23 July 2021

So Not a Surprise

I am completely unsurprised that the FBI succumbed to political pressure from the Trump White house and did not conduct a proper background check on Brett Kavanaugh.

We now know that the FBI's response to over 4500 tips was to review them to the White House Counsel rather than investigating him:

A group of Democratic senators is asking for more answers after the FBI shared details about its handling of a supplemental background investigation into Brett Kavanaugh when he was a Supreme Court nominee.

Jill Tyson, an assistant director of the FBI, said in a letter on June 30 that the agency had received 4,500 tips regarding Kavanaugh and that it turned over "relevant tips" to the White House counsel, who was Don McGahn in 2018. Tyson also said the FBI interviewed 10 people.

Tyson's letter was made public on Thursday by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse and Chris Coons, who said it was a response to a letter they'd sent in August 2019 asking for answers about the investigation.

They interviewed 10 people in a background check for a Supreme Court nominee?  When I got my (now expired) clearance in the early 1990s, there were at least 5 people that I know of who were contacted.

They were in the tank for Trump and Evil Minions.

"This long-delayed answer confirms how badly we were spun by Director Wray and the FBI in the Kavanaugh background investigation and hearing," Whitehouse said on Twitter, referring to FBI Director Chris Wray. "It confirms my suspicions that the 'tip line' was not real and that FBI tip line procedures were not followed," he added.

The Congress needs to investigate the FBI's dereliction of duty, and further, given that we now know that there was not a meaningful there needs to be a meaningful investigation of Kavanaugh's testimony, particularly with regard to his finances, because it is likely that he perjured himself.

2 comments :

Quasit said...

Do Supreme Court "Justices" have immunity for perjury prior to taking office?

Matthew Saroff said...

In the words of Marcel Marceau, "No."

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