Sen. Dianne Feinstein defended her handling of Christine Blasey Ford‘s letter on Thursday, telling her Republican colleagues that she did not leak the letter accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct. Feinstein’s defense was in response to Sen. Ted Cruz saying this: “Some of the most significant testimony we heard this morning is Dr. Ford told this committee that the only people to whom she gave her letter were her attorneys, the ranking member, and her Member of Congress. And she stated that she and her attorneys did not release the letter, which means the only people that could have released that letter were either the Ranking Member and her staff or the Democratic Member of Congress because Dr. Ford told this committee those are the only people who had it.” Feinstein, the ranking member, then asked for an opportunity to defend herself against the allegations. The request was granted. “Mr. Chairman, let me be clear,” she began. “I did not hide Dr. Ford’s allegations. I did not leak her story. She asked me to hold it confidential and I kept it confidential as she asked. She apparently was stalked by the press, felt that what happened, she was forced to come forward and her greatest fear was realized. She’s been harassed, she’s had death threats, and she’s had to flee her home.” She continued on: “I was given some information by a woman who was very much afraid, who asked that it be held confidential, and I held it confidential until she decided that she would come forward.” She was then asked if her staff would leak it. Feinstein said her staff did not leak it. Then a while later on, amid more finger-pointing from Cruz, she reiterated it was not her office that leaked. “It’s my understanding that her story was leaked before the letter became public,” Feinstein stressed. “She testified that she had spoken to her friends about it and it’s most likely that that’s how the story leaked and that she had been asked by press. But it did not leak from us, I assure you of that.” According to Ryan Grim of The Intercept, the leak did not in fact, come from Feinstein’s staff. Feinstein's staff did not leak the letter to The Intercept — Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) September 27, 2018 [image via screengrab] Have a tip we should know? [email protected]<doc-sep>MSNBC's "Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough criticized the media for not investigating how and why Christine Blasey Ford's letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) was leaked. Ford, who accused Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her while they were both in high school, outlined her allegations in a confidential letter to Feinstein's office. "What New York Times reporter, what Washington Post reporter, was assigned a story by their editors to go see what really happened with Dianne Feinstein, and ask Dianne Feinstein and her staff the sort of questions that would have happened if the Republican Party had done the same thing?" Scarborough asked. "Not one." Scarborough issued a pointed challenge to editors across the country. "I challenge New York Times reporters this morning — not reporters, editors — I challenge Washington Post editors, I challenge Wall Street Journal editors, I challenge editors across America, write that story. What happened with Dr. Ford's agreement with a congresswoman, with Dianne Feinstein? Why did they leak that story? And more importantly, look at yourself and ask yourself the question, why didn't we report on this in real time when you sure as hell would have reported on it if [Sen. Chuck] Grassley (R., Iowa) and his office had done the same thing?" Ford told the Senate Judiciary Committee she contacted her congresswoman, Rep. Anna Eshoo (D., Calif.), in July, and to her understanding, her letter outlining an assault accusation against Kavanaugh was sent to Feinstein's office on July 30. Ford requested her identity remain confidential. The California senator did not mention the letter in any hearings with Kavanaugh, but sent a vague tweet about having received "information" about Kavanaugh, which she had referred to federal authorities, after his confirmation hearing concluded. Feinstein has denied that she or her staff released the confidential contents of the letter, which were released by the media without Ford's name on Sept. 13. Ford came forward, revealing her identity and telling the Post her story, a few days later on Sept. 16. Scarborough repeated his criticism of the press later in the segment. "The question is why didn't they focus on the allegations before them and why didn't they ask the same tough questions of Dianne Feinstein and her staff that they should have, rightly asked, of Chuck Grassley and his staff. You held the letter for a couple of months, you waited until Kavanaugh's hearing was over and then you released it at the very end," Scarborough said. "Again, the only question I'm asking today is, why didn't one editor for the New York Times, or one editor for the Washington Post, or one editor for the Wall Street Journal, say, ‘you know what that's a story we really need to dig into deep because they're not telling us the truth,'" Scarborough added.<doc-sep>The investigations into Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh appear to have concluded, but other investigations could open into two members of Congress who sought to block his confirmation. Eight House Republicans have asked for ethics investigations of Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Rep. Anna Eshoo, as well as the staffs of the two California Democrats. The subject: the leak of the unredacted letter from Christine Blasey Ford accusing Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when the two were teenagers. “It would shock me if this wasn’t an ethics violation,” Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., one of the House members who signed a letter requesting an ethics probe, told The Daily Signal. “This was a violation against Dr. Ford, who requested the letter be confidential,” Norman said. “Sen. Feinstein ought to be outraged that it leaked.” Feinstein, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, denied in a Monday statement that she or her staff leaked the letter from Ford, 51, a research psychologist and college professor. “President Trump and Senate Republicans are trying to deflect attention from Brett Kavanaugh’s sexual assault allegations by saying my staff or I leaked the letter from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford—they’re wrong,” Feinstein said in the statement. Norman said Congress needs answers. “If Sen. Feinstein didn’t do it, then who did?” Norman asked. “You only have to put people under oath. … This letter didn’t go to 10 people. It went to two people—initially. It should be easy to backtrack from there [to find out] who else gained access to the letter and who leaked it.” Spokespersons for Feinstein and Eshoo did not respond to phone and email inquiries for this report. Besides Norman, the seven other House Republicans who sent separate letters to the House and Senate ethics committees are Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona; Steve King of Iowa; Jeff Duncan of South Carolina; Bob Gibbs of Ohio; Ralph Norman of South Carolina; Rod Blum of Iowa; and Louie Gohmert of Texas. The letters are almost identical, but the letter to the House committee asks for an investigation of Eshoo and the one to the Senate committee asks for an investigation of Feinstein. The letters read: Leaking Dr. Ford’s letter was a cynically political act that is damaging to the credibility of the United States Congress. Deliberately outing Dr. Ford without her consent may have a lasting impact on women’s willingness to report future assaults. Democratic members of Congress and their staffs placed political expediency above the wishes of Dr. Ford. For these reasons, we are calling for an immediate ethics investigation to identify the individuals who are responsible for this breach and take appropriate action. Both the House and Senate have rules prohibiting disclosure of confidential information. Ford has said she first contacted Eshoo in July about the assault, which she first said occurred in the early 1980s before specifying 1982. Eshoo delivered her letter to Feinstein. Ford’s letter likely qualifies as confidential because she requested confidentiality and Feinstein has said she guaranteed confidentiality to her. Rule 29(5) of the Standing Rules of the Senate states: Any Senator, officer, or employee of the Senate who shall disclose the secret or confidential business or proceedings of the Senate, including the business and proceedings of the committees, subcommittees, and offices of the Senate, shall be liable, if a Senator, to suffer expulsion from the body; and if an officer or employee, to dismissal from the service of the Senate, and to punishment for contempt. An employee’s violation of Rule 29(5) is grounds for termination, according to a Senate source, who said this could be a criminal matter since the leak likely violates a memorandum of understanding about information shared between the executive branch and Congress. The House ethics rules state: The ‘Privacy Act’ protects the records maintained by government agencies from disclosure, except for specified purposes or with the permission of the person to whom the record pertains.36 Although the statute does permit disclosure ‘to either House of Congress,’ some agencies require Members to show written consent from their constituents before they will release the constituents’ records to the Members. The Privacy Act does not apply to congressional documents. Historically, however, communications between Members and constituents have been considered confidential and should generally not be made public without the constituent’s consent. Tom Rust, chief counsel and staff director of the House Ethics Committee, and Amanda Maddox, spokeswoman for the Senate Ethics Committee, both declined to comment to The Daily Signal about matters that may come before the committees. “This is not a small matter,” Norman said. “What if someone had a national security matter, and felt the need to take it only to Sen. Feinstein? There is a public interest at stake that goes beyond this particular document. If you can’t maintain confidentiality with this, what else could be breached?” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., called for an investigation during an appearance Sunday on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.” The chronology of the Ford letter has been an issue. Ford testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee that she provided a July 30 letter to Eshoo, who delivered it to Feinstein. In the letter, Ford asked that she remain anonymous. The next day, Feinstein confirmed that she would not share Ford’s letter without her consent. During the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings in early September, no Democrat on the Judiciary Committee raised sexual misconduct as an issue. However, after the hearing concluded, on Sept. 12, The Intercept reported on the existence of the letter, which previously was known only to Ford, Eshoo, Feinstein, and an unknown number of the lawmakers’ staff members. On Sept. 13, a week before a scheduled committee vote on sending the Kavanaugh nomination to the Senate floor, Feinstein referred the letter to the FBI. On Sept. 16, The Washington Post named Ford as making the allegation. The FBI could have looked into the allegation well before the Kavanaugh hearings began. Feinstein said she didn’t disclose the letter to Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, because Ford had asked for it to remain private. However, three days after Feinstein referred Ford’s letter to the FBI, CNN published an unredacted version of the letter. During her Sept. 27 Senate testimony, Ford said under oath that she didn’t consent to any of the disclosures.<doc-sep>
President Trump briefly singled out U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein during his West Virginia rally Saturday evening, insinuating that the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee leaked a letter from a woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her decades earlier. “When you look at releases and leaks and they say, ‘No, I didn’t do it.’ Dianne Feinstein, did you leak?,” Trump said to a chorus of boos from the crowd. “Remember her answer? Uh uh, uh, what? No, no, I didn’t leak. Maybe she didn’t, but that was the worst body language I’ve ever seen.” “Remember her answer? 'Uh uh, uh, what? No, no, I didn’t leak.' Maybe she didn’t, but that was the worst body language I’ve ever seen.” — President Trump, referring to U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein Trump, who was in the state stumping for GOP candidates ahead of the midterm elections, was referring to the letter that Feinstein, of California, received from Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford in July. Feinstein maintains she never came forward with Ford’s claim because Ford had requested confidentiality. "I don't believe my staff would leak it," Feinstein said in response to a question Thursday from Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas. "I have not asked that question directly." Feinstein posted a Twitter message Saturday evening, denying that her office leaked the letter. "From the moment I received Dr. Ford’s letter my actions have been consistent with her wishes," feinstein wrote. "We kept her letter confidential and did not leak the contents or its existence to anyone. Survivors have a right to decide how their stories are made public." But one way or another, news of the letter was eventually leaked, sparking a divisive nationwide debate over Kavanaugh’s nomination to the highest court and Democrats calling for an FBI investigation into the allegations. Ford’s letter alleging Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her was first reported Sept. 12 by the website the Intercept. The Intercept reporter who broke the story tweeted: "Feinstein's staff did not leak the letter to The Intercept." Ford claims Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her during a party in 1982 when they were high school students. More women have since come forward to accuse Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct. On Thursday, Ford and Kavanaugh testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the allegations. "Brett's assault on me drastically altered my life," Ford told the committee. At the hearing, Kavanaugh maintained his innocence and sparred with Democratic senators. "This confirmation process has become a national disgrace," Kavanaugh told the committee. Trump on Friday ordered the FBI to conduct a limited “supplemental background" investigation into the matter. Maryland lawmakers have also called on authorities to investigate Ford’s claims -- and the authorities said they would do so, provided that an accuser files a formal complaint.