Former FBI Assistant Director On Kavanaugh Allegation: None Of This Would Hold Up In Court
Benny Johnson - The Daily Caller
Former FBI assistant director Chris Swecker told CNN that the accusation against Brett Kavanaugh would not hold up in court.
Swecker was asked a series of questions about the scope of potential FBI involvement with the recent sexual misconduct against the Supreme Court nominee. Kavanaugh is facing an allegation of sexual misconduct in the 11th hour of his confirmation process from Christine Blasey Ford, who has publicly accused him of assaulting her 36 years ago when they were both teenagers. Kavanaugh has forcefully denied the allegation, as has others who were allegedly present during the sexual misconduct.
Swecker said that the FBI had no business looking into the 36-year-old allegation. “The FBI has no independent jurisdiction to open up a standalone investigation of rape allegations or assault allegations that may have taken place 36 years ago,” Swecker said, “That is a local crime. Unless it involves a federal official or on federal land or has some federal nexus, there’s just jurisdiction to do it.”
Host Brooke Baldwin asked about the facts of the case and how law enforcement could prosecute with so few details. “How would you even go about investigating something like this?” Baldwin asked, “Because clearly she remembers what she says specifically happened to her, but she doesn’t remember where it happened. She doesn’t remember when it happened. How do you investigate with so few details available?”
Swecker said, “There is not much there.”
“There just can’t be any forensic evidence. I would be shocked if they brought a garment forward that might have DNA or something like that,” Swecker said, noting they could interview the alleged victim, alleged perpetrator and anyone else who might have been at the party.
“But it’s all fairly thin. None of this would hold up in court,” Swecker said bluntly.
The CNN host noted that Kavanaugh had already gone through six FBI background checks and asked what is in them.
“Well, these background checks are called special inquiries. They are very thorough,” Swecker said, “They talk to employers. They do criminal checks. They do broader checks of public information that is out there. They interview people who have relevant information: associates, social network, people who are part of their social penumbra. These are the most thorough background checks that you can possibly do.”
Kavanaugh accuser's lawyers reveal she's willing to testify to Senate panel next week -- if terms are 'fair'
By Gregg Re | Fox News
Christine Ford, the California professor accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday that she “would be prepared to testify next week" -- apparently dropping her bid for the FBI to first launch a new inquiry.
According to an email sent by Ford's lawyers and obtained by The New York Times, she would appear as long as senators provide “terms that are fair and which ensure her safety."
“As you are aware, she has been receiving death threats, which have been reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and she and her family have been forced out of their home,” the email continues. “She wishes to testify, provided that we can agree on terms that are fair and which ensure her safety.”
Senate Republicans had invited Ford to testify at a hearing on Monday, and given her a Friday deadline to indicate whether she would attend.
A Monday hearing still appears unlikely, though.
In the letter Thursday, Ford's attorneys wrote that it “is not possible" for Ford to testify on Monday. The lawyers added that "the Committee’s insistence that it occur then is arbitrary in any event.”
Late Tuesday, Ford's lawyers had strongly suggested she would only testify if a "full investigation" were conducted first by the FBI.
Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford's team lays out terms it wants for potential Senate interview, sources say
By Gregg Re, Shannon Bream | Fox News
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Christine Blasey Ford's legal team has asked the Senate Judiciary Committee to agree to certain terms before she sits down for a potential interview over her accusation that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her decades ago, two sources told Fox News on Thursday night.
Among the terms: Only members of the committee -- no lawyers -- can question her; Kavanaugh cannot be in the room at the time; and Kavanaugh should be questioned first, before he has the opportunity to hear Ford's testimony.
The requests, some of which appeared to be negotiable, capped a whirlwind day of back-and-forth statements. Ford's lawyers told the Senate Judiciary Committee that she was open to testifying next week, apparently backing off her bid for the FBI to first launch a new inquiry into her allegations.
But the attorneys said it was "not possible" for Ford to testify at a hearing scheduled for Monday by Senate Republicans, without explaining why, and they reiterated that she had a "strong preference" for an FBI probe beforehand.
According to an email sent by her attorney Debra Katz to the committee, Ford would appear as long as senators provide "terms that are fair and which ensure her safety."
It was not immediately clear whether Senate Republicans would agree to Ford's latest requests, but they reportedly have indicated they were considering them. Judiciary Committee Republicans have offered Ford the opportunity to testify privately, and have indicated they're willing to fly out to California "or anywhere else" to question her there if she would find that more convenient.
Speaking to Fox News' Sean Hannity on Thursday night before a rally in Nevada, Trump called Kavanaugh "an outstanding person" and said, "I don't think you can delay it any longer."
Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, a moderate considered a potential key swing vote in Kavanaugh's confirmation, previously had suggested that lawyers from both sides initially question Kavanaugh and Ford. That arrangement, Collins suggested, would avoid an overtly political atmosphere in which Ford was questioned by Republicans on the Judiciary Committee -- an entirely male contingent.
For his part, Kavanaugh, in a letter to the Judiciary Committee on Thursday, indicated he would be ready and willing to testify on Monday. "I continue to want a hearing as soon as possible, so that I can clear my name," he wrote.
"Since the moment I first heard this allegation, I have categorically and unequivocally denied it. I remain committed to defending my integrity."
Kavanaugh's letter did not contain any preconditions for his testimony. Fox News has learned that Kavanaugh, under oath, answered questions from the Judiciary Committee earlier this week, and denied the allegations.
In a series of tweets earlier Thursday, Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee noted they had obtained statements, under penalty of felony, from two other people at the house party where the alleged assault occurred, including Kavanaugh friend Mark Judge and another individual.
Committee members also wrote that they had reached out to a "fourth person allegedly at the party," as well as "a schoolmate who claimed on social media this week to have info related to Dr. Ford’s allegations" -- but had not heard back.
That was an apparent reference to a widely circulated online account by Cristina Miranda King, who claimed that she heard about the alleged assault at the time. King deleted her online post after questions emerged about apparent inconsistencies in her claims.
"[Ford's] attorneys say there needs to be an investigation, which is exactly what the committee has been doing all week," the GOP members wrote. "And we would love to hear from Dr. Ford. Democratic staff is invited to participate fully every step of the way."
On Thursday, Ford's lawyers reportedly requested that the Judiciary Committee subpoena Judge to testify. Earlier this week, Judge told committee Republicans that he had "no memory" of the alleged incident, and said he did not want to testify.
Asked whether Republicans had planned to call Judge to testify, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told reporters, “No reason to. ... He’s already said what he’s going to say."
It would be highly unusual for a witness before a Senate committee to dictate who receives a subpoena as a precondition to testifying.
Meanwhile, a former classmate of Kavanaugh's said that he had no "recollection" of any incident at the house party Ford described, saying he was one of the people Ford had claimed to be there.
Senate Republicans have been harshly critical of Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., for receiving a letter from Ford outlining her allegations in July, but failing to disclose them, even anonymously, to federal officials or other committee members until last week.
Ford alleged in the letter that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her more than 35 years ago, although she has since indicated that she cannot be sure in which house the assault occurred, or why there was a gathering there.
"I cannot overstate how disappointed I am," Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, wrote Wednesday, charging that Feinstein "chose to sit on the allegations until a politically opportune moment."
Grassley again requested Feinstein turn over an unredacted version of the letter Ford sent to Feinstein in July, and expressed exasperation that he still had not received it. The only copy Grassley had was included in the supplemental materials provided by the FBI after Kavanaugh's background check, he wrote to Feinstein.
He said the document was necessary as he worked to "prepare for Monday's hearings" -- proceedings that appeared very much in doubt Thursday evening.
