White House press secretary Sarah Sanders (pictured above center) told Chris Wallace of “Fox News Sunday” that President Donald Trump’s administration will not “micromanage” the FBI’s supplemental investigation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh — but Democrats are pushing to do just that.
“The White House counsel has allowed the Senate to dictate what these terms look like and what the scope of the investigation is,” Sanders told Wallace. “The White House isn’t intervening. We’re not micromanaging this process.”
Sanders cautioned, however, that “we cannot allow the people that have acted in bad faith to determine and allow this to become a total fishing expedition by the FBI.”
Trump directed the new FBI review late Friday after Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Committee on the Judiciary agreed to Sen. Jeff Flake’s suggestion, earlier in the day, that it be “limited in time and scope.”
The president told the FBI to examine “all credible allegations.” Flake was encouraged in his suggestion by Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.).
Related: Anita Hill’s Case Proves Christine Blasey Ford Has a Lot to Gain
Sanders called Senate Democrats “absolutely disgraceful” in their handling of the process and added that both Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, who alleged that the 53-year-old federal judge sexually assaulted her at a high school house party decades ago when the two were teenagers, had been “exploited” as a result.
“The people who have been bad actors in this, as the president laid out in his tweet, are the Democrats,” said Sanders when Wallace asked her if Sens. Flake, Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) — who may well cast the decisive votes on Kavanaugh’s confirmation — had fallen for the Democrats’ “total sham,” which Trump referenced in a fiery tweet on Thursday.
Judge Kavanaugh showed America exactly why I nominated him. His testimony was powerful, honest, and riveting. Democrats’ search and destroy strategy is disgraceful and this process has been a total sham and effort to delay, obstruct, and resist. The Senate must vote!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 27, 2018
Sanders chastised Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and her team, whom Sanders said should have honored Ford’s original request for anonymity by handling the matter behind closed doors.
Meanwhile, the Democrats’ “fishing expedition” is well along.
On ABC’s “This Week” and CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday morning, Sens. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) respectively pushed for removing all time and scope constraints on the FBI — even though both had supported Flake’s proposal.
“Every Senate vote matters, and there’s time to get to the bottom of it. Even if it’s seven days, that’s bad enough. But then to limit the FBI as to the scope and who they’re going to question, that really … I want to use the word ‘farce,’ but … ” Hirono (pictured above right) told host Stephanopoulos, trailing off, when he asked her if she thought accuser Julie Swetnick’s allegations were credible.”
“They all came forward with credible reports. They all said that they would be willing to talk to the FBI,” Hirono added.
Swetnick claimed through porn star lawyer Michael Avenatti that Kavanaugh was involved in a “ring” during his high school years that got girls drunk and then gang-raped them.
For her part, Klobuchar (pictured above left) told CNN’s Jake Tapper, “The White House should not be allowed to micromanage an FBI investigation.”
Tapper reminded Klobuchar that his previous guest, Trump senior counselor Kellyanne Conway, denied any “micromanagement” by the White House.
Related: Graham Calls for Investigation of Feinstein’s Office, Ford’s Lawyers
“What we are hearing is there are reports they are somehow trying to limit this to a few witnesses or tell them what they should do,” Klobuchar insisted.
Tapper pressed, asking whether Klobuchar had evidence of this supposed White House-based interference in the investigation beyond the “reports” she had seen.
“I am basing this on reports,” said Klobuchar. “I just want to see this be conducted in a fair, independent way, which Sen. Flake has asked for.” She added that it is the responsibility of the three undecided Republican senators to ensure that the FBI’s investigation is “credible from beginning to end.”
“I don’t know, Jake. That’s why I think she has to be interviewed by the FBI,” she said when Tapper asked if she found Julie Swetnick’s allegation credible.
“I do believe in due process. And she did sign an affidavit. I think it needs to be looked into,” Klobuchar concluded.
Michele Blood is a Flemington, New Jersey-based freelance writer and a regular contributor to LifeZette.
Join the Discussion
COMMENTS POLICY: We have no tolerance for messages of violence, racism, vulgarity, obscenity or other such discourteous behavior. Thank you for contributing to a respectful and useful online dialogue.