James Comey says the FBI's 7-day Kavanaugh assault probe won't be 'as hard as Republicans hope it will be'


The FBI's Hillary Clinton email investigation, which roiled and possibly tipped the 2016 presidential campaign, now seems like "the good old days," former FBI Director James Comey writes in a Sunday New York Times op-ed. In the even angrier and more polarized world we inhabit now, President Trump ordered the FBI to spend a week investigating sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
This is a tall order, a seven-day investigation of "sexual assaults that the president says never happened, that some senators have decried as a sham cooked up to derail a Supreme Court nominee, and that other senators believe beyond all doubt were committed by the nominee," Comey writes. But "although the process is deeply flawed, and apparently designed to thwart the fact-gathering process, the FBI is up for this."
It's not as hard as Republicans hope it will be. FBI agents are experts at interviewing people and ... unless limited in some way by the Trump administration, they can speak to scores of people in a few days. ... Yes, the alleged incident occurred 36 years ago. But FBI agents know time has very little to do with memory. They know every married person remembers the weather on their wedding day, no matter how long ago. Significance drives memory. They also know that little lies point to bigger lies. They know that obvious lies by the nominee about the meaning of words in a yearbook are a flashing signal to dig deeper. [James Comey, The New York Times]
Putting "a shot clock on the FBI" is "idiotic," but "it is better to give professionals seven days to find facts than have no professional investigation at all," Comey writes. One side, or both, will be unhappy with whatever the FBI finds, but "there is freedom in being totally screwed. Agents can just do their work. Find facts. Speak truth to power." Read the entire op-ed at The New York Times.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
How will the new tax deductions on auto loans work?
the explainer Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act introduced a tax deduction on auto loan interest — but eligibility for the tax break is limited
-
Is Trump actually going to prosecute Obama for 'treason'?
Today's Big Question Or is this just a distraction from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal?
-
5 best movie sequels of all time
The Week Recommends The second time is only sometimes as good as the first
-
Trump executive order targets homeless
Speed Read It will now be easier for states and cities to remove homeless people from the streets
-
Columbia pays $200M to settle with White House
Speed Read The Trump administration accused the school of failing to protect its Jewish students amid pro-Palestinian protests
-
Florida judge and DOJ make Epstein trouble for Trump
Speed Read The Trump administration's request to release grand jury transcripts from the Epstein investigation was denied
-
Trump attacks Obama as Epstein furor mounts
Speed Read The Trump administration accused the Obama administration of 'treasonous' behavior during the 2016 election
-
Trump administration releases MLK files
Speed Read Newly released documents on the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did not hold any new revelations, King historians said
-
Japan's prime minister feels pressure after election losses
Speed Read Shigeru Ishiba has vowed to remain in office
-
President diagnosed with 'chronic venous insufficiency'
Speed Read The vein disorder has given Trump swollen ankles and visible bruising on his hands
-
'Bawdy' Trump letter supercharges Epstein scandal
Speed Read The Wall Street Journal published details of Trump's alleged birthday letter to Epstein