FBI's Kavanaugh Report Done, and White House Is Confident

A big overnight development in the Brett Kavanaugh saga: The White House said it has received the FBI's new report about the Supreme Court nominee and sent it on to the Senate, reports the Washington Post. The move puts the Senate on track for a final confirmation vote as early as Saturday, and the White House says it's confident that nothing in the new report will kill the nomination. "This is the last addition to the most comprehensive review of a Supreme Court nominee in history," added Raj Shah, a White House spokesman. Senators will now start reviewing the report, but with restrictions. Only one copy will be available for reading, likely in a secure Senate office, and senators will get 30 minutes apiece of allotted time, reports the Hill.

The parties will take turns reading the document, or senators also can choose to be briefed instead. "Ridiculous," said Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, a member of the Judiciary Committee, of the restrictions. The New York Times reports that the FBI interviewed nine people about Kavanaugh and appears to have limited its inquiry to the allegations made against him by Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez, and not those by Julie Swetnick. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell already has initiated the procedural moves that would move toward a full confirmation vote, expected Saturday. The outcome hinges on key GOP senators such as Jeff Flake, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski. All have criticized President Trump's disparaging comments about Ford, but that won't necessarily affect their final votes on the nomination. (More Brett Kavanaugh stories.)