FBI Investigation 'Complete,' Republicans Say Time To Move On To Kavanaugh Vote

Judge Brett Kavanaugh

Well, that was quick.

The 'new' FBI investigation into allegations that Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, sexually assaulted Dr. Christine Blasey Ford when the were teens, is done say Senate Republicans.

The report, which will not be released to the public, is available for all 100 U.S. Senators to review, albeit for only an hour.

And one at a time, as only one copy has been made available in an effort to ensure it's not leaked to the public.

There are apparently 46 pages of interview summaries in the report, with nine pages devoted to Kavanaugh's former bestie, Mark Judge, who agreed to cooperate.

Ford says Judge was in the room years ago when the alleged assault took place.

Republicans say there's nothing new to see.

“There’s nothing in it that we didn’t already know,” Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said in a statement Thursday. “These uncorroborated accusations have been unequivocally and repeatedly rejected by Judge Kavanaugh, and neither the Judiciary Committee nor the F.B.I. could locate any third parties who can attest to any of the allegations.”

But Democrats counter that there's nothing in the report that makes them believe Ford's allegations any less.

Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley tweeted, "I read the FBI report. This whole thing is a sham. This stunted, strangled investigation was designed to provide cover, not to provide the truth."

According to The New York Times, several leads and identified witnesses were not interviewed.

In any case, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already scheduled preliminary votes in the full Senate regarding Kavanaugh's nomination.

The Times notes that Senators Jeff Flake of Arizona and Susan Collins of Maine, two important Republican swing votes, have indicated they seem satisfied with the report, although neither have announced how they ultimately plan to vote on Kavanaugh's nomination.

Interestingly, Axios reports that the Kavanaugh debacle seems to have tightened several races in the upcoming midterm elections as the issue seems to have energized Republicans in states like Montana, Indiana, West Virginia, Missouri and Tennessee.

Plus, a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll released yesterday found that the "wide Democratic enthusiasm advantage that has defined the 2018 campaign up to this point has disappeared."

While last month the Democrats appeared to hold a double-digit lead over Republicans in a generic ballot, that lead has now dropped to only 6 points.