FBI has ‘free rein’ to probe his SC nominee Brett Kavanaugh, says Donald Trump

Washington, Sept 30: US President Donald Trump on Saturday, September 29, said the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has a "free rein" to probe his nominee for the Supreme Court Brett Kavanaugh who has come under a number of allegations of sexual misconduct.

Trump, who has been backing his candidate to the core and blamed the Opposition over the controversy, told the reporters here on his way to a rally in West Virginia that the probe agency is free to do whatever they have to.

On Friday, September 28, the Senate Judiciary Committee formally asked the White House to order the FBI to carry out a supplemental background investigation, saying it should probe "current credible allegations" against the 53-year-old jurist, CNN reported.

In compliance with the Senate's request, Trump then asked the FBI to reopen its background probe into Kavanaugh with the process "limited in scope and completed in less than one week".

The Republican Party said it would be on the FBI to decide which allegations are more credible. The terms of the investigation were set by three Republican senators: Jeff Flake, Susan Collings and Lisa Murkowski, CNN cited sources as saying.

The FBI has already started probing the allegations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh in their younger days by Chritine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez.