By Ronald J. Hansen | Arizona Republic
U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake said Thursday the FBI investigation of Brett Kavanaugh he helped broker last week has turned up no additional support for the claim that the Supreme Court nominee sexually assaulted someone decades ago.
The Arizona Republican is considered one of the swing votes who could make or break Kavanaugh’s confirmation vote, which could be held as early as Friday. The lack of further evidence against Kavanaugh suggests Flake may again vote to confirm him to the high court.
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Flake told reporters Thursday in Washington that he agreed with U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, another key Republican vote, that the weeklong probe was thorough and produced “no additional corroborating information.”
Democrats and Republicans have already begun debating what the FBI report found. U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said the report turned up no new evidence. U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, a member of the Judiciary Committee, suggested the investigation was overly thin.
But the apparent support of the investigation by Flake and Collins would seem to brighten Kavanaugh’s confirmation prospects. Senate Republicans can only afford one defection from their party before needing help from Democrats to confirm Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
Flake did not say whether he will support Kavanaugh, but he had indicated support for the nomination before helping force the investigation of Christine Blasey Ford’s allegations of an attack in the summer of 1982, when she was 15 and Kavanaugh was 17.
