FBI to probe sexual assault allegations on Kavanaugh, orders Trump, Senate vote delayed

WASHINGTON: The US investigative agency FBI will probe sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. The United States President Donald Trump, under intense pressure from moderates in his own party on Friday ordered an FBI probe against Kavanaugh at the request of Senate Republicans.

The move will also delay the contentious confirmation process by a week. This mean that the full Senate will not vote early next week, as expected.

"I've ordered the FBI to conduct a supplemental investigation to update Judge Kavanaugh's file," Trump said in a statement. "As the Senate has requested, this update must be limited in scope and completed in less than one week."

The key player in a day of dramatic and unexpected developments was Senator Jeff Flake, a moderate Republican retiring from the Senate in January who provided the decisive vote to approve Kavanaugh’s nomination in the Judiciary Committee and send the matter to the full Senate.

The delay is the result of a last-minute change of heart by Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, whose stunning move to force an investigation was quickly backed by several senators considered swing votes on Kavanaugh's confirmation.

But Flake, after urgent consultations with colleagues including Democratic Senator Chris Coons, cast the vote only after asking the Republican-led panel to request that the Trump administration pursue an FBI probe lasting up to seven days of the explosive allegations against Kavanaugh.

Trump, who had previously rebuffed Democratic demandsfor an FBI probe, granted the request, ordering the “supplemental investigation” to be “limited in scope and completed in less than one week.”

The expectation is that like other FBI background checks, the results of the FBI's investigation will be private and put in Kavanaugh's file and made available to senators but not the public, as per sources.

In a statement Friday, Kavanaugh said he would "continue to cooperate" with the FBI.

"Throughout this process, I've been interviewed by the FBI, I've done a number of 'background' calls directly with the Senate, and yesterday, I answered questions under oath about every topic the Senators and their counsel asked me," Kavanaugh said. "I've done everything they have requested and will continue to cooperate."