Trump asks FBI to probe claims against Kavanaugh

Last Sunday in this space we demanded an FBI investigation of a sexual assault allegation against Judge Brett Kavanaugh, nominated for the U.S. Supreme Court by President Donald J. Trump. The editorial triggered letters to the editor criticizing our position. Some of those letters appear on this page today.

It now turns out we were on the right track with our demand. On Friday, Republican Trump, who had strongly objected to such an investigation, succumbed to a few members of his party in the Senate and agreed to give the FBI a week to check out the allegation by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.

On Saturday, there were reports that the federal agency would also look into claims against the Supreme Court nominee by Deborah Ramirez.

Kavanaugh, who serves on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, has strongly denied the allegations.

Ford, a California psychology professor, has accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teen- agers three decades ago.

Although she passed a lie-detector test, she asked for an FBI investigation. The Republican majority in the Senate Judiciary Committee refused her request, but they did invite her and Judge Kavanaugh to appear before the panel.

On Thursday, the American people were witness to emotional, heartfelt, unyielding testimonies from the accuser and the accused, who appeared separately.

Unfortunately, we also saw the hyper partisanship that is commonplace in Congress.

From the outset, Republicans made it clear that Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation was a foregone conclusion. While they paid lip service to Dr. Ford, it was clear the majority in the committee had every intention of forwarding the nomination to the entire Senate.

For their part, Democrats, who rightly believe that a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land demands extraordinary scrutiny of the nominee, kept pressing for an FBI probe.

Partisan vote

On Friday, the committee met, and while Judge Kavanaugh won approval along strictly partisan lines, one Republican member, Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, threw a wrench in the works.

Flake, who will be leaving the Senate at the end of the year, said while he intended to vote for Kavanaugh in committee, he wanted an FBI investigation of Dr. Ford’s allegation before the entire Senate took up the matter.

Earlier in the week, Flake delivered an impassioned speech about the “toxic political culture we’ve created” and charged that politicians have “fanned the flames” for personal gain.

The senator also bemoaned the fact that Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh had become “unwitting combatants in an undeclared war.”

After he conditioned his Senate vote for Judge Kavanaugh on the FBI probe, there were suggestions other moderate Republicans were ready to join his revolt.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who had boasted recently that confirmation was in the bag, had to reassess the level of support on Friday.

McConnell is rushing Judge Kavanaugh though the Senate because the Supreme Court’s new term begins Monday.

But with Republicans holding a slim two-vote majority – 51-49 – McConnell can ill afford dissension within the ranks.

The Judiciary Committee meetings Thursday and Friday lay bare the deep divide between Republicans and Democrats.

Indeed, President Trump added to the political tensions when he blistered the Senate process as “a total sham” and accused Democrats of a conspiracy of obstruction.

Trump declared on Twitter, “The Senate must vote!”

But the Associated Press reported that Republicans were short of votes for final Senate approval after the Judiciary Committee adjourned.

GOP senators convened late into the evening in a room in the Capitol with various members, including Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, raising pointed questions.

Those Republican senators who refused to be bullied by the leadership and President Trump are deserving of the nation’s appreciation and gratitude.

The allegations against the Supreme Court nominee are neither part of a grand conspiracy by Democrats, nor a reflection of personal vendettas.

Dr. Ford and the two other women who have come forward deserve to have their claims fully examined by the federal agency with the expertise to do so.

The FBI investigation will benefit Judge Kavanaugh just as much as it will benefit his accusers.