Grassley To Blasey Ford: ‘It Is Not The FBI’s Role’ To Probe Your Allegations

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) reiterated that Christine Blasey Ford, the professor who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, should consider a hearing he has schedule for Monday her only opportunity to air her allegations, in a letter to her attorneys Wednesday afternoon.

Blasey Ford previously had asked for an FBI investigation into the incident, which allegedly took place when she and Kavanaugh were teenagers.

“It is not the FBI’s role to investigate a matter such as this,” Grassley said.

Kavanaugh has denied Blasey Ford’s allegation.

“I certainly understand and respect Dr. Ford’s desire for an investigation of her allegations. That is precisely what the Senate is doing,” Grassley’s letter said, while noting she has the option to testify privately Monday instead. “That is why our investigators have asked to speak with your client. That is why I have invited Dr. Ford to tell her story to the Senate and, if she so chooses, to the American people.”

It’s correct, as Grassley says in the letter, that the Senate cannot unilaterally order the FBI to conduct a background check-style investigation into Blasey Ford’s allegations. But there’s nothing stopping President Trump from instructing the FBI to do so, as ex-White House attorneys of past administrations have pointed out.

Trump claimed on Tuesday that the FBI did not “want” to be involved in such an investigation. However, sources told Bloomberg that the White House had not even asked the FBI to investigate the allegations.

Read the full letter below: