Congressmen are set to examine the FBI report into alleged sexual abuse by Brett Kavanaugh on Thursday, as the US Senate’s Republican leadership scheduled the first confirmation vote for Friday.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that the agency was due to present to the Senate its highly anticipated supplemental investigation report into Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee late on Wednesday.
At the heart of the investigation is Christine Blasey Ford, a California psychology professor who has testified that a drunken Kavanaugh sexually abused her in a locked room at a high school party in the 1980. She has said she believed he was trying to rape her.
Kavanaugh has strongly denied her assertions and those of two other women, who have accused him of other instances of sexual misconduct in the 1980s.
The new investigation into his conduct has come under fire for its limited scope.
"An FBI supplemental background investigation that did not include an interview of Dr Christine Blasey Ford – nor the witnesses who corroborate her testimony – cannot be called an investigation," Ms Ford’s lawyers said in a statement on Wednesday night.
"We are profoundly disappointed that after the tremendous sacrifice she made in coming forward, those directing the FBI investigation were not interested in seeking the truth."
The Senate is now braced for a crucial initial vote on Friday on Mr Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination, with a showdown roll call over confirmation set to take place as early as Saturday.
With Republicans clinging to a razor-thin 51-49 majority and five senators – including three Republicans – still wavering, the conservative jurist’s prospects of Senate confirmation remained murky and highly dependent on the file’s contents, which are supposed to be kept secret.
"There will be plenty of time for members to review and be briefed on the supplemental material" before Friday’s vote, Mr McConnell said to the nearly empty chamber.
Profile | Brett Kavanaugh
Congressmen were planning to begin reading the FBI report early on Thursday, with senators and a small number of top aides permitted to view it in a secure room in the Capitol complex. Senators are not supposed to divulge the contents of the agency’s background reports.
Adding to the uncertainty, the three undecided GOP senators who could decide Mr Kavanaugh’s fate rebuked President Donald Trump for mocking Ms Ford by mimicking her responses to questions at last week’s dramatic Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
"I would tell him, knock it off. You’re not helping," Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham said of Mr Trump’s Tuesday night tirade.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Mr Trump’s insults marked a "new low."
Barring leaks, it was unclear how much of the FBI report, if any, would be made public. While senators from both sides have expressed support for revealing at least parts of the findings, FBI background checks on nominees are supposed to remain confidential.
Underscoring rising tensions, Democrats suggested that previous FBI background checks of Mr Kavanaugh may have unearthed misconduct by the nominee.
Democrats wrote to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley challenging a Tuesday tweet by GOP aides saying prior investigations never found "a whiff of ANY issue – at all – related in any way to inappropriate sexual behaviour or alcohol abuse." Democrats wrote that the GOP tweet contained information that is "not accurate."
Committee Republicans tweeted in response that their prior tweet was "completely truthful" and accused Democrats of "false smears."
Senator Susan Collins said Mr Trump’s lampooning of Ms Ford at a Tuesday night Mississippi campaign rally was "just plain wrong." Senator. Lisa Murkowski called it "wholly inappropriate and in my view unacceptable," and Senator Jeff Flake said on NBC’s "Today" show that the remarks were "kind of appalling."
Those senators, along with Democrats Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, have yet to declare how they will vote.
"All of us need to keep in mind there’s a few people that are on the fence right now. And right now, that’s sort of where our focus needs to be," said Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, who has traded barbs with Mr Trump and will retire at the end of the year.