Trump orders FBI to reopen background investigation into Supreme Court nominee Kavanaugh

“I’ve ordered the FBI to conduct a supplemental investigation to update Judge Kavanaugh’s file. As the Senate has requested, this update must be limited in scope and completed in less than one week,” Trump said in a statement.

Kavanaugh has pledged to cooperate with the probe. “I’ve done everything they have requested and will continue to cooperate,” he said in a statement carried by the White House. He noted that since his nomination he has been interviewed by the FBI and had his background checked “directly with the Senate.”

Referring to his testimony at the Thursday hearing, he stressed that he was transparent and answered questions “about every topic the Senators and their counsel asked me.”

Trump’s decision comes after  Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines in favor of the nomination of Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court after emotional testimonies from the judge and his accuser Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.

Democrats who were opposing Trump’s pick were pushing for the investigation. On Friday two republican senators also suggested that an FBI probe should proceed further nomination procedures.

Ford’s attorney has applauded Trump’s decision, calling a thorough FBI probe “critical” in establishing the truth.
Ford “welcomes this step” and “appreciates the efforts of Senators Flake, Murkowski, Manchin and Collins – and all other senators who have supported an FBI investigation,” the attorney said in a statement.

At the same time, she criticized the limited timeframe within which the investigation should take place, which Trump has set at no longer than a week.

“No artificial limits as to time or scope should be imposed on this investigation,” the attorney stated.

A week’s delay means Kavanaugh will not be able to take his seat with the other eight Justices when they convene on Monday.

Ford accused Kavanaugh of improper sexual behavior in the 1980s, when they were both in high school. Her allegations only surfaced after the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings had ended, and Thursday’s testimonies revealed that Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) and her staff knew about them even as Feinstein herself failed to bring them up in her meetings with Kavanaugh.

The hearing on Thursday and the committee’s discussion on Friday saw lawmakers sparring on whether gaps in Ford’s memory were the proof she was telling the truth, and if she was used as a pawn in political games. Both Ford and Kavanaugh gave emotional statements, saying the lives of their families have been ruined by the whole process.

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