Last night there was some buzz about a secret letter in Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s possession that had something to do with Brett Kavanaugh. The initial reports focused on the fact that she refused to share the letter or its contents with other members of the Judiciary Committee. Today, Feinstein released the following statement:
I have received information from an individual concerning the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. That individual strongly requested confidentiality, declined to come forward or press the matter further, and I have honored that decision. I have, however, referred the matter to federal investigative authorities.
That should hopefully put to rest any insinuations that the senator from California is helping Kavanaugh cover something up. She is, in fact, protecting the privacy of one of her constituents, which is something I would hope any elected official would do in this situation.
According to Buzzfeed, the federal investigative authorities Feinstein referred to is the FBI. But other than that, no one directly involved is talking. Apparently the letter was initially sent to Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and sources have reported to Huffington Post that it “concerns a decades-old incident involving Kavanaugh and a woman.” Ryan Grim reports that “the woman who is the subject of the letter is now being represented by Debra Katz, a whistleblower attorney who works with #MeToo survivors.”
It’s probably not a good idea to speculate too much about all of this. But one thing is certain. Republicans on the Judiciary Committee, who don’t know what’s in the letter at this point, would be wise to hold off on any votes concerning Brett Kavanaugh until this whole thing is cleared up.
