The Senate Judiciary Committee released an executive summary from the FBI’s supplementary background investigation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Thursday. “At the Senate Judiciary Committee’s request, the FBI opened a supplemental background investigation into Judge Kavanaugh. It’s his seventh FBI background investigation in 25 years, going back to 1993. The request was for an investigation into current credible allegations against Judge Kavanaugh,” reads the opening paragraph of the document compiled by Chairman Grassley’s staff. The document indicates that 11 people were contacted to interview, 10 of whom followed through. Eight of these individuals were related to Ford’s allegations while two alleged eyewitnesses were from Deborah Ramirez’s allegations. The individuals interviewed had potential firsthand knowledge of the allegations of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh. Senators received 12 detailed 302 reports from the FBI on the interviews and were provided supporting materials that were cited by witnesses in the interviews. “The supplemental background investigation confirms what the Senate Judiciary Committee concluded after its investigation: there is no corroboration of the allegations made by Dr. (Christine Blasey) Ford or Ms. Deborah Ramirez,” the executive summary concludes. INBOX: Sen. Grassley just emailed an executive summary of the FBI investigation report. It's concise enough to fit in one screenshot. pic.twitter.com/Ubuk3xaANk — Steven Mazie (@stevenmazie) October 5, 2018<doc-sep>(CNN) — The FBI’s supplemental investigation into the sexual assault allegations against Judge Brett Kavanaugh was limited in scope from the beginning. There was never a directive to the FBI to investigate a third assault allegation against Kavanaugh, or to probe his drinking habits and whether he lied about them to the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to a source briefed on the investigation. The reason for that limited scope is now at the heart of the fight between Democrats and Republicans over the 45-page FBI report that senators have been able to review in the Senate’s secure spaces ahead of a key procedural vote Friday on the Supreme Court nominee. Senate Republicans and the White House say they allowed the FBI to pursue leads within the parameters that Sen. Jeff Flake and other undecided Republican senators agreed to: credible, current allegations against Kavanaugh. They point to the fact that the FBI ultimately conducted interviews with nine people as part of the investigation, more than just the initial witnesses named in last week’s hearing. And for Julie Swetnick – who among other allegations accused Kavanaugh of sexually aggressive behavior at alcohol-fueled parties when he was in high school – the accusation was deemed not credible by the White House, so it was not part of what the FBI was instructed to look at, according to a source briefed on the investigation. But Democrats argue that the parameters that Republicans initially set chartered a course for the FBI that was never going to uncover anything that could corroborate the assault accusations from Christine Blasey Ford, Deborah Ramirez and Swetnick. In particular, they charged that the White House prevented the FBI from interviewing Kavanaugh and Ford themselves. “It’s simply not credible to say that public testimony in last week’s hearing is a substitute for interviews by FBI agents,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. “Not only do senators lack the expertise of FBI agents, we were only given five minutes to question Judge Kavanaugh. Democrats agreed that the investigation’s scope should be limited. We did not agree that the White House should tie the FBI’s hands.” Kavanaugh has vehemently denied all allegations against him, including those of Ford, Swetnick and Ramirez. Ultimately though, the question of whether the FBI investigation was satisfactory will come down to the three Republican senators and one Democratic senator on the fence — Sens. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Jeff Flake and Joe Manchin respectively — who pushed for the investigation in the first place and will decide Kavanaugh’s fate. Those senators were not raising objections to the FBI’s background investigation after their first look at the materials Thursday. “It appears to be a very thorough investigation,” said Collins, adding that she needed to read the report herself. Flake said he agreed with Collins’ assessment. “We’ve seen no additional corroborating information,” he said. Murkowski did not attend the initial Republican briefing on the report. Leaving the briefing room after her first look at the documents, Murkowski said she needed to read the report before she could determine whether it was thorough enough. Republicans defend investigation parameters Statements from the White House and Republican senators have not made it clear — and at times have been contradictory — over how the parameters for the FBI’s investigation were decided. White House spokesman Raj Shah said Thursday that the scope of the investigation was set by the Senate, although the White House ordered the supplemental FBI investigation to be conducted. “There was an initial list of four provided to us by the Senate. They were interviewed and leads were followed up on,” Shah said on CNN’s “New Day.” But Republican senators said they didn’t provide the FBI with a list of who should be contacted. “We did not come up with a list people who the FBI should interview,” said Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican. “The FBI was requested to conduct an investigation into any and all credible, current accusation of sexual misconduct by Judge Kavanaugh. And they FBI made the decision from there as to who to interview.” Republicans insisted the investigation was thorough. Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley accused Democrats of trying to “move the goalposts” after the investigation was requested last week. And Shah argued that the investigation should not have been a “never-ending fishing expedition into high school drinking.” “That’s not what the senators requested, that’s not where this investigation’s scope went, it went to serious allegations and it tried to corroborate them with a set of interviews,” he said. What is and isn’t included in report The FBI report was sent to Capitol Hill with a standard background information cover sheet, but not a summary, says a source briefed on the investigation. Only a single copy was provided, and Judiciary Committee aides in both parties briefed senators about the materials before senators were able to read the document themselves. In addition to the FBI interview summaries, which are known as 302s, the FBI report also includes information that came in to the FBI’s tip line, according to congressional sources and people briefed on the documents. CNN has reported on a number of individuals from Yale who said they had reached out to the FBI to report information but had not been subsequently contacted by the FBI. The report includes 45 pages of interview summaries and an additional 1,600 pages of information that the FBI sent up from its tip line. Lawmakers did not ask for the additional pages, according to the source, who said that broad search terms were used that also captured information not directly related to the allegations. So far, it appears a majority of the people interviewed were those already sympathetic to Kavanaugh. Of the six who are known interviews, Mark Judge, Patrick Smyth, Tim Gaudette and Chris Garrett were not expected to be hostile to the Supreme Court nominee. Ramirez was expected to repeat her allegations against Kavanaugh, as well as Leland Keyser, who has previously said through her lawyer that she doesn’t recall the alleged incident.<doc-sep>Welcome to FOX News First. Not signed up yet? Click here. Developing now, Friday, Oct. 5, 2018 Four moderate swing-vote senators could determine whether nominee Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed for the Supreme Court as tension is high on Capitol Hill before a scheduled procedural vote on Friday. The final vote on Kavanaugh's confirmation could come as early as Saturday The Senate Judiciary Committee released the executive summary of the FBI's report on Kavanaugh late Thursday, and investigators could not corroborate the sexual misconduct allegations made by accusers Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Kavanaugh blasted the 'wrongful' and 'vicious' attacks against him while admitting he may have been 'too emotional' at last week's Senate hearing A lawyer for the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's campaign provided documents for the FBI's Russia investigation, FOX News has learned The September jobs report will be released Friday morning A Facebook executive's support of Kavanaugh has triggered internal outrage among the social media giant's employees and backlash toward founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg THE LEAD STORY - KAVANAUGH'S CONFIRMATION HANGS IN THE BALANCE: With tensions boiling over on the eve of a major procedural vote in the Senate on Friday morning on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation, three of four key moderate swing-vote senators are "trying to get to yes," a GOP source told FOX News ... Those senators -- Republicans Jeff Flake of Arizona, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, and Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia -- have kept their options open throughout the nomination process, but there were outward indications that at least some of them will ultimately support Kavanaugh. In an unexpected twist late Thursday, Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., announced he's going to attend his daughter's wedding back home in Montana on Saturday -- meaning that even though he strongly supports Kavanaugh, he would be unavailable to immediately vote for the judge’s confirmation, which is scheduled to be taken up that evening. But FOX News has learned that Daines made an unusual late-night phone call Thursday evening to Kavanaugh and personally reassured him that "he has made arrangements to be there to get him across the finish line as needed." Because Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., started the clock Thursday evening, Republicans cannot technically delay the final confirmation vote unless they secure the consent of all 100 senators. The GOP could, however, hold the session open overnight and allow Daines to vote Sunday if needed. 'NO CORROBORATION': The Senate Judiciary Committee released an executive summary of the FBI's confidential supplemental background report into Kavanaugh late Thursday, which key swing-vote senators vowed they would continue to review Friday ahead of a major vote on his confirmation ... According to the summary of the secret report, released by the Republican committee majority, FBI agents interviewed 10 people and reached out to 11, focusing only on witnesses with potential first-hand knowledge of alleged sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh. Among those questioned were Mark Judge, PJ Smyth, and Leland Keyser, the three individuals Christine Blasey Ford claimed were present when Kavanaugh allegedly threw her on a bed and sexually assaulted her sometime in the 1980s (Ford has variously claimed the episode occurred in the mid-1980s and early 1980s, before testifying that it occurred in 1982). The FBI also interviewed two individuals named in Kavanaugh's July 1, 1982 calendar entry, which some observers said could have described the gathering where she was purportedly attacked: His longtime friend Christopher Garrett and Timothy Gaudette, whose house Kavanaugh went to for beers, according to his calendar. Most notably, the FBI interviewed Deborah Ramirez, the woman who claimed in an explosive New Yorker piece that Kavanaugh had exposed himself to her at a Yale party. The FBI came to the following conclusion after the interviews: "The Supplemental Background Investigation confirms what the Senate Judiciary Committee concluded after its investigation: there is no corroboration of the allegations made by Dr. Ford or Ms. Ramirez," the Judiciary Committee Republicans wrote. KAVANAUGH MAKES HIS CASE: Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh penned an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, decrying what he described as "vicious" attacks against him while admitting he "might have been too emotional" during his hearing on Capitol Hill last week ... "I was very emotional last Thursday, more so than I have ever been. I might have been too emotional at times," Kavanaugh wrote. "I know that my tone was sharp, and I said a few things I should not have said. I hope everyone can understand that I was there as a son, husband and dad. I testified with five people foremost in my mind: my mom, my dad, my wife, and most of all my daughters." Kavanaugh described his testimony as "forceful and passionate" — "because I forcefully and passionately denied the allegation against me." He also stood firm in his assertion that, if confirmed, he'd be a trusted associate justice, writing that the U.S. could count on him "to be the same kind of judge and person I have been for my entire 28-year legal career: hardworking, even-keeled, open-minded, independent and dedicated to the Constitution and the public good." MORE PROOF OF THE 'REAL' RUSSIA COLLUSION SCANDAL? - A top lawyer working with the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign contacted the FBI’s general counsel in late 2016 and provided documents for the Russia probe as federal investigators prepared a surveillance warrant for Trump campaign aide Carter Page, sources close to a congressional investigation told FOX News, citing new testimony ... The FBI official who was contacted, James Baker, revealed the exchange to congressional investigators during a closed-door deposition Wednesday. He said Perkins Coie lawyer Michael Sussmann initiated contact with him and provided documents as well as computer storage devices on Russian hacking. The sources said Baker described the contact as unusual and the “only time it happened.” Perkins Coie was a key player in the funding of the controversial anti-Trump dossier, which Republicans have long suspected helped fuel the FBI’s investigation.<doc-sep>Sign Up For Newsletters Woman receives gift of motherhood after cancer diagnosis Stacey Abrams on writing herself into the story – and history Maya Angelou and Sally Ride to be honored on quarters Dancers seek to rid ballet performances of Asian stereotypes China's censors cut some new friends from the "Friends" reunion Lawmakers call for ambassador to protect Afghan women Boat carrying 20 overturns heading from Cuba to Florida SolarWinds hackers have launched new campaign, Microsoft says "3-martini lunch" tax break should be axed, lawmakers say Flying over Memorial Day? Expect long lines at airports Some great white sharks are getting closer to humans, videos show Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On<doc-sep>
WASHINGTON – The FBI investigation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh found "no corroboration of the allegations" of sexual misconduct against him. That conclusion was part of an executive summary of the report released by Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, late Thursday night. "The Supplemental Background Investigation confirms what the Senate Judiciary Committee concluded after its investigation: there is no corroboration of the allegations made by Dr. Ford or Ms. Ramirez," the report concluded. The conclusion refers to allegations by Christine Blasey Ford that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were in high school and allegations by Deborah Ramirez that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a dorm party when they were students at Yale University. Kavanaugh has vehemently denied the allegations. Democrats have complained that Grassley and the Republican majority on the Senate Judiciary Committee are refusing to release a copy of the entire report to the public, preventing Americans from reading details of the witness interviews for themselves. The White House, which ordered the reopened background investigation of Kavanaugh last week, said privacy laws prevent them from releasing the report to the public. But Democrats argued that a redacted version could be made public, with some names and sensitive information blacked out. In the executive summary released by Grassley’s office, the FBI said it decided to reach out to 11 people to try to corroborate the allegations by Ford and Ramirez. The bureau ultimately interviewed 10 people, according to the summary. Six people were interviewed in connection with Ford's allegations: Kavanaugh's high school classmates Mark Judge, P.J. Smyth, Timothy Gaudette, and Christopher Garrett. Agents also interviewed Ford's friend, Leland Keyser. An attorney for one of the witnesses was also questioned. The FBI also interviewed Ramirez and two "alleged eyewitnesses" to the Yale University incident. Agents also interviewed a "close friend" of Ramirez's from college. The FBI did not interview Kavanaugh or Ford, prompting Democrats to call the investigation a sham. Republicans said it wasn't necessary because Kavanaugh and Ford testified under oath before the Judiciary Committee last week. An aide to a Democratic senator on the Judiciary Committee said Friday that the executive summary released by Republicans is "flat out wrong." "We are prevented by Senate rules from saying how and why, and we choose to respect Senate rules," the aide said. More:Brett Kavanaugh confirmation: When will the Senate vote and how long will it take? More:Brett Kavanaugh says he regrets 'sharp' tone during Senate hearing, promises to be 'impartial' More:Inside the secure room where senators saw the secret FBI report on Brett Kavanaugh