'Our fears have been realized': Democrats slam FBI investigation into Kavanaugh

Senate Democrats condemned the FBI investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, arguing that the probe was limited by the White House and plagued by a lack of transparency.

After being briefed on the report, of which only one hard copy has been made available to senators under time limits and intense security, Democratic leadership called the probe "incomplete" and pushed for Republicans to release a redacted version of it and of the White House's directive to the FBI instructing the law enforcement agency on how to conduct the investigation.

"We had many fears that this was a very limited process that would constrain the FBI from getting all the facts," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said during a brief press conference on Thursday morning. "Having received a thorough briefing on the documents, those fears have been realized."

Schumer said that he disagrees with Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley's description of the report as containing "no hint of misconduct."

"Why shouldn't all of America see the facts?" he said.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, called the report "a product of an incomplete investigation" and accused the White House of blocking the FBI from "doing its job."

"The most notable part of this report is what's not in it," she said during the press conference.

Democratic lawmakers were given one hour on Thursday morning to view the report in a secure room in the Senate. A procedural vote to advance Kavanaugh's nomination has been scheduled for Friday.

The FBI conducted the background investigation into Kavanaugh after he and one of his accusers, professor Christine Blasey Ford, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee last Thursday. Ford described being sexually assaulted by Kavanaugh when they were in high school — testimony that Republicans said they found "credible."

Kavanaugh has denied the allegations of sexual misconduct by Ford and two other women. The FBI interviewed several of Kavanaugh's classmates and other people of interest, including Deborah Ramirez, who has accused Kavanaugh of exposing himself to her when they were at Yale University.

Democrats have criticized the scope and length of the investigation amid media reports that former classmates of Kavanaugh's have said the FBI has ignored their offers for testimony that could corroborate Ford's claims.

Sinéad Baker contributed to this report.

'Our fears have been realized': Democrats slam FBI investigation into Kavanaugh

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