Senate Democrats Raise Concerns Over FBI's Handling of 4,500 Kavanaugh Tips

Seven Democratic senators questioned the FBI’s supplemental investigation of then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in 2018 after a letter from FBI Assistant Director Jill Tyson said the FBI received 4,500 tips and had provided all “relevant” ones to the Trump White House. The senators said that Tyson’s letter, sent on June 30 to Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.), “confirms that the FBI’s tip line was a departure from past practice and that the FBI was politically constrained by the Trump White House.” Lawyers for Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who alleged Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers, said the letter showed the investigation to be a “sham.” Kavanaugh has denied Blasey Ford’s allegations. 

Coverage in right-rated outlets often framed Democrat’s statements as “attacks,” with some coverage calling Blasey Ford’s allegations ”dubious”; one outlet quoted a Republican senator criticizing Whitehouse’s “obsession” with the Kavanaugh case. Coverage in left-rated outlets was more likely to focus on the FBI letter itself. While some right-rated outlets included past statements by Republicans, outlets across the spectrum mostly quoted present-day statements by Democratic senators and Blasey Ford’s lawyers.