What will the FBI investigation into Kavanaugh actually do?

Now that President Donald Trump has ordered an FBI investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against Brett Kavanaugh – his nominee for the Supreme Court – many are wondering about the work being conducted by investigators and what they are likely to ultimately conclude.

A full Senate vote on whether Mr Kavanaugh gets a seat on America’s top court has been delayed for a week, while the FBI works.

Investigators, the committee said, are “limited to current credible allegations” and must complete their assignment “no later than one week from today” [Friday 28 September].

So what exactly is the FBI doing?

Hasn’t the FBI checked out Kavanaugh already?

Yes. The FBI has completed a traditional background check – provided to any federal appointee – on Judge Kavanaugh, who is currently an appeal court judge.

In his confirmation hearing, the judge himself said he had been through “six separate FBI background investigations over 26 years”.

This new investigation will focus on the recent allegations of what agents call “derogatory information”.

Agents may review documents, speak to new witnesses, or revisit previous ones – including the judge and his main accuser, Prof Christine Blasey Ford, whom he denies sexually assaulting as a teenager in the 1980s.

They typically never look back as far as 36 years ago, when Prof Ford says the assault took place.

Lawyer Greg Rinckey told the Associated Press news agency that agents were normally looking for a “current problem”, meaning any issue that has arisen in the past seven to 10 years.

Former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker told Fox News that, according to FBI guidelines, investigators typically look back no further than 18 years.

Who might be interviewed?

Democrats have been keen to hear more from Mark Judge, a boyhood friend of Judge Kavanaugh’s, who Prof Ford said was in the room when she was assaulted.

Mr Judge told the Senate Judiciary Committee in a written statement that he did not recall any such incident – but he was not asked to testify in person.

The FBI has now finished questioning Mr Judge.

Democrats also want agents to investigate allegations made by women other than Prof Ford, which are also denied by the judge.

They include a claim from his Yale classmate Deborah Ramirez, who alleges that he exposed his genitals in her face during a drinking game at a college party.

Ms Ramirez’s lawyer confirmed she had been contacted for interview by the FBI, and agreed to co-operate.

On Monday, Mr Trump expanded the scope of the investigation, saying: “The FBI should interview anybody that they want within reason.”

He added that the investigation should be “comprehensive” but warned investigators against engaging in a “witch hunt”.

“It wouldn’t bother me at all” if all of the judge’s accuser were interviewed, Mr Trump said, as long as the deadline did not shift.

Another set of claims have been made by Julie Swetnick – a US government employee – alleging that Judge Kavanaugh was involved in the drugging and sexual assault of girls at house parties in the 1980s.

In an interview with NBC on Monday, Ms Swetnick said she remembered Judge Kavanaugh as a “very sloppy drunk, very mean drunk,” who she saw often groping girls.

Will the FBI reach a definitive conclusion?

Not exactly. When the timeframe is up, the FBI will pass its findings to the White House – which will give them to the Senate. The contents are not expected to be made public.

As many senators and conservative commentators have pointed out, the FBI files a report but does not reach any conclusion regarding the credibility or significance of allegations.

“They could interview someone who says I saw Judge Kavanaugh get beamed down from a UFO – he’s an alien,” Mr Swecker told CNN.

“They wouldn’t say ‘we disproved this, [or] they didn’t disprove this.’

“They report any corroborating information that they obtain, or any contradicting information,” he said, but added that “they do not make conclusions” in their interview reports, which are known as 302 forms.

Former FBI Assistant Director Steve Pomerantz told Fox News: “Hopefully they provide enough information within their reports that allow a reasonable person to reach a conclusion based on the work that they’ve done.

“So it’s simplistic to say they don’t reach a conclusion.”

Because it is not a criminal inquiry, witnesses are not compelled to co-operate with the investigation.

However, lying to an FBI agent does carry the threat of federal charges, as former Trump officials Paul Manafort or Michael Cohen could tell you.

Why did Trump order another investigation?

Mr Trump gave the order at the request of the Senate Judiciary Committee, after Arizona Republican Jeff Flake sensationally changed his mind about backing the judge.

His party has only a 51-49 Senate majority. That means that if all Democrats vote against confirming Kavanaugh, he can only afford for one Republican to join them – since in a tie, Vice-President Mike Pence would get the casting vote.

The Republican side can’t afford to lose Senator Flake’s vote – and a week-long FBI investigation clearly looked like a price worth paying.

Some observers believe the FBI inquiry will strengthen the resolve of uncertain Republican senators – because unless something dramatic is unearthed, they will feel more confident in rejecting Prof Ford’s claims.

One last thing… Why only a week?

Prof Ford’s lawyer, Debra Katz, said her client welcomed the FBI’s involvement, but questioned the week-long time limit.

“A thorough FBI investigation is critical to developing all the relevant facts… No artificial limits as to time or scope should be imposed on this investigation,” she said.

The timing matters because Republicans are keen to get their Supreme Court nominee confirmed before the US mid-term elections on 6 November. And Democrats would profit from seeing that process delayed – or blocked altogether.

As a conservative, it is believed Mr Kavanaugh would swing America’s top court to the right for years to come – which could have deep repercussions for social issues like abortion rights, and challenges to government policy.

That’s especially the case as the nine Supreme Court judges are appointed for life.

So overall, there’s a lot riding on the FBI over the few remaining days.

Source: BBC News