Sunday Kellyanne Conway, a senior Trump counselor, told CNN’s State of the Union: “We trust the hardworking men and women of the FBI to do their jobs, and they will determine what will be included within that scope.” Sign up for the US morning briefing Conway also revealed that she had been a victim of sexual assault. “I feel very empathetic, frankly, for victims of sexual assault and sexual harassment and rape … I’m a victim of sexual assault,” she said. Swetnick and two other women, Dr Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez, have accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct during his high school and college years in the early 1980s. A report in the New York Times indicated that only one of the accusers, Ramirez, would initially be interviewed by the FBI, after the White House approved a list of just four witnesses. The investigation was described as a limited background check, not a criminal inquiry. It was opened after an intervention from the Arizona Republican senator Jeff Flake and is set to last no longer than a week. Ramirez claims Kavanaugh exposed his genitals to her during a drunken dorm-room party in their freshman year at Yale University. Ford, a professor at Palo Alto University, accuses Kavanaugh of attempted rape. During testimony before the Senate judiciary committee which gripped the nation on Thursday, she said she was 100% certain it was Kavanaugh who assaulted her and described in vivid detail the night of the alleged attack at a house party outside Washington. The other three witnesses to be questioned by the FBI, the New York Times reported, are Kavanaugh’s friend Mark Judge and Leland Keyser and PJ Smyth, also said to have been at the party at which Ford says Kavanaugh assaulted her. Kavanaugh, 53, who has denied all the allegations against him, was not on the reported list of approved interviews. Swetnick has claimed, in a sworn statement, that Kavanaugh and Judge engaged in lewd behavior with young women at high school parties, and alleged the two placed drugs or alcohol in punch in order to inebriate women so they could be “gang raped” by other partygoers. Judge has denied Swetnick’s allegations. Ford says he was present during her alleged assault; he has said he has no memory of the alleged attack. On Sunday, Swetnick’s attorney, Michael Avenatti, wrote on Twitter that he was “still waiting for the FBI to contact me or my client”. Avenatti also represents Stormy Daniels, the adult film actor who says she had a sexual affair with Trump, a claim the president denies. Avenatti added: “How do you conduct a legitimate, fair [and] thorough investigation into allegations unless you interview the person actually making the allegations about her experiences, what she witnessed, and what facts and other witnesses she is aware of? Answer – YOU CAN’T. And that’s by design.” Democrats urged the FBI to investigate Swetnick’s claims and voiced concern that the White House may be narrowing the scope of the agency’s work. “I’m very concerned about this because the White House should not be allowed to micromanage an FBI investigation,” Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who sits on the judiciary committee, told CNN. She added: “I think she [Swetnick] has to be interviewed by the FBI. I haven’t met her. I believe in due process, she did sign an affidavit.” Conway and the White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, who appeared on Fox News Sunday, both insisted the White House was not micromanaging. But Graham appeared to confirm Swetnick would not be questioned. “I think the allegation that she makes is outrageous and not one Democrat mentioned it,” the South Carolina senator and judiciary committee member told ABC’s This Week. “But Mark Judge, who is named by Ms Swetnick as being part of a gang rape and drugging women, will be asked did he ever see it happen. Or did he see Kavanaugh engage in it?” Republican leaders are keen to push Kavanaugh’s nomination through before the midterm elections in November. But a handful of swing voters, including Flake, Republicans Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski and Democrats up for re-election in red-leaning states, have yet to declare their positions. No date has been set for a full floor vote.<doc-sep>
The Trump administration is being accused of limiting the scale and scope of an FBI investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Three women have accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, but it's been reported FBI investigators are only pursuing information behind two of the allegations. Trump on Monday said he wants a "comprehensive" but quick investigation, adding that he's OK with the FBI interviewing all three accusers. Attorney Michael Avenatti, who represents the third accuser, told Business Insider that the investigation is a "farce" and is being run by Trump. President Donald Trump on Monday sought to quell criticism over the White House's involvement in the FBI investigation into Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, as critics questioned whether it set limitations on the probe. Senate Republicans and the White House on Friday agreed to an investigation lasting no longer than a week into sexual misconduct allegations, delaying a Senate floor vote. It came after dramatic, emotional testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee last Thursday from Kavanaugh and one of his accusers, Christine Blasey Ford. But confusion has erupted about the specifics of the FBI investigation, especially in terms of which allegations are being investigated and who's being questioned. ­Judiciary Committee Chairman Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley on Friday said the investigation will focus on "current credible allegations." What we know about who's been contacted by the FBI Kavanaugh is accused of sexual misconduct by three women: Ford, college classmate Deborah Ramirez, and Julie Swetnick, a client of the high-profile lawyer Michael Avenatti. Ford alleges Kavanaugh attempted to force himself on her at a party when they were teenagers, at times covering her mouth with his hand to prevent her from screaming. She claims a friend of Kavanaugh's, Mark Judge, was in the room and aided in the alleged assault. Ford had not been contacted for an interview by the FBI as of Sunday, according to The Washington Post . Her attorney, Debra Katz, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider on Monday. Meanwhile, Ramirez, who alleges Kavanaugh shoved his penis in her face at a party when they were both college students at Yale University, reportedly spoke with the FBI on Sunday. In a sworn declaration, Swetnick alleges Kavanaugh and Judge present at high-school parties at which gang rapes occurred. There are few signs the FBI is looking into Swetnick's allegations. Judge's lawyer, Barbara Van Gelder, recently told Business Insider he does not recall the incident Ford described, but has also said he will cooperate with the FBI. Van Gelder on Monday reiterated Judge's willingness to cooperate but would not say whether he's been contacted by the FBI as of yet. "Mr. Judge has said he will cooperate with the FBI and that is all we are going to say," Van Gelder told Business Insider via email. "As a former federal prosecutor, I respect the confidentiality of the FBI investigative process." On Monday afternoon, however, NBC News reported a senior US official said Judge had been interviewed by the FBI. Van Gelder subsequently confirmed to Business Insider that Judge had been interviewed by investigators, but said his interview "has not been completed." An ex-girlfriend of Judge's, Elizabeth Rasor, who has challenged his recollections, has offered to cooperate with the FBI but reportedly hasn't been contacted. And Charles Ludington, a Yale classmate of Kavanaugh's who's challenged the Supreme Court nominee's statements on his drinking habits, told The Washington Post on Sunday he planned to deliver a statement to the FBI detailing Kavanaugh's "violent drunken behavior" in college. Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee wrote a letter to White House counsel Don McGahn and FBI Director Christopher Wray demanding that the FBI interview 24 people in connection with the allegations. What Trump has said about the investigation Over the weekend, reports began to surface that FBI investigators were looking into the allegations from Ford and Ramirez, but not Swetnick. The reports also suggested that the White House was limiting the list of witnesses. "We ask that you confirm that the FBI background investigation will include the allegations of Christine Blasey Ford, Deborah Ramirez and Julie Swetnick and that the FBI will perform all logical steps related to these allegations, including interviewing other individuals who might have relevant information and gathering evidence related to the truthfulness of statements made in relation to these allegations," the Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats said in their letter.