Media Are Super Enthused To Use FBI To Investigate Kavanaugh (To Slow Down The Whole Process)

Numerous officials have pointed out time and again that the FBI is the wrong agency to investigate the claims by Christine Blasey Ford. The FBI has stated that they aren’t the agency to do this. Another background check would do nothing. Six previous ones were just fine. But, partisan media being partisan media. Here’s the Washington Post Editorial Board

Slow down, Senate Republicans. The FBI should investigate.

A LAWYER for Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her three decades ago, says her client wants to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee — just not on Monday, when Republicans have scheduled a hearing. The reason is simple: “No legitimate investigation is going to happen between now and Monday,” and Ms. Ford wants the FBI to investigate the incident before she speaks. Republicans’ bristling response suggests they care more about ramming through Mr. Kavanaugh’s confirmation than about the veracity of Ms. Ford’s allegations.

To listen to GOP senators, Ms. Ford could have no reasonable motive for hesitating to testify. Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) released a statementdeclaring that demands for an FBI investigation are about “delaying the process until after the midterm elections.” He told The Post’s Seung Min Kim that “this has been a drive-by shooting when it comes to Kavanaugh.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), who is running the confirmation process, argued it was irrelevant to Ms. Ford whether the FBI investigated her accusations. “Dr. Ford’s testimony would reflect her personal knowledge and memory of events,” he said. “Nothing the FBI or any other investigator does would have any bearing on what Dr. Ford tells the committee, so there is no reason for any further delay.”

That claim is patently absurd. Ms. Ford has an obvious interest in professionals gathering information that could corroborate her story before she faces a hostile panel of senators on live national television. A real investigation could inform senators’ questioning about the alleged event and give Ms. Ford information she could cite to strengthen her claims.

Right, 36 years later, a time for which she can offer few details, and both her and her lawyers have offered contradicting claims. And the FBI doesn’t investigate local crimes for which no federal statute was broken. But, the WPEB thinks they have the hook

The FBI is the right organization to conduct an investigation. Lying to the FBI is a crime, making the stakes much higher for anyone caught dissembling about the alleged assault. Also, FBI professionals are far more likely to conduct a fair inquiry than partisan senators at a last-minute hearing.

Nope, still doesn’t work like that, especially since this smacks of using the FBI like the East German Stasti, attempting to catch someone in a lie rather than investigating whether a crime was actually committed.

But, the whole idea is to simply run out the clock in the hope that the Democrats regain the Senate, and then demand that no vote on Kavanaugh is held till the new Democrats take their seats in January. The same as the LA Times Editorial Board

Christine Blasey Ford is right. Investigate Kavanaugh first, then hold hearings

….

There’s no guarantee that an investigation would bring any more clarity, or that its findings would make a difference in how the committee questions Ford and Kavanaugh. But given the stakes here, it could only help to have the FBI try to shed more light on the situation before the hearing is held.

Yet Grassley is standing firm. In a letter to the lawyers released on Wednesday, he repeated his invitation for Ford to testify on Monday, advising that if she decided to appear, her prepared remarks must be submitted by Friday at 10 a.m. As for the FBI, he insisted: “It is not the FBI’s role to investigate a matter such as this.”

Given the stakes here, it could only help to have the FBI try to shed more light on the situation before the hearing is held.

This is an obstructionist response that does no favors for Kavanaugh. As Grassley acknowledges elsewhere in his letter, it’s common practice for the FBI to conduct background investigations for Supreme Court nominees. While these aren’t criminal investigations, they do seek to acquire information about a nominee’s character.

Let’s say the FBI did investigate. They’d most likely state “we found no federal laws were broken, and we have no idea if any laws were even broken, because this occurred 36 years, there are zero witnesses to this happening, and there are lots of contradictions in Ms. Fords testimony.” The six background investigations already done by the FBI are not mentioned in the editorial.

The LA Times even tries bringing up the investigation after Anita Hill made her allegations. Totally different. The FBI was the correct law enforcement agency, as the incident occurred on federal property by federal employees. And wraps up with

It may well prove that the FBI will turn up nothing about an incident that allegedly occurred more than three decades ago that will make it any easier for senators to choose between the conflicting accounts of Kavanaugh and his accuser. But given the gravity of Ford’s allegations and the lifetime office to which Kavanaugh has been nominated, a rush to hold hearings is unnecessary and unseemly.

In other words, let’s run the clock out. In fact, a hearing on Monday is the proper format. If someone made a false allegation against you, you’d want it settled quickly. You’d want the chance to go on the record quickly to rebut those allegations. And if Ms. Ford is suddenly shy after putting out the letter to Diane Feinstein, giving information to the Washington Post, speaking here and there, allowing her lawyer to yammer away, well, that’s on her. She made the accusation: it’s on her to prove it.

The NY Times Editorial Board hints at using the FBI, but, is still attempting to take a different tactic by pushing for a long, long, long, involved Senate investigation which could take a long, long time. To run out the clock.

And, of course, every elected Democrat got the talking points memo.

We get it … EVERY LAST DEMOCRAT … received the taking point memo. Think before repeating it! I’ll help you.

IT’S NOT THE FBI’S JOB TO INVESTIGATE THIS TYPE OF ALLEGED CRIME. It’s the local polices job and there are statutes of limitations that have long run out.

— ن HCMI ن (@HighCapacityMI) September 20, 2018