Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Who Was Questioned by FBI in Kavanaugh Probe?
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
October 5, 2018

Share

WASHINGTON — The FBI has wrapped up its background investigation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, but much of what it did remains a mystery, including its decisions about whom to interview.
Investigation details have not been publicly disclosed. Republicans say the probe was thorough and reinforces their support of President Donald Trump’s nominee. But Democrats decry it as incomplete and constrained, and Kavanaugh’s accusers say the FBI didn’t interview witnesses who could have corroborated their accounts.
Republicans say the FBI reached out to 11 people, 10 of whom agreed to be interviewed, and produced detailed summaries of the questioning.
Among those not interviewed were Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, the California college professor who testified last week to Congress that a drunken Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were high school students. Kavanaugh denies the allegations.
Here’s a look at who was questioned — and who was not:

Who Has the FBI Interviewed?

Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the 10 witnesses questioned include several of Kavanaugh’s high school friends, some of whom are listed in the judge’s calendar as having attended a July 1, 1982 party that Kavanaugh attended.

The FBI questioned Mark Judge, a high school friend of Kavanaugh. Ford says Judge was in the room when Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in the early 1980s.
Also questioned was Deborah Ramirez, who told the FBI that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a party in the early 1980s when they were students at Yale. The FBI also interviewed a close friend of Ramirez’s from college and two other people who Grassley said were identified by Ramirez as eyewitnesses. A third potential witness declined to be interviewed, though Grassley did not identify any of them.
An unidentified lawyer for one of the witnesses was also interviewed.
The FBI questioned Mark Judge, a high school friend of Kavanaugh. Ford says Judge was in the room when Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in the early 1980s. Judge has said he did not recall the events described by Ford and that he never saw Kavanaugh act in the manner that she describes.
Agents also spoke with two people who Ford said attended the party where she said she was attacked, though she says they did not witness the incident.
Ford’s friend Leland Keyser was questioned Saturday and said she didn’t know Kavanaugh and doesn’t remember being at a party with him. Keyser believes Ford’s account but is “unable to corroborate it because she has no recollection of the incident in question,” her attorney, Howard Walsh, said.
Patrick “P.J.” Smyth, who Ford said had also attended the party, told investigators he had “no knowledge” of the gathering Ford described or any allegation of misconduct by Kavanaugh, according to his attorney, Eric Bruce.
The FBI also spoke with two more of Kavanaugh’s high school classmates, Chris Garrett, whom Ford has said she “went out with for a few months,” and Timothy Gaudette, who is listed in Kavanaugh’s calendars as having hosted the 1982 gathering that Kavanaugh attended.
A member of Ford’s legal team said in a statement that had Ford been interviewed, she would have told the FBI that the assault did not occur at the party because she knew well the people who were listed as having attended and would have remembered if they were there.

Who Hasn’t Been Interviewed?

Top on the list are Ford and Kavanaugh. The FBI also hasn’t interviewed several potential witnesses identified by Ford’s attorneys as people who could corroborate that she provided details of the attack years ago — a counterpoint to claims that her allegations may be politically motivated.

Several of Kavanaugh’s Yale classmates also reached out to the FBI, but were never contacted.
Ramirez’s lawyers provided the agents with a list of more than 20 witnesses, including some who Ramirez believes could corroborate her account, though it was unclear if the witnesses identified by Grassley were among those on Ramirez’s list.
Several of Kavanaugh’s Yale classmates also reached out to the FBI, but were never contacted. They include Charles “Chad” Ludington, who has challenge Kavanaugh’s testimony about his drinking and said Kavanaugh was “a frequent drinker, and a heavy drinker.”
Another classmate, Kerry Berchem, said she’s made multiple submissions to a tip line but has not received a return phone call or substantive response from the FBI.
The FBI also never contacted Julie Swetnick, who has alleged she was victimized at a party attended by Kavanaugh and his friends. Swetnick accused Kavanaugh and Judge of excessive drinking and inappropriate treatment of women in the early 1980s, among other accusations. Kavanaugh has called her accusations a “joke.” Judge “categorically” denies the allegations.
Also not questioned: Judge’s former girlfriend, Elizabeth Rasor, who said Judge told her in 1988 that he and several Georgetown Prep classmates took turns having sex with an inebriated woman. Rasor sent an affidavit to the Senate Judiciary Committee, but her lawyer says the FBI didn’t respond to her client’s request to be interviewed. Judge’s lawyers have said he denies her account.

Why Weren’t More People Interviewed?

The answers aren’t clear. The White House and the FBI aren’t saying. The Trump administration said it cleared the FBI to interview any witnesses it deemed relevant. But a retired FBI assistant director, Joseph Campbell, said the White House nonetheless sets the parameters for the people it wants contacted.

“It’s not like a typical type of investigation, where the FBI has wide latitude to pursue facts and evidence and information as necessary to develop a case or develop information for national security purposes, that type of thing.”Joseph Campbell, FBI assistant director
“It’s not like a typical type of investigation, where the FBI has wide latitude to pursue facts and evidence and information as necessary to develop a case or develop information for national security purposes, that type of thing,” Campbell said.
The absence of interviews of Kavanaugh and Ford has particularly raised eyebrows.
Chris Quick, a retired FBI special agent with experience in background investigations, said the White House and the FBI may be reluctant to have them rehash things they both already stated under oath to the committee — especially given the one-week time constraint.
“Part of it is she already testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee, both of them,” Quick said. “So what’s to ask them that hasn’t already been asked.”

DON'T MISS

Watch: City Demolishes Historic Chinatown Building to Make Way for Housing

DON'T MISS

The Mystery of Melania Trump’s Wedding Dress and an eBay Sale

DON'T MISS

Heading to Sierra? Prepare for Heavy Snow

DON'T MISS

Mexican National Caught in Fresno County Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl Trafficking

DON'T MISS

CA Snowpack Is Near-Average. What Does This Mean for Water Supplies?

DON'T MISS

Shohei Ohtani Adds Another No. 1 to His Resume: MLB’s Best-Selling Jersey

DON'T MISS

Tush Push Is the Hottest Topic at the NFL League Meetings

DON'T MISS

U.S. Bank Executive Terry Dolan Dies in Plane Crash Near Minneapolis

DON'T MISS

Trump Administration Will Review Billions in Funding for Harvard

DON'T MISS

Former MLB Pitcher CJ Wilson of Fresno on New Torpedo Bats: ‘Still Room for Innovation’

UP NEXT

Top Vaccine Official Resigns From FDA, Criticizes RFK Jr. for Promoting Misinformation, Lies

UP NEXT

Utah Becomes the First State to Ban Fluoride in Public Drinking Water

UP NEXT

Wilmer Flores’ 3-Run Homer in the 9th Inning Propels Giants to Victory Over Reds

UP NEXT

Democrats’ Popularity Plummets, yet Midterm Prospects Remain Strong

UP NEXT

USDA Explores Why US Egg Shortage Contrasts with Canada’s Abundant Supply

UP NEXT

Cuts Leave Social Security System in Disarray With Millions Affected

UP NEXT

Hyundai to Build $5.8B Steel Mill in Louisiana, Creating 5,400 Jobs

UP NEXT

Supreme Court Backs Biden’s Ghost Gun Regulation Requiring Serial Numbers, Background Checks

UP NEXT

Trump Signs Order Requiring Proof of Citizenship to Vote

UP NEXT

Former Utah Rep. Mia Love Dies. She Was 1st Black Republican Woman Elected to US House

Mexican National Caught in Fresno County Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl Trafficking

56 minutes ago

CA Snowpack Is Near-Average. What Does This Mean for Water Supplies?

2 hours ago

Shohei Ohtani Adds Another No. 1 to His Resume: MLB’s Best-Selling Jersey

2 hours ago

Tush Push Is the Hottest Topic at the NFL League Meetings

2 hours ago

U.S. Bank Executive Terry Dolan Dies in Plane Crash Near Minneapolis

3 hours ago

Trump Administration Will Review Billions in Funding for Harvard

3 hours ago

Former MLB Pitcher CJ Wilson of Fresno on New Torpedo Bats: ‘Still Room for Innovation’

4 hours ago

Man Arrested After Shooting at Fresno’s Switch Nightclub

4 hours ago

Who Is Fresno’s ‘Fake’ ICE Agent? He Speaks Up

4 hours ago

French Far-Right Leader Marine Le Pen Barred From Seeking Office for 5 Years

5 hours ago

Watch: City Demolishes Historic Chinatown Building to Make Way for Housing

Unable to restore a historic Chinatown building, the city of Fresno began demolishing it on Monday morning. The 1920s-era Bow On Tong Associ...

17 minutes ago

17 minutes ago

Watch: City Demolishes Historic Chinatown Building to Make Way for Housing

Photo of First Lady Melania Trump
49 minutes ago

The Mystery of Melania Trump’s Wedding Dress and an eBay Sale

55 minutes ago

Heading to Sierra? Prepare for Heavy Snow

Miguel Obed Romero Reyes, 25, of Sinaloa, Mexico, pleaded guilty Monday, March 31, 2025, to trafficking more than 200,000 fentanyl pills after authorities seized the drugs during a traffic stop on Interstate 5. (DOJ)
56 minutes ago

Mexican National Caught in Fresno County Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl Trafficking

2 hours ago

CA Snowpack Is Near-Average. What Does This Mean for Water Supplies?

2 hours ago

Shohei Ohtani Adds Another No. 1 to His Resume: MLB’s Best-Selling Jersey

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) lines up for the goal line Tush Push play during the NFL championship playoff football game against the Washington Commanders, Jan. 26, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP File)
2 hours ago

Tush Push Is the Hottest Topic at the NFL League Meetings

3 hours ago

U.S. Bank Executive Terry Dolan Dies in Plane Crash Near Minneapolis

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend