The Trump administration on Thursday dismissed Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s argument that an incident between Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and a woman that dates back to their time in high school is grounds for delaying his confirmation vote.
“I have received information from an individual concerning the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court,” Feinstein, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement. “That individual strongly requested confidentiality, declined to come forward or press the matter further, and I have honored that decision. I have, however, referred the matter to federal investigative authorities.”
The senator’s statement came after a report surfaced Wednesday that claimed Feinstein received the letter from Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., who obtained it from an individual affiliated with Stanford University. As of Friday afternoon, there were no public details as to what the letter describes what charges it raises against Kavanaugh.
White House spokesperson Kerri Kupec said in response that the letter is just another attempt from Senate Democrats to delay Kavanaugh’s nomination.
“Throughout his confirmation process, Judge Kavanaugh has had 65 meetings with senators — including with Sen. Feinstein — sat through over 30 hours of testimony, addressed over 2,000 questions in a public setting and additional questions in a confidential session. Not until the eve of his confirmation has Sen. Feinstein or anyone raised the specter of new ‘information’ about him,” Kupec wrote in a statement.
“Throughout 25 years of public service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has thoroughly and repeatedly vetted Judge Kavanaugh, dating back to 1993, for some of the most highly sensitive roles. … Sen. [Chuck] Schumer promised to ‘oppose Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination with everything I have,’ and it appears he is delivering with this 11th hour attempt to delay his confirmation,” Kupec wrote.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley’s, R-Iowa, said Thursday that the senator has not seen the letter and is respecting the individual’s request for anonymity.
Another Republican member of the committee, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Tex., told reporters Thursday that he believes the letter “smacks of desperation” to him. The senator later added in a tweet that “the FBI already performed and has reported on a background investigation on the nominee and this has been made available to all Senators on the Judiciary Committee.”
[Also read: Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Supreme Court confirmation process should revert to being ‘truly bipartisan‘]
