WASHINGTON _ The FBI has been granted authority to investigate sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, but isn't doing its own deep dive into his alcohol use or whether he committed perjury when he testified last week, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The Senate won't vote on Kavanaugh's nomination until after the FBI completes its one-week probe into allegations of sexual assault and misconduct, said second-ranking Republican John Cornyn.
The White House agreed on Monday to let the Federal Bureau of Investigation question more people in connection with allegations that he was sexually abusive toward women following growing criticism that the probe was too constrained.
But the White House hasn't asked the FBI to do a full-throttle probe of Kavanaugh's use of alcohol or whether he intentionally gave false testimony to the Senate committee, the person said. The FBI has also been told to finish the probe by Friday, meaning there are time limits on what agents can do.
"People will know what the FBI says before we end up voting on anything," Cornyn told reporters Tuesday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has promised a vote this week, and he could set the stage for an initial vote later this week. Cornyn didn't say when the majority leader might do that.
Cornyn added that he believes some portion of the FBI's findings should be released publicly.
"I'm hopeful there will be at least a summary that will be made public and then the senators can review the notes," Cornyn said.
The fact that there are still limits on the investigation is significant because some Democrats and others who have been opposed to Kavanaugh contend there are red flags in terms of whether he has been honest in his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Part of the challenge for the FBI is structural, in that it's not doing a criminal investigation that would give agents more flexibility and tools. The bureau has been directed to do a supplemental background investigation into credible allegations of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh.
The policy governing background investigations means the FBI would have to get approval from the White House to do a full-throttle investigation into his alcohol use or whether he committed perjury.
"This is being done to answer the inquiry of the Senate and that inquiry concerns what they call current and credible allegations of sexual misconduct," former Attorney General Michael Mukasey told reporters on a conference call Tuesday.
Still, in the course of talking to individuals, it's standard procedure for agents to ask whether Kavanaugh had any problems with substance abuse, Mukasey said. And the FBI will include in its interview files anything that agents are told indicating that Kavanaugh wasn't honest with the Senate Judiciary Committee.
"The background investigation doesn't draw conclusions; it presents the statement of witnesses," Mukasey said. "This is being done for the consideration of the senators so they can perform their constitutional duty of advise and consent."
Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona _ whose demand for a weeklong FBI investigation temporarily blocked a confirmation vote _ told reporters Tuesday "we'll see what the FBI turns up," when asked whether he stands by his statement last week that he would support confirmation.
Flake said he'll make his decision "not just considering the allegations" but also whether Kavanaugh lied to the committee about something that is "clear" and can be proven to be false.
Flake and Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware spoke to the Atlantic Festival forum, and both said they are concerned about the Supreme Court being viewed by the public as a partisan body.
"The court cannot become as partisan and divided as the Congress and the country," Coons said.
Coons said there is a "possibility of Judge Kavanaugh being cleared" by the FBI investigation, just as there's a chance that Christine Blasey Ford's sexual assault allegation against him may be corroborated.
"It might not change the outcome whatsoever" of the Senate vote on confirmation, Coons said.
The lawyer for Mark Judge, a Kavanaugh classmate who Ford says witnessed and encouraged the attack on her, said Tuesday that Judge has completed his interview with the FBI. Attorney Barbara Van Gelder gave no information on the questions asked by the agents.
McConnell also mocked some of the emerging information about Kavanaugh, homing in on reports about a bar fight the judge was involved in during college in which he is alleged to have sparked a confrontation by throwing a glass of ice at another patron.
"What a bombshell," McConnell said. "One can only imagine what new bombshell will be published today or tomorrow."
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Republicans are engaging in a "double standard" by blaming Democrats for a one-week delay in the confirmation, while ignoring the GOP's own decision to hold open the deceased Justice Antonin Scalia's seat during the last year of Barack Obama's administration until after Trump took office.
