Politics

Report says Trump White House obstructed FBI probe into allegations against Kavanaugh

Published

2 years ago

November 11, 2024

Report says Trump White House obstructed FBI probe into allegations against Kavanaugh

The Trump administration did not allow the FBI to conduct a full-scale investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations against Brett Kavanaugh that threatened his Supreme Court confirmation, according to a new report, disputing then-President Donald Trump’s public claims at the time.

The reportreleased Tuesday by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., six years after he launched a Senate inquiry, says that the Trump administration “exercised total control over the scope of the investigation” and prevented the FBI from interviewing certain witnesses and following leads. As a result, the probe into the allegations against Kavanaugh was “flawed and incomplete” and “unworthy of reliance by the Senate,” the report says.

Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the court in 2018 had been in jeopardy due to allegations of sexual misconduct by Christine Blasey Ford, Deborah Ramirez and Julie Swetnickwhich he denied. The FBI launched a supplemental investigation into the claims after Kavanaugh and Ford testified separately before the Senate Judiciary Committee and prior to the Senate vote on his confirmation.

The FBI concluded at the time that there was “no corroboration of the allegations made by Dr. Ford or Ms. Ramirez.” (Swetnick’s allegation was not included in its investigation.) Kavanaugh was ultimately narrowly confirmed to the high court.

The Senate report is a damning rebuke to the Trump administration’s insistence that it gave the FBI “free rein” to conduct the investigation into the allegations. Trump said at the time that he wanted the agency “to interview whoever they deem appropriate, at their discretion.” The findings corroborate reporting over the years that Trump officials worked to hamstring the investigation.

According to the new Senate report, the Trump administration not only “kneecap[ed] FBI investigators’ ability to adequately investigate those allegations, but the lack of transparency misled the Senate and the public about the investigation’s thoroughness.”

The Senate inquiry’s yearslong review comes so belatedly because of a lack of cooperation from the executive branch, Whitehouse said. The Trump administration stonewalled the Senate investigation and, although the Biden administration was more cooperative, the senator said “investigators still struggled to secure direct answers to written questions, faced considerable delays in receiving answers to those questions, and often received incomplete answers or answers that fully ignored lines of inquiry.”

The FBI didn’t comment on the Senate report to CNNbut told the outlet that it “follows a long-standing, established process through which the scope of the investigation is limited to what is requested.”

Kavanaugh did not respond to The Washington Post’s request for comment sent to the Supreme Court. A spokesperson for Sen. Chuck Grassley, who chaired the Judiciary Committee for the confirmation, told BLN that the report “doesn’t offer any legitimate, substantive new ground.”

Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told Axios that the report is “another attempt to delegitimize the Supreme Court.” Ford’s attorneys, on the other hand, told Axios that the report confirmed the “sham effort directed by the Trump White House to silence brave victims and other witnesses who came forward and to hide the truth.”

Clarissa-Jan Lim

Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking/trending news blogger for BLN Digital. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.

Politics

Mike Collins wins Georgia GOP Senate primary runoff to face Ossoff

Published

24 minutes ago

June 17, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Jun. 16, 2026, 8:43 PM EDT

Rep. Mike Collins won Georgia’s Republican Senate primary runoff Tuesday, defeating former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley.

Now, he will have the far larger task of knocking off Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in one of the most competitive Senate race this election cycle.

The runoff was triggered after Collins and Dooley each failed to win a majority in the May 19 primary, forcing a second round in a contest that Republicans view as one of their best opportunities to flip a Democratic-held Senate seat in 2026. President Donald Trump endorsed Collins over the weekend, boosting his chances in the runoff.

Collins, a congressman representing Georgia’s 10th District, finished first in the primary. The trucking company owner and staunch ally of Trump built his campaign around support for the president’s agenda, border security, immigration enforcement and conservative cultural issues. Collins sought to portray himself as a proven conservative fighter with experience in Washington and strong ties to the Republican base.

Dooley, meanwhile, leaned on his name recognition as a former college football coach and member of one of Georgia’s most prominent political families. His father, Vince Dooley, was the legendary University of Georgia football coach and athletic director. Although Dooley has never held elected office, he has campaigned as a political outsider capable of attracting independent and swing voters in a general election.

Collins argued that Republicans need a candidate with a proven conservative record and close ties to Trump. Dooley has countered that his outsider status and broader appeal would make him a stronger challenger in November.

But some Republicans are worried about Collins, including his hardline stance on abortion rights and an Office of Congressional Conduct probe into his office’spotential misuse of resources that the Republican lawmaker has referred to as a “nothing burger.”

His social media tonewhich includes severely downplayingthe U.S. Capitol attack where some pro-Trump rioters injured members of law enforcement, gives credence to the president’s view of him as a “a true Friend, Fighter, and WARRIOR,” as Trump wrote in his post endorsing Collins.

But those sentiments also spotligh a few of the vulnerabilities for a statewide candidate coming from a reliably red congressional district.

Collins will now face Ossoff, who is seeking a second term after winning a pair of runoff elections in 2021 that helped Democrats gain control of the Senate. Since taking office, Ossoff has built a national fundraising network. His re-election campaign has emphasized lowering costs for families, protecting access to healthcare, supporting economic development and promoting government accountability.

In a statement published shortly after Collins’ win, Ossoff called the congressman a “notorious bigot” who was under federal investigation.

“Donald Trump’s handpicked candidate Mike Collins is a notorious bigot, antisemite, and extremist currently under federal investigation for the illegal misuse of tax dollars,” Ossoff said. “Collins, who is only a congressman because his daddy was a congressman, voted to double health insurance premiums for more than a million Georgians, for the Iran War, and for the Trump tariffs.”

The House Ethics Committee is investigating allegations that Collins used government funds to benefit an aide.

Georgia remains a key battleground state heading into the midterm elections. Once considered a reliably Republican stronghold, the state has become increasingly competitive over the past decade.

Republicans see Georgia as one of their strongest pickup opportunities in a midterm cycle where control of the Senate could once again hinge on a handful of closely contested races. Democrats, meanwhile, are expected to invest heavily to protect Ossoff’s seat, viewing him as a key part of the party’s future.

Ebony Davis is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked at BLN as a campaign reporter covering elections and politics.

Politics

Rick Jackson wins Georgia GOP governor runoff, will face Bottoms in November

Published

1 hour ago

June 17, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Jun. 16, 2026, 9:49 PM EDT

Healthcare executive Rick Jackson clinched the Republican gubernatorial nomination on Tuesday, pulling off a win over Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and securing a spot in the November election against Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms.

The pair advanced from the Republican primary after neither candidate secured the majority needed to avoid a runoff on May 19.

The contest came as Republicans seek to hold the governor’s mansion in a state that has become one of the country’s premier political battlegrounds. Gov. Brian Kemp is term-limited and cannot seek re-election, creating the first open governor’s race in Georgia since 2018. Kemp threw his weight behind Jones over the weekend.

Jackson, a businessman who entered politics as an outsider candidatesought to position himself as an alternative to career politicians. His campaign focused heavily on economic issues, government spending and opposition to what he describes as establishment politics.

Jackson has argued that Republicans need a nominee who can energize voters frustrated with the political system. He has also attempted to appeal to conservatives who want a candidate outside Georgia’s existing political leadership structure.

The runoff highlights divisions within the Georgia Republican Party over the direction of the state’s conservative movement after Kemp’s tenure. While both candidates embraced many of the same conservative policy positions, they have differed over experience, electability and the future of Republican leadership in the Peach State.

The race also attracted attention because of Georgia’s importance ahead of the midterms. Democrats have made significant gains in the state over the past decade, winning presidential and Senate races while turning Georgia into a key battleground. Republicans, however, have continued to perform strongly in statewide races, including Kemp’s decisive re-election victory in 2022.

Bottoms, who served as Atlanta’s mayor from 2018 to 2022 and later worked in the Biden administration, secured the Democratic nomination and is preparing for a competitive general election campaign. Democrats view the open-seat contest as an opportunity to regain control of the governor’s office for the first time in more than two decades.

Ebony Davis is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked at BLN as a campaign reporter covering elections and politics.