The news that the FBI collected more than 4500 tips about then-Supreme Court nominee, Brent Kavanaugh, is hardly surprising. That they then chose to pass on relevant ones to the Trump White House is, well, sadly predictable. The real question is why the FBI refused the request of Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and other Democrats for information gleaned from the tips for more than 2 years. Heads should roll—and if the tips can now be verified, Kavanaugh should be impeached.
The issue as I see goes far beyond the refusal to share the info, beyond the ignoring of the valid request for the data by the Senate Judiciary Committee members who were considering Kavanaugh’s fitness to serve on the high court. Here is an example of how Wray’s decision was used by the administration to gain Democratic support in the Senate. Sen. Joe Manchin was one of the last Democrats to announce his support of Kavanaugh. WV MetroNews radio commented on that decision:
Unlike the rest of the Democrats, Manchin leaned toward supporting Kavanaugh before the Christine Blasey Ford controversy erupted. If he saw nothing in the FBI report to corroborate Ford’s allegation, it’s reasonable to believe Manchin could be comfortable with his original position.
--Hoppy Kercheval,October 8, 2018
How many Senators held that same position? How many would reconsider their votes to confirm Kavanaugh had the FBI released the items they deemed relevant to the co-equal branch of government?
It is now clear that Trump believed that he had an ace in the hole when Kavanaugh was seated on the Court. Trump’s minions had collected information that could be used as kompromat in cases that related to the former president. Clearly, now it is imperative that all the tips be made public in order to cast light on the material that could be used by others--conservatives who were at the White House and were privy to the information.-— to affect future decisions made by the Court.
Christopher Wray bears responsibility for the snub. his explanation that the FBI was only to respond to the White House Office of Special Counsel as “requesting entity” is laughable. It was the Judiciary Committee at the time who requested additional investigation of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s accusations that Kavanaugh had attacked her. Wray is hiding behind technicalities that simply do not exist and has shirked his duty to serve the nation and not the needs of a corrupt administration.
He should wear the ignominy of his cowardly collaboration with a crooked administration on his way out the door. He doesn’t deserve to hold a position of trust at the cost of his unwillingness to protect the nation from harms that were perpetrated using his office. The argument that Wray has proposed simply doesn’t wash:
“... the FBI serves as an "investigative service provider" for federal background investigations, and that its role in the Kavanaugh matter was to respond to requests from the White House counsel.”
---Wray testifying before Congress
Both men who preceded Wray paid the cost of crossing Donald Trump. Their decision to stand up to his demands earned them a boot out the door and a badge of honor from most Americans. Wray, on the other hand, chose to feather his own nest at our expense. The real issue is that Wray helped a corrupt and evil president to collect potentially compromising material on a sitting Justice of the Supreme Court. Whitehouse’s anger is justified.
Wray has to go. Now.