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WASHINGTON – The White House is not interfering with the FBI's background investigation into Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, officials said Sunday.
"The White House is not getting involved in the FBI investigation in that way," Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union." "The president very much respects the independence of the FBI."
Her point was reiterated by White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.
"The White House is not micromanaging this process," Sanders said on "Fox News Sunday." "The Senate is dictating the terms, they laid out the request. As you've heard the president say, do what you need to do, and we're out of the way and doing exactly that."
Their comments come after reports, citing unnamed sources, that the White House had instructed the FBI to investigate claims made by two women: Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez, but not a third woman, Julie Swetnick, who accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct and claimed she was gang-raped at a party that Kavanaugh was present at decades ago.
President Donald Trump told reporters himself Saturday as he left for a rally in West Virginia that FBI agents have "full reign" over the investigation.
"The FBI, as you know, is all over talking to everybody," he said. "They have free reign. They're going to do whatever they have to do. Whatever it is they do, they'll be doing things that we've never even thought of."
The FBI declined to comment.
When the White House announced the probe last week, following a call from Sen. Jeff Flake, the president said the investigation "must be limited in scope."
Conway pointed to that on Sunday, saying the probe was "not meant to be a fishing expedition."
Still, she emphasized that it was up to the FBI to determine what the "limited scope" meant.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on Twitter that the "FBI's hands must not be tied in this investigation."
"We need the facts," she wrote.
Michael Avenatti, a lawyer for Swetnick, has accused Republicans of ignoring him and casting aside his client's claims. He says he's sent countless emails to the Senate Judiciary Committee, offering to have Swetnick testify under oath about Kavanaugh but has been virtually ignored.
He said his client was happy to hear Kavanaugh's confirmation was delayed but was cautiously optimistic about the president's order for the FBI to reopen Kavanaugh's background investigation.
"This investigation is only as good as the scope," Avenatti told USA TODAY. "If the scope doesn't include my client and the others who have accused Mr. Kavanaugh, how can it be a credible investigation?"
A lawyer for Ramirez faced a similar battle in discussions with the committee. Ramirez was the second woman to come forward, telling the New Yorker that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her and shoved his penis in her face at a dorm party while they were students at Yale University.
There were questions about her accusations as the New Yorker story noted its reporters could not find any eyewitnesses to the incident and Ramirez waited several days between being contacted to assess her memories and reach out to her attorney.
The committee asked for any evidence of the claims before they interview Ramirez and discussions broke down as both sides seemingly talked in circles, emails show.
But, Ramirez's claims are being investigated by the FBI. She was contacted by the bureau and says she will cooperate with its investigation.
"Why Ramirez but not my client?" Avenatti questioned on Twitter. "Trump has now determined that he and he alone will be the sole arbiter of whether a woman’s claims of sexual assault and misogyny are credible. Why even have an FBI investigation? I thought it was their job to make this determination."
Republicans have refuted Avenatti's claims that his client's accusations weren't taken seriously. They pointed to Grassley's staff reaching out to Avenatti within minutes after the accusations surfaced and conducting an interview in which Kavanaugh was asked under oath about the allegations. Kavanaugh has denied any incident ever happened.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, who vociferously rebuked Democrats in recent days, called Swetnick's allegation "outrageous."
"Not one Democrat mentioned it," he said Sunday on CBS's "This Week."
Still, he noted that Mark Judge – Kavanaugh's former classmate who was accused by Swetnick of getting teenage girls "inebriated and disoriented" – may be asked about the allegations and whether he saw Kavanaugh engage in such behavior. Judge was also named by Ford as a witness to her own alleged assault.
Avenatti also represents porn star Stormy Daniels, who claims she had an affair with President Donald Trump. She signed a hush agreement in exchange for her silence just before the 2016 election.
Her allegations and her lawsuit against Trump brought to light the nondisclosure agreement and led to federal charges being filed against Trump's former attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen.
During a news conference Wednesday at the United Nations in New York City, Trump referred to Avenatti as a "low-life."
"Avenatti is a third rate lawyer who is good at making false accusations, like he did on me and like he is now doing on Judge Brett Kavanaugh."
Contributing: Nicole Gaudiano and Jessica Estepa
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