Trump White House ‘helped steer investigation’ into Brett Kavanaugh’s sexual assault allegations

The Trump White House put restraints on the FBI’s investigation into claims of sexual assault against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his 2018 confirmation process, according to a report from the office of a Democratic senator.

Then-President Donald Trump said the FBI would have “free rein” to investigate the allegations and that the agency was “talking to everybody.”

“I want them to interview whoever they deem appropriate, at their discretion,” he wrote on social media at the time.

But a report from the office of Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, which was shared with The Washington Post, has revealed that Trump’s claims didn’t fit with the agency’s interpretation of events.

The report, which includes messages between the White House and the FBI, states that agency officials were ordered to do a limited investigation into the claims over the course of a week. They asked for further “guidance” from the White House following the public comments by Trump and other officials.

However, the Trump administration chose not to give the agency the authority to independently investigate the claims, which Kavanagh consistently rejected. The report outlines how the White House strictly controlled the FBI report even as Trump made his comments about the agency having “free rein” to do as they pleased.

FBI tip line messages were sent on to the White House without further investigation, the report states. The agency was reportedly instructed to speak to 10 possible witnesses and it was not given the authority to investigate any corroborating evidence.

Some senators pointed to the lack of evidence when they voted to back Kavanaugh’s confirmation. The justice was one of three appointed by Trump to the nation’s