Photo: Chris Maddaloni/Roll Call/Getty Images
Sen. Dianne Feinstein has sent a letter regarding sexual misconduct allegations againstBrett Kavanaugh—President Trump’s contentious Supreme Court nominee — to federal investigators, according to a report from theNew York Times.
Feinstein, who is the senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee — which is responsible for upholding or rejecting Kavanaugh’s nomination — sent the letter on Thursday, after informing her fellow Democrats on the Judiciary Committee about its contents the previous day, the newspaper reported.
However, none of her colleagues have actually seen the letter, according toPolitico.
The letter allegedly contains information regarding “possible sexual misconduct between Judge Kavanaugh and a woman when they were both in high school,” two officials familiar with the situation told theTimes.
While the Californian senator went on to confirm that she had “referred the matter to federal investigative authorities,” she declined to comment on the contents of the letter.
“I have received information from an individual concerning the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court,” she wrote in a statement. “That individual strongly requested confidentiality, declined to come forward or press the matter further, and I have honored that decision.”
Andrew Harnik/AP/REX/Shutterstock
The White House went on to claim that the letter was merely an “11th hour attempt to delay” Kavanaugh’s nomination, according to a statement provided to PEOPLE.
“Throughout his confirmation process, Judge Kavanaugh has had 65 meetings with senators — including with Senator Feinstein — sat through over 30 hours of testimony, addressed over 2,000 questions in a public setting and additional questions in a confidential session. Not until the eve of his confirmation has Senator Feinstein or anyone raised the specter of new ‘information’ about him,” White House spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said.
According to theTimes, Feinstein first received the letter this summer from Anna Eshoo — a U.S. Representative and fellow Californian Democrat — as the letter was initially sent to Eshoo’s office.
Kupec went on to accuse Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of playing games to hold up Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the high court.
“Senator Schumer promised to ‘oppose Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination with everything I have,’ and it appears he is delivering with this 11th hour attempt to delay his confirmation,” Kupec added in the statement.
The White House did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Opponents ofTrump’s choicefor a lifetime appointment to the high court see Kavanaughas a threat to the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion across the U.S. Though Kavanaugh declined in hearings last week to say if he would reverse Roe v. Wade, Trump vowed during his presidential campaign toonly nominate “pro-life justices”who would vote to overturn the ruling if it made its way to the Supreme Court again.
source: people.com
