Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Sen. Feinstein Feeds Feds 'Information' on Supreme Court Pick
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
September 13, 2018

Share

WASHINGTON — Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Thursday she has notified federal investigators about information she received — and won’t disclose publicly — concerning Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
The California Democrat said in a statement that she “received information from an individual concerning the nomination.” She said the person “strongly requested confidentiality, declined to come forward or press the matter further, and I have honored that decision.”
The Judiciary Committee, which has finished confirmation hearings for Kavanagh, is scheduled to vote next Thursday on whether to recommend that Kavanaugh’s nomination be confirmed by the full Senate.
Feinstein’s statement that she has “referred the matter to federal investigative authorities” jolted Capitol Hill and threatens to disrupt what has been a steady path toward confirmation for Kavanaugh by Republicans eager to see the conservative judge on the court. An FBI spokeswoman declined to comment.
Feinstein declined to answer questions outside the hearing room, and other senators’ offices largely deferred to the ranking member. Democratic senators on the panel met privately Wednesday evening and discussed the information, according to two Senate aides who were not authorized to discuss the situation publicly but spoke on condition of anonymity.

Questioned the Timing of Feinstein’s Move

The White House questioned the timing of Feinstein’s move, calling it an “11th hour attempt to delay his confirmation.”

“Judge Kavanaugh has had 65 meetings with senators — including with Senator Feinstein — sat through over 30 hours of testimony, addressed over 2,000 questions in a public setting and additional questions in a confidential session.” — Kerri Kupec, White House spokesperson
“Throughout his confirmation process, Judge Kavanaugh has had 65 meetings with senators — including with Senator 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,” said Kerri Kupec, a White House spokesperson.
Kupec added that the FBI has vetted Kavanaugh “thoroughly and repeatedly” during his career in government and the judiciary.
Democrats don’t have the votes to block Kavanaugh’s nomination, if Republicans hold unified, but are fighting it and decrying the process that Republicans used to compile his government records for review.
At the committee Thursday, Republicans brushed aside a flurry of Democratic attempts to delay the consideration of Kavanaugh or subpoena more documents about his past work, sticking with a schedule that could see him confirmed by Oct. 1.
Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut protested that the nomination will be “tainted” and “stained” by the unusual process for vetting the nominee.
“We lack the time. We lack the documents.” He called it a “badly broken process.”

Feinstein Had Sought a Subpoena

Feinstein had sought a subpoena for documents from Kavanaugh’s time as Bush’s staff secretary. She said senators “should be able to see this record” and wondered, “What in Judge Kavanaugh’s records are Republicans hiding?”
The Republicans have declined to pursue Kavanaugh’s staff secretary documents, saying it would be too cumbersome. They rejected Feinstein’s motion and several others, including motions to subpoena documents and witnesses and a motion to adjourn.
Chairman Chuck Grassley set the panel’s vote on Kavanaugh for Sept. 20.
New documents released ahead of Thursday’s hearing included Kavanaugh’s 263-page written response to questions from senators, along with dozens of files from the judge’s work in the George W. Bush White House that had been available to senators only on a “committee confidential basis.” Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey made the Bush documents public.
Among the details in the new written responses, Kavanaugh says he would have shaken the hand of a school shooting victim’s father during a break in last week’s Senate hearing had he recognized him before being whisked away by security detail.
The 28 new “committee confidential” documents released by Booker, meanwhile, are from Kavanaugh’s time in the White House counsel’s office during the George W. Bush administration and deal with his work on judicial nominations.

Photo of Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee
Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, leaves the Senate Judiciary Committee room for a short break on the third day of his confirmation hearing in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Involvement in Bush’s Nomination of Charles Pickering

The documents show Kavanaugh’s involvement in Bush’s nomination of Charles Pickering to an appellate court in the South as Pickering faced questions about his views on race relations. Kavanaugh had indicated in 2006 testimony that he was not substantially involved in the nomination.
In releasing a new batch of committee confidential documents about Kavanaugh, Booker, the New Jersey Democrat, was repeating a tactic that could prompt a review from the Senate Ethics Committee.
Booker is being criticized by his GOP colleagues and outside groups for releasing the documents. Last week, he released some documents that were later made public by the committee, but also others that weren’t. Wednesday’s disclosure brings the total to 75.
The conservative group Judicial Watch delivered a letter Wednesday to the Senate Ethics Committee seeking an investigation. It says Booker violated Senate rules against disclosing confidential documents and could face Senate expulsion.
Booker has welcomed the fight. He says the documents about Kavanaugh’s work “raise more serious and concerning questions” about his honesty during his testimony before the committee.
At issue has been the unprecedented process the Senate Judiciary Committee used for gathering documents on Kavanaugh, an appellate court judge who is President Donald Trump’s nominee to replace retired Justice Anthony Kennedy on the court.

DON'T MISS

CHP Car Struck by Drunk Driver While Investigating Another Crash

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Ejected From Car Dies Off McKinley Avenue

DON'T MISS

‘Leave It the Way It Is’: Off-Roaders, Hikers React to Proposal to Change 1.4M Acres of Sierra Forest

DON'T MISS

Yankees Retain Cole, Add $36 Million Extension to Keep Ace

DON'T MISS

5 Reasons Early Voting Is Overwhelmed With Falsehoods

DON'T MISS

Christian McCaffrey Returns to Practice for the 49ers From Achilles Tendon Injury

DON'T MISS

California Sues LA Suburb for Temporary Ban of Homeless Shelters

DON'T MISS

You May Have Blocked Someone on X but Now They Can See Your Public Posts Anyway

DON'T MISS

Some Republican-Led States Refuse to Let Justice Department Monitors Into Polling Places

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect in Fatal NW Apartment Shooting

UP NEXT

North Korea’s Long-Range Missile Test Signals Its Improved, Potential Capability to Attack US

UP NEXT

Visalia Rollerblader Suffered Major Injuries After Being Struck by Vehicle

UP NEXT

Fresno County Man Indicted for Possessing Stolen Guns

UP NEXT

On Elon Musk’s X, Dems Are an Endangered Species While GOP Goes Viral

UP NEXT

New Vehicles, Face Paint and a 1,200-Foot Fall: The US Army Prepares for War With China

UP NEXT

CNN Bars Pro-Trump Guest After His ‘Beeper’ Remark to Mehdi Hasan

UP NEXT

LGBTQ Supporters Drown Out Westboro Baptists’ Anti-Gay Message in Fresno

UP NEXT

The ‘Black Insurrectionist’ Was Actually White. The Deception Did Not Stop There

UP NEXT

Washington Post Says It Will Stop Endorsing Presidential Candidates

UP NEXT

What Happened When a Barber Told Trump About His $15,000 Electric Bill

Yankees Retain Cole, Add $36 Million Extension to Keep Ace

6 hours ago

5 Reasons Early Voting Is Overwhelmed With Falsehoods

6 hours ago

Christian McCaffrey Returns to Practice for the 49ers From Achilles Tendon Injury

6 hours ago

California Sues LA Suburb for Temporary Ban of Homeless Shelters

6 hours ago

You May Have Blocked Someone on X but Now They Can See Your Public Posts Anyway

7 hours ago

Some Republican-Led States Refuse to Let Justice Department Monitors Into Polling Places

7 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect in Fatal NW Apartment Shooting

7 hours ago

Fresno Murder Suspect Stopped in Las Vegas, Others Wanted

7 hours ago

Trump’s Crowds Are Dwindling as His Campaign Winds Down

8 hours ago

Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on Mexico to Curb Immigration

8 hours ago

CHP Car Struck by Drunk Driver While Investigating Another Crash

A driver suspected of being under the influence crashed into a California Highway Patrol car early Sunday, officials said. Officers were inv...

3 hours ago

A driver suspected of DUI crashed into a parked California Highway Patrol car at a fatal crash scene in Fresno County, sustaining minor injuries and later being cited. (Fresno County SO)
3 hours ago

CHP Car Struck by Drunk Driver While Investigating Another Crash

fresno
4 hours ago

Fresno Man Ejected From Car Dies Off McKinley Avenue

4 hours ago

‘Leave It the Way It Is’: Off-Roaders, Hikers React to Proposal to Change 1.4M Acres of Sierra Forest

New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning in Game 5 of the baseball World Series, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP/Ashley Landis)
6 hours ago

Yankees Retain Cole, Add $36 Million Extension to Keep Ace

Voters cast their ballots at Desert Breeze Community Center in Las Vegas during the last day of in-person early voting in Nevada on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. Nearly 75 million people have cast early ballots, making their voices heard amid worry about the process, the outcome and democracy itself. (Bridget Bennett/The New York Times)
6 hours ago

5 Reasons Early Voting Is Overwhelmed With Falsehoods

6 hours ago

Christian McCaffrey Returns to Practice for the 49ers From Achilles Tendon Injury

6 hours ago

California Sues LA Suburb for Temporary Ban of Homeless Shelters

7 hours ago

You May Have Blocked Someone on X but Now They Can See Your Public Posts Anyway

Search

Send this to a friend