Trump administration shielded Brett Kavanaugh from sweeping FBI investigation | Brett Kavanaugh

The Trump administration shielded Brett Kavanaugh from a sweeping FBI investigation in the wake of serious allegations that he sexually abused two women — once in high school and once — during his controversial 2018 Senate confirmation to become a Supreme Court justice in college — according to a new report.

An investigation led by Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse also found that both the Trump White House and the FBI “misled the public and the Senate” about the scope of the investigation they were conducting into the sexual assault allegations by falsely claimed that the FBI had conducted its investigation thoroughly and “by the book.”

Kavanaugh's Senate confirmation appeared in doubt after Palo Alto University professor Christine Blasey Ford claimed he sexually abused her while she was in school. A Yale classmate named Deborah Ramirez claimed in a report published by the New Yorker that Kavanaugh exposed himself at a drunken dorm party, shoving his penis into her face and making her touch him without her consent. Kavanaugh denied both allegations.

The Senate Judiciary Committee agreed after Ford publicly testified about her allegations that the FBI would conduct an additional background check to verify those allegations before the full Senate votes on his nomination.

After the Senate finally confirmed Kavanaugh by a vote of 50-48, Whitehouse and his staff began a six-year investigation to find answers about how the FBI conducted its investigation.

The investigation, Whitehouse said, was complicated by executive delays, reluctance to answer even basic questions and often incomplete answers.

“In 2018, I vowed to Christine Blasey Ford that I would continue to research, no matter how long it takes, and not give up or turn away from the shameful Senate Republican and Trump White House confirmation process for Judge Kavanaugh,” Whitehouse said .

“This report shows that the supplemental background investigation was a deception controlled by the Trump White House to give Senate Republicans political cover and put Judge Kavanaugh back on the political path to confirmation.”

The findings are significant because at least eight senators cited the FBI's findings – that “no corroborating evidence” had been found to support the allegations against Kavanaugh – when they voted to confirm the conviction. They include then-Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Shelley Moore Capito, former Senators Jeff Flake and Bob Corker, Chuck Grassley and Susan Collins.

In reality, the Whitehouse report alleges that the FBI's limited supplemental background investigations included only a “handful” of interviews with relevant witnesses and ignored other potential sources, including Kavanaugh himself, Ford or others who had offered to provide corroborating or otherwise relevant information to the FBI convey information.

Ford was not interviewed, the report said, although her attorney repeatedly contacted the FBI directly to ask the FBI to interview her.

An attorney for Ramirez provided the FBI with lists of suggested witnesses, including a list of 20 other witnesses who likely had relevant information and who Ramirez suspected could corroborate her testimony.

In one case, a former classmate of Kavanaugh's at Yale named Max Stier tried to come forward and report that he had once seen Kavanaugh with his pants down at a drunken party and that his friends had placed the future judge's penis into a woman's hands Student.

The alleged incident was different from others that became public during the investigation, but had similarities to the allegations made by Ramirez. According to media reports, Stier informed the Senate and the FBI about his account, but the matter was never investigated by the FBI.

FBI Director Christopher Wray was even personally briefed about Stier's account by Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, but he was never contacted.

Stier, who runs a nonprofit in Washington, declined to discuss the matter with the Guardian. He is married to Florence Pan, who serves as a district judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals, a position formerly held by Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

In response to the release of the report, Ford attorneys Debra Katz and Lisa Banks said in a statement: “Dr. Ford performed a heroic act of public service that came at great personal cost to her and those close to her.” We now know that Trump's White House officials acted to hide the truth. They worked with the FBI to silence those who provided key evidence, including a classmate who “saw Mr. Kavanaugh with his pants down at another drunken dorm party where friends shoved his penis into a female student's hand.” We also know that this is unlikely to have any consequences for those involved, although it should.”

The FBI also declined to follow up on information it received through the agency's hotline. The information was passed directly to the White House.