Trump administration denies multiple news reports that the background investigation has been circumscribed, and says the FBI has free rein.<\/b>
\nOn CNN\u2019s State of the Union on Sunday, presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway said the White House was not trying to interfere in a supplemental FBI background investigation into sexual misconduct allegations lodged against Kavanaugh by three women: \u201cWe trust the hardworking men and women of the FBI to do their jobs, and they will determine what will be included within that scope.\u201d She did add, \u201cIt’s not meant to be a fishing expedition.\u201d
When host Jake Tapper asked whether White House counsel Don McGahn put limits on who can be interviewed, Conway was less specific: «I don’t think Don McGahn would do that, but I’ve not talked with him about it.»
In a powerful moment, Conway explained why she could feel empathy for victims of sexual misconduct. She cleared her throat, looked down for a moment and said, \u201cI\u2019m a victim of sexual assault. (But) I don\u2019t expect Judge Kavanaugh or Jake Tapper or Jeff Flake, or anybody to be held responsible for that.\u201d
Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, a Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on CBS\u2019s Face the Nation that investigators must be able to follow the evidence where it leads without artificial White House constraints. \u201cThey cannot say, \u2018Oh hey, only interview the people in their neighborhood on one side of the street.\u2019\u2026 You let the professionals of the FBI do their jobs.\u201d
The national drama began on Thursday when Kavanaugh adamantly denied in testimony before the Judiciary Committee an allegation lodged by psychologist Christine Blasey Ford\u2019s that he had sexually assaulted her when they were in high school 36 years earlier. Nielsen estimated that television viewers exceeded 20 million people, matching the audience for a playoff football game or the Academy Awards. Travelers told of row after row of airplane passengers with the hearing on their in-flight screens.
On Friday, retiring Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake\u2019s last-minute \u201c gentleman\u2019s agreement \u201d with Democrat Chris Coons of Delaware led to a reopened FBI investigation with a one-week timeline, delaying a scheduled Senate vote on Kavanaugh\u2019s nomination. The GOP senator, an outspoken Trump critic who decided not to seek re-election in the face of a likely primary defeat, told The Atlantic that he hoped a week of inquiry could \u201cbring a little unity\u201d and leave Democrats feeling that \u201cthis process was worthy of the institution.\u201d
On Saturday, NBC reported that Julie Swetnick, a woman represented by lawyer Michael Avenatti who has accused Kavanaugh of being presented when she was sexually assaulted as a high school student, would not be interviewed and that \u201cthe White House counsel\u2019s office has given the FBI a list of witnesses they are permitted to interview.\u201d The Wall Street Journal also reported that anonymous sources said the investigation was being \u201ctightly controlled\u201d by the White House, excluding Swetnick. While senators had requested an investigation \u201climited to current credible allegations,\u201d the expectation was that investigators would make their own decisions about whom to interview.
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, quickly tweeted, \u201cThe FBI’s hands must not be tied in this investigation. We need the facts.\u201d
But within hours of the NBC report, President Trump told reporters the FBI had \u201cfree rein\u201d in the investigation. He later tweeted a rebuttal that criticized NBC and added, \u201cI want them to interview whoever they deem appropriate, at their discretion.\u201d
So what\u2019s the truth? Is the White House setting limits on who can be interviewed?
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, speaking on Fox News Sunday, also denied political control and pointed to the Senate\u2019s request for a limited investigation: \u201cThe White House is not micromanaging this process. The Senate is dictating the terms. They laid out the request. We\u2019ve opened it up. As you heard the president say, do what you need to do. The FBI, this is what they do, and we\u2019re out of the way and letting them do exactly that.\u201d But she also said, \u201cThis can\u2019t become a fishing expedition like the Democrats would like to see it be.\u201d
When host Chris Wallace asked if the White House counsel had given a list of allowed witnesses, Sanders replied, \u201cNot that I\u2019m aware of. The White House counsel has allowed the Senate to dictate what these terms look like and what the scope of the investigation is.\u201d
Sen. Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who sits on the Judiciary Committee, argued that it was senators who requested a limited rather than open-ended investigation. He said it was proper that the FBI would not look at Swetnick\u2019s allegations of participation in gang rapes, calling her claim \u201coutrageous\u201d and saying that \u201cnot one Democrat mentioned it\u201d during Thursday\u2019s hearing.
On the Sunday shows, two Judiciary Committee Democrats de-emphasized the account of Swetnick, whose interview with Showtime\u2019s The Circus is scheduled to air at 8 p.m. Sunday.
When John Dickerson, host of ABC\u2019s This Week, asked whether Swetnick\u2019s allegations were credible, Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii argued that, like Ford, Swetnick had no motivation to come forward except to tell the truth. And she pointed out that Swetnick has sought to speak with the FBI, pointing a finger at Kavanaugh for declining to ask for more FBI investigation during the Thursday hearing.
On State of the Union, Tapper also asked Klobuchar about Swetnick\u2019s credibility. The senator responded, \u201cI don\u2019t know, Jake. I think she has to be interviewed by the FBI…. She did sign an affidavit, and I think it needs to be looked into.\u201d
Will FBI agents get to decide whom to interview in this reopened background check? The New York Times reported Saturday that only four witnesses were on a list drafted by Senate Republicans, including the second accuser, Deborah Ramirez, who has alleged that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her after a night of heavy drinking during their freshmen year at Yale. If those interviews \u201copen new avenues of inquiry,\u201d the Times wrote, \u201cThe White House can order investigators to further examine the allegations.\u201d
It\u2019s clear that this is a limited investigation, as Senate Republicans had requested following Flake\u2019s stand. But it\u2019s not clear who\u2019s setting the limits, or what precisely those limits are.<\/p>\n

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