The White House says that both Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford’s testimonies during the public Senate hearing last Thursday were enough to warrant the FBI to not interview either of them in its own investigation into sexual assault accusation against Kavanaugh.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Wednesday that it is the Senate that ultimately has to make the decision on Kavanaugh, and they should have asked all their questions during the hearing last Thursday.
“I can also tell you that both Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford were questioned in the most public way possible by the members of Senate who are ultimately the ones who have to make the determination on whether or not they will vote for Judge Kavanaugh,” Sanders said.
“If they had additional questions for either one of them, they had a time and opportunity certainly to ask those.
WATCH: Ford and Kavanaugh give conflicting testimonies at pivotal hearing
Trump said on Monday at a White House news conference that the FBI “should interview anybody that they want, within reason,” and also said in a tweet Saturday that he wants them to “interview whoever they deem appropriate, at their discretion.”
WATCH: ‘I don’t remember’ — Trump mocks Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony
However, Trump also said Monday that he wants the investigation to be guided by the Senate.
“I want them to do a very comprehensive investigation. Whatever that means, according to the senators and the Republicans and the Republican majority, I want them to do that,” Trump said.
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Sanders’ comment comes after Ford’s lawyers sent a letter Tuesday criticizing the FBI for not interviewing either Ford or Kavanaugh.
“It is inconceivable that the FBI could conduct a thorough investigation of Dr. Ford’s allegations without interviewing her, Judge Kavanaugh, or the witnesses we have identified in our letters to you,” the statement read.
Bloomberg reported Wednesday that the FBI, in fact, does not have clear authority from the White House to interview either Kavanaugh or Ford, according to two anonymous sources with knowledge of the matter.
The FBI has instead asserted, similar to Sanders’ statement, that Ford and Kavanaugh’s testimonies are sufficient, according to its sources.
The FBI is conducting an investigation into Ford’s allegation that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when both of them were in high school in the 1980s.
WATCH: Christine Blasey Ford not interviewed as FBI moves forward with investigation of Brett Kavanaugh allegations
The FBI has already spoken with Mark Judge, Kavanaugh’s friend who Ford says was in the same room at the time of the alleged assault, as well as Kavanaugh’s second accuser, Deborah Ramirez, who says that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a party when they were both freshmen at Yale University.
The FBI investigation is due to end by Friday, with a Senate vote on whether to confirm Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court expected to follow shortly after.
Trump came under fire Wednesday for mocking Ford at a campaign rally in Southaven, Miss. on Tuesday, criticizing the details that Ford could not remember in her testimony.
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