here's what brett kavanaugh said under oath when asked when he first heard of deborah ramirez's allegation. >> when did you first hear of ms. ramirez's allegations against you? >> in the last -- in the period since then, in "the new yorker" story. >> joining us now ron klain, and barbara mcquade, a professor at law, and msnbc legal contributor. and heidi, it's your reporting tonight about these texts that preceded "the new yorker" article, and these texts seem to contradict brett kavanaugh's under oath testimony that he first heard of the ramirez accusations by reading "the new yorker" article. >> correct, lawrence. so we obtained these texts from a third party, essentially. a woman who had been texting with another fellow classmate of brett kavanaughs who had all gone onto yale together. she said to me, look, she never really wanted to go public on this, but she can't get the attention of the fbi. she's tried several times to get these text messages through to the fbi, and she believes that they prove potentially two things that need to be looked in further. one, that brett was fully awar

not just the claims of christine blasey ford and deborah ramirez, but also julie swetnick, the woman who alleges that she was at parties in the early 1980s where she saw brett kavanaugh engage in sexual misconduct and who claimed that she herself was gang raped at such a party, though she does not accuse kavanaugh of being one of her attackers. now, we still don't know at this point whether the fbi is looking into those claims, but julie swetnick has given her first sitdown interview to nbc news's kate snow. and let's show you a little club of that. >> can you describe to me what you saw him do? >> he was very aggressive, very sloppy drunk, very mean drunk. i saw him go up to girls and paw on them, try to get a little too handsy touching them in private parts. i saw him try to shift clothing. >> are there people alive today? >> yes, yes. >> who would say i went to that party with you? >> yes, there are people who know about those parties. >> now, i do need to tell you tonight nbc news has not been able to independent lly corroborate swetnick's claims. when nbc news asked swetnick's a

he said in open hearing that he knew deborah ramirez was calling around to ex-classmates but said he never heard of the story before it was published. how do we square that with what you've learned isn't that? >> according to the messages, they were dated before the story ran, he is named by his classmate karen, as person who was pressuring her to refute the claims. he certainly knew about it and he knew about the claims prior to publication. we don't know how far in advance, but that is the entire point, chris, of this exercise, is that the woman, kerry bercham wants the fbi to look into that. because if she was receiving text messages, her classmate from brett kavanaugh or from his team, then possibly many other people in that private circle were. and just how far back did this extend. she says in her memo that she believes this campaign, this effort could have started as early as july, although she didn't provide any specific text messages to back that up. the text messages she provided were very recent, all around the publication of the new yorker piece. >> heidi przybyla, great

meanwhile, a source is telling nbc news the fbi spoke to his second accuser deborah ramirez. she accused him of exposing himself to her when they both attended yale. the fbi is investigating the sexual assault and misconduct claims against kavanaugh. the latest ontihe investi in a live report on capitol hill. >> 4:33. re's the top stories this rning. it's all in response to a tweet that attacked one of brett kavanaugh's accusers. >> the u.s. and cada reached a tentative trade deal. it gives the u.s. greater access to canada's dairy market and also dumps tariffs onia can cars in the u.s. it's now being called the united states-mexico-canada agreement. >> three men were killed in a car explosion surday nig in allentown. authorities are calling it annt innal attack. local and federal authorities believe one of those killed was the person responsible. so far no word on a motive. >> there will be no more professionalaseball in washington until april. it wasgh a tou season. they were shut out by the rockies in denver losing12-0. making matters most, this may be the last time we eve

a group of five known people and a sixth that is unknown in terms of identity and deborah ramirez and quite a small circle. not these additional people the likes of whom robin and i have spoken to who could corroborate the behavior at the time, went what went on socially, what kind of context judge kavanaugh was operating in back then, that input has not been sought to the best of our knowledge. >> robin, as briefly as you can, do you think once the -- i guess the fbi is not going to be made public. maybe it will be leaked more and more but once the vote happens depending on which way it goes will you keep reporting this story? >> that's a very good question. we have very much felt like we're up against the clock in terms of trying to shake out every possible piece of information that might be relevant but there is the sinking feel nug ing that to so extent this is a fait accompli and the door has closed and i'm not sure barring more drastic revelation that this will just kind of fade in memory ultimately and it will be over. >> i smiled when you were asking the question, christiane,

the attorney for deborah ramirez, accuser from yale says that they, the ramirez team, gave the fbi at of 20 names to also interview. her legal team said, quote, there may be additional witnesses that can afore further corroboration, but we likely will never know given that your agents were barred from investigating. these were potential witnesses never interviewed although there weren't eyewitnesses. they were corroborating witnesses, people that heard about it, not people who saw it. does that matter? people are not saying yes i saw this, they were hearsay witnesses or others that deborah ramirez may have told this happened or this happened? >> i think it does matter. either you conduct a thorough investigation or you don't. we mentioned that the fbi was under a deadline here. one thing we don't yet know is what was the parameter? what parameters were set on the fbi from the white house in order to conduct this background investigation? we reported it was limited in scope. the white house was saying, no, the fbi had free rein. that's a major question, what was that scope? what were

an new statement for the attorney for deborah ramirez. debby ramirez spoke to the fbi for two hours this sunday. detailed and productive interview and the agents were clearly motivated to investigate the matter in any way permitted. miss ramirez identified a number of witnesses and the end of the interview her lawyers provided the fbi the names and known contact information of additional witnesses totaling more than 20, to your point, who may have corroborating information. although we do not know the status of the investigation. we're not aware of the fbi affirmatively reaching out to any of these witnesses though we appreciated the agents who responded on sunday. we have great concern the fbi is not conducting or being permitted to conduct a serious investigation." >> in terms of how this plays out, nicolle, is the fbi in the short timeframe going to reach out, fan out across the country, speak to all these potential witnesses including the people as well who have information like the text messages that we wrote about, about what brett

sources say deborah ramirez stood by her claim that kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a dorm room partyshe reportedly gave the agents a list of witnesses to corroborate her story. so far attorneys for christine blasey ford say she has not been contacted by the fbi. ford has already testified at length about her allegations that kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were in high school. >>> fired fbi director james comey believes the fbi is up to the task despite the time constraint and divisive political climate. in "the new york times," comey criticized putting a seven-day clock on the kavanaugh investigation but he did say agents could quickly interview scores of people and follow leads unless they're limited by the trump administration. comey said one week to find facts is better than no investigation at all and he added that it's not as hard as republicans hope it would be. >>> the massachusetts senator elizabeth warren acknowledging that she is seriously thinking about taking on president trump in 2020. warren was asked about a possible white house run during a town hall meeti

one person interviewed yesterday is deborah ramirez. she came forward with the allegation that kavanaugh exposed him sefself to her at a party at yale. >> the fbi has free reign tweeting yesterday. democrats only thinking of obstruct and delay are looking at the time and scope of judge kavanaugh and witnesses is not enough. for them it will never been enough. now the top democrat on the senate judiciary committee wants the white house to explain which marching orders it gave to the fbi. boris sanchez has the latest from the white house. >> reporter: christine and dave, dianne feinstein putting out a statement sunday afternoon demanding the white house counsel and christopher wray give the directive the white house is giving to the fbi. the parameters of the fbi probe into judge kavanaugh in the accusations he acted inappropriately at a party in the summer of 1982. feinstein saying the stakes are too high. she is essentially responding to the reporting of cnn and others that the white house is guiding the parameters of the investigation

time as an undergraduate at yale, her attorney says that deborah ramirez herself did meet with the fbi and she also gave the fbi agents who interviewed her a list of other witnesses who could corroborate elements of her story. according to ramirez's attorney, though, nothing ever seems to have become of that list. according to her attorney, quote, they are not aware of the fbi ever affirmatively reaching out to any of those witnesses, not to any of the names that were given to them on that list. so that raises real questions as to the scope of this fbi review. it renews questions about whether or not the fbi has been operating under tight constraints for this investigation set by the white house or by the white house counsel's office, restraints on what they were allowed to look and who they were allowed to talk to. again, there has been conflicting, contradictory reports on this, and we do not have a clear window on those restraints at all. there are also open questions now about whether or not we the public will be allowed to see any of the report prepared by the fbi as a result of t

say so far agents have not spoken to her, the fbi has talked with kavanaugh's second accuser, deborah ramirezle classmate who claims kavanaugh exposed himself at a dorm party. a source tells abc news ramirez provided a list of witnesses. on "60 minutes", democrat chris coons and republican jeff flake, who forced the investigation, agreeing -- >> if judge kavanaugh is shown to have lied to the committee, nomination is over? >> oh, yes, i would think so. >> reporter: investigators do not plan to interview kavanaugh's classmates who contradict his testimony about his drinking. >> isn't that relevant given there clearly was drinking going on? at least it's alleged at the party? >> no. i think you're trying to portray him as a stumbling, bumbling drunk, gang rapist. >> a former college friend trying this letter in the new york sometimes saying, quote, in denying the possibility that he ever blacked out while drinking and in down playing the degree of his drinking brett has not told the truth. also not being questioned, julie swetni swetnick. she claims she witnessed kavanaugh mistreat women at par

the fbi has talked with kavanaugh's second accuser, deborah ramirez, a yale classmate who claims kavanaugh exposed himself at a dorm party. a source tells abc news ramirez provided investigators with a list of witnesses. on "60 minutes," democrat chris coons and republican jeff flake who forced the investigation agreeing -- >> if judge kavanaugh is shown to have lied to the committee, nomination is over? >> yes. i would think so. >> as you're sitting there listening to dr. ford, what are you hearing? what are you thinking? >> i'm hearing a very smart, anguished person who did not want to be testifying in front of us, and meanwhile my phone is just blowing up. it was stunning, the number of people i heard from during the hearing. >> and they were saying what? >> you have known me a very long time, and i was raped as a child and i have never told anyone before right now, and i'm sharing it with you. >> reporter: the investigators do not plan to interview kavanaugh's classmates who contradict his testimony about his drinking. >> now isn't that relevant given that there clearly was drinking go

also on the list, deborah ramirez, who has accused kavanaugh ofin expos himself at a college dorm otpartyallegation he denied. nbc news has obtained this photo of kavanaugh and ramirez a a wedding ten years after the alleged incident, and text messages that a mutual friend says appear tohow kavanaugh directly communicating with friends he hoped would refute ramirez's claims. still unclear whether investigators will questione ju swetnick, who came forward through her lawyer and fiercep tr critic michael avenatti last week, accusing kavanaugh of in high sconduc school. another allegation he denies. >> should the fbi intervi all three of brett kavanaugh's accusers? >> it wouldn't bother me at all. now, it dodepends. t know all three of the accusers. certainly i imagine they're going to interview two. the third one, i don't know much about. but it wouldn't bother me at i mean i've been -- i've heard that the trd one has -- i have no idea if this is true -- has very littleil credy. if there is any credibility, interview the third one. >> reporter: in a new interview with nbc news' kate snow, s

a source familiar with the investigation tells nbc the fbi has interviewed deborah ramirez, the woman who claims kavanaugh exposed himself to her in college. our source says she provided a list of people who can back up her story. the fbi will also reportedly interview kavanaugh's high school friend, mark judge. dr. christine blasey ford testified judge was there during her alleged assault. but sources tell us no interview is scheduled for the third accuser, julie swetnick. >> the allegation that she makes is outrageous. not one democrat mentioned it. >> reporter: democrats say the white house is handicapping this investigation from the start by limiting witnesses. >> i wanted to use the word farce, but that's not the kind of investigation that all of us are expecting the fbi to conduct. >> reporter: president trump tweets "the fbi can interview whoever they want." >> the white house is not micromanaging this process. >> reporter: their investigation is supposed to wrap up in a week. but our sources are also telling us that the fbi is not scheduled, not planning to talk to any of the

from work to say that he had been ronan farrow, and that brett supposedly had exposed himself to deborah ramirez, and everybody knows the other part. so monday evening around on september 17th was the first time i knew exactly what the allegation was. >>> had you heard the story, the allegations made by ms. ramirez back in the day? >> i had not. i should say -- i knew deb -- she went by deb, and i knew brett. a lot of close mutual friends. i liked both of them. i didn't always hang out with the crowd that either of them were in, but was definitely friendly. yale's a pretty intimate environment. we have a great residential college system. people know each other. i knew all the people well, but i did not have information of that when we were freshmen. >> you came forward, and my final question, did you reach out to them? because my assumption is, based on my research on you, you saided to speak to the fbi. >> yeah. so last saturday, one week ago to right now, it hit me like a brick in the face. i was bothered by the information i was told on a phone and in a text, that brett had reached out to try

can find who are still trapped in the rubble. >>> a source tells cnn the fbi has spoken with deborah ramirezs investigation into supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh. ramirez accused kavanaugh of exposing himself to her at a party. he said it never happened. ramirez gave names to the fbi. sources say christine blasey ford and george kavanaugh are not on the initial list of witnesses. both testified before the senate judiciary committee last week, but there is another woman who wants to talk to investigators. we have more on that story from cnn's sarah sidner. >> reporter: the newly ordered fbi background investigation has begun into supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh. after questions over its scope, the president responded with this. >> the fbi i believe is doing a really great job. they have been all over it. 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 never even thought of. >> reporter: so far it appears fbi agents are focusing on the accusations of two women, deborah ramirez who says she met kavanaugh whil

abc news has confirmed that investigators interviewed deborah ramirez. a yale classmate who has accused kavanaugh of exposing himself at a party. also on the list, mark judge. allegedly the third person in the room during the alleged assault of dr. christine blasey ford. and president trump ordered the fbi investigation after ford's testimony in which she described a drunken kavanaugh putting his hand over her mouth and groping her. kavanaugh denies all allegations. but what once looked like a clear path to the supreme court is for now on hold. here's kyra phillips. >> reporter: tonight, the most closely watched and highly scrutinized background investigation in our nation's history is under way. abc news has learned the fbi has conducted its first interview with deborah ramirez. she alleges kavanaugh exposed himself to her while a student at yale university. an allegation she stood by today. kavanaugh denies the accusation. the president saying the fbi will have free reign in its probe. >> they'll be doing things that we never even thought of and hopefu

republicans declared victory announcing the fbi had found no corroboration or for the claim by deborah ramirez that kavanaugh exposed himself to her in college, an allegation he denies as well. it's hard to find corroboration if you're not even looking for it. the headlines speak for themselves, fbi probe ignored testimonies from former classmates, fbi background check appears to have been highly curtailed, white house approval to talk to kavanaugh and ford. besides being an obvious whitewash the fbi's report does nothing to address concerns s about kavanaugh's misleading or outright false statements in his sworn testimony last week or his partisan belligerent performance. according to a report, retired supreme court justice, john paul stevens, a lifelong republican , said today that kavanaugh's pu performance alone should be disqualifying. tonight on the eve of that key procedural vote it all comes t down to four undecided senators, heidi hidecamp announced she's t no on kavanaugh, citing doubts on the temperament, honesty and impartiality and the force on dr. ford's testimony. that leaves ka

as you pointed out more than 40 witnesses that they did not talk to, and deborah ramirez' attorney delivered a statement from a college classmate of hers to corroborate her accounted, and they refused to follow-up with that witness. any way you look at the investigation, it was not thorough, and appears to be designed, you know, carefully to give susan collins and jeff flake an excuse to vote yes for the nominee. the one thing that we keep missing is about no corroboration, and no corroboration is that it does is set up a false choice here. the testimony from christine blasey ford was evidence. it may not be corroborated by other witnesses in the room, but it was evidence, and the republican senators whether they have corroboration or not, they have to be faced with with a choice of whether they believe her or not, and so they don't want to answer that question, so they have come up with a new dynamic and investigation that does not ask the right questions and to get the right answers, and so it is an extremely cynical act by everyone involved. >> the fbi investigation that was a one-week ex

ford and deborah ramirez brought up. none of these other allegations about did he fully tell truth about his level of drinking. the last few people have talked about whether judge kavanaugh was a stumbling drunk or would have blacked out in contrast to his testimony. that was not part of the fbi's mandate here. >> i know that chuck rosenburg wants to jump in on that. the news in north dakota, we can report. this is from wday. a local affiliate in north dakota who sat down and did a one-on-one with senator heidi heighkamp. she says she will vote no on the supreme court nominee judge brett kavanaugh. that means that's one of those five taken out of unknown box and put into the no box. puts a lot more pressure on collins and murkowski. still, again, we don't know where senator manchin will go. whether he will vote yes or no. we don't know the motivation for heighkamp. if she says i'm down in the polls or trying to drum up the democratic base. chuck respond to peter in terms of what he was talking about in the fbi investigat

did interview another accuser, deborah ramirez, who has alleged that judge kavanaugh exposed himself to her during their freshman year at yale. however, dozens of others sought to bring evidence forward, and the f.b.i. ignored their willingness to offer testimony. again, key witnesses, including judge kavanaugh and dr. ford, were not even interviewed by the f.b.i. the f.b.i. was so constrained by the white house in this matter, that i would not call this an investigation. this is unjust. this sends a harrowing message to women and girls all around the nation who have been victims of sexual violence. we must not toss aside a fair and impartial process in favor of a hurried political end game. before we take one of the most consequential votes that any of us will ever take, shouldn't we want to get to the bottom of this? even beyond what we could learn from a real investigation, there is already reason to doubt judge kavanaugh's credibility and his candor. despite the fact that the white house tried to limit the scope of the f.b.i.'s work so drastically that i wouldn't characterize it

on sunday, investigators spoke to deborah ramirez, who accused kavanaugh of exposing himself to her at a party, when both were students at yale. kavanaugh has vehemently denied the allegation, but a source tells cnn ramirez provided the fbi with names of potential witnesses to the incident. other people the fbi has spoken with, leland kaiser and pj smith, both were identified by christine blasey ford as being at the party where her assault allegedly occurred. they told the senate judiciary committee they don't recall the party or the incident, but are willing to cooperate with the fbi. >> i drank beer with my friends. almost everyone did. >> reporter: after kavanaugh's extensive testimony thursday, down playing the extent of his drinking in high school and college -- >> so you're saying there's never been a case where you drank so much that you didn't remember what happened the night before or part of what happened. >> that's -- you're asking about -- yeah, blackout. i don't know, have you? >> could you answer the question, judge? i just -- to -- you -- that's not happened. is that you

but on sunday, the fbi did speak to deborah ramirez. a source familiar with the conversation says ramirez provided a list of witnesses that can corroborate her allegation that kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a party, an allegation kavanaugh denies. the fbi will be talking to chad ludington who says that he was deeply troubled by what has been a blatant mischaracterization by brett himself of his drinking at yale. adding, when brett got drunk, he was often belligerent and aggressive. president trump insists the white house isn't putting limits on the fbi. >> they have free rein. they will do what they do. >> reporter: tweeting on saturday, i want them to interview anybody that is appropriate. the fbi has received no new instructions changing the limits imposed by the white house counsel office on the investigation. according to a senior u.s. official and another source familiar with the matter. those limit the sources include a specific witness list that does not include julie swetnick, who came forward through her lawyer, michael ave

deborah ramirez submitted a lengthy list of about 20 witn s witnesses for fbi agents to interview, fewe even contacted. >> let's get insight from jack quinn and former fbi assistant director chris weker. jack, let me ask you this. why would the fbi not cross-examine the people who are in effect the two main witnesses or alleged witnesses to this, kavanaugh and ford? is that normal for a background investigation? >> first, this supplemental investigation in itself is not entirely normal. this is out of the regular process. any limitation that was put on the fbi was not self-imposed. any limitation that was put on it, any restriction in terms of people to whom they might speak or subjects they mouth bring up was imposed, i believe, by the white house. >> senate republicans. >> well, yeah, but the drivers in all of this is the white house. and the senate republicans. they're working hand in glove together, but it's the president's nominee, the president's team that wants desperately to get brett kavanaugh through, as fast as possible. because look, in the last week, during the time when t

so far just one of his accusers has been interviewed by the fbi, deborah ramirez. the other two, christine blasey ford and julie swetnick have not sf as far as nbc knows. swetnick's allegations, as you just heard us discuss, are not nearly as clear. she sat down with kate snow and laid out what she alleges happened at parties she said she attended with kavanaugh and mark judge. >> i was physically assaulted in every way you could possibly physically assault a woman. it was horrible. i had no way to fend them off. >> you know what i'm going to ask. everyone is wondering if one of those people was brett kavanaugh. >> i cannot specifically say that he was one of the ones who assaulted me. but before this happened to me at that party, i saw brett kavanaugh there, i saw mark judge there, and they were hanging about the area where i started to feel disoriented and were the room was and where the other boys were hanging out and laughing. i saw him push girls against walls. he would pretend to stumble and stumble into them and knock them into a wall. he'd push his body aga

but the fbi has also reached out to deborah ramirez, a former classmate of kavanaugh's at yale who says he thrusted his genitals into her face during a party. the fbi probe was launched after republican senator jeff flake of arizona announced he would not support kavanaugh's confirmation on the floor without a new investigation into the allegations. >> i have been speaking with a number of people on the other side. we have conversations ongoing for a while with regard to making sure that we do due diligence here, and i think it delay theroper to floor vote for up to, but not more than, one week in order to let the fbi continue -- to do an investigation, limited in time and scope, to the current allegations that are there. limited in time to no more than one week. and i will vote to advance the with thate floor understanding. amy: senator jeff flake's remarks shocked his republican colleagues who were hoping to quickly push ahead with a full confirmation vote for kavanaugh. flake's move to stall the vote came just hours after he was confronted in a senate elevator by two survivors of sex

but the fbi has also reached out to deborah ramirez, a former classmate of kavanaugh's at yale who says he thrust his genitals into her face during a party. while the fbi has talked to ramirez, nbc news reports agents have not followed up on claims by their mutual friends that kavanaugh asked them to go on the record in his defense prior to the publication of an article in "the new yorker" outlining her allegations. former yale classmate kerry berchem says she tried to give the fbi text messages proving that kavanaugh and/or his friends "may have initiated an anticipatory narrative" as early as july in order to "conceal or discredit" ramirez. amy: nbc reports brett kavanaugh tried to obtain a photograph at -- from a 1997 wedding "in order to show himself smiling alongside ramirez 10 years after they graduated." while the two did appear in the same group photo, a friend of ramirez said she attempted to stay far away from kavanaugh and his friends during the wedding. kavanaugh reportedly initiated the contact with former classmates before "the new yorker" published its report about ramire

six have been identified, including one of his accusers, deborah ramirez. notably not interviewed, christine blasey ford, whose allegation prompted the investigation, nor did they talk to judge kavanaugh. there was one notable profile in courage today. i must say, north dakota democratic senator heidi heitkamp, who's locked in a very tough re-election battle out there, announced her decision to vote against kavanaugh. >> the process has been bad, but at the end of the day, you have to make a decision. and i've made that decision. >> and that decision will be what, senator? >> i will be voting "no" on judge kavanaugh. >> well, in a statement, heitkamp noted she voted for justice neil gorsuch, but added, when i listened to dr. ford testify, i heard the voices of women i have known throughout my life who have similar stories of sexual assault and abuse. other democrats expressed frustration a that the fbi had not spoken to ford nor a host of other potential witnesses in connection with the probe. >> the most notable part of this report is what's not in it. it

so they will be talking to, rdong others, deborah ramirez, dr.k judge, some of these others that have been identified publicly as individuals who may ve information. it could also extend to visit who are former classmates at yale who can talk about more than just potential sexual assaults but, you know, his drinking habits, his other kinds of behaviors, perhaps when he t d drank too much. so there are a people that they can talk to, and those people c tell them about others that they can then follow up with. >> you mentioned the word derogatory, explain the significance of that in terms of what kind of questions the f.b.i. investigators are asking when th talk to these people. >> yeah, another great question, because, again, this is a determining if this individual is suitable for the job for which he has been nominated. so they're going to look at character, they're going to look at associations, they're going to look at his reputation, loyalty to the united states, not an individual, biases ores potential biability to do the job, and then, of c

blasey ford as well as deborah ramirez who could have been interviewed. we saw how the process went from originally four individuals being interviewed unp to nine, ten contacted. we don't have the story about why one was contacted but did not submit to an interview. it was a voluntary process. it's standard that these background check information reports are not made public, but there's some talk among senators in both parties, could there be some kind of summary that could be made public. that's still to be determined. as garrett was outlining, this is a process where senators can view it themselves, or they can be briefed by staff who have looked at the raw data, which is what you really find in this report, individual interviews, and then trying to kebt tconnec dots. what does it all mean. that's kind of what the select staff who's in a position to brief members can help them do, especially those not on the judiciary committee who were not a part of all of the behind the scenes work to prepare for this confirmation process. remember, it's gone from the

they have also spoken to deborah ramirez. ramirez, as you pointed out, has already given investigators a list of a dozen more people they can speak with. senate democrats added 20 more names so that list. but we are still at a place we don't know what is the mandate the fbi has and how deep they will go into some of these witnesses being potentially presented to them as part of this investigation. but president trump today later is going to be once again hitting the campaign trail. this time in mississippi. this could be another opportunity for him to back brett kavanaugh. the president's words critical to this because it signals to republicans where he stands on his own nominee. poppy? >> thanks very much at the white house. several gop senators say they want a real investigation. manu raju is on capitol hill. do they believe they can get that real investigation under the time limit that has been set, of basically a week? >> reporter: the republicans senators have been told by the fbi, by the justice department that they beli

and deborah ramirez. all allegedly at the party. ram ra ramirez alleges a second incident of misconduct. we have learned that judge, smyth, koois irand ramirez have been interviewed by the fbi at least once. judge's attorney says his client's interview has not been completed. the president said the fbi should talk to whomever they want. >> what i said is let the senate decide. whatever they want to do is okay with me. and also the fbi. i think the fbi should do what they have to do to get to the answer. i don't know all three of the accusers. certainly i imagine they're going to interview two. the third one, i don't know much about, but it wouldn't bother me at all. >> now that third accuser is julie swetnik. she has alleged that he attended parties where rapes took place, an allegation that kavanaugh has denied. senate democrats have drawn up a list of more than 2 dozen people they want contacted. "new york times" says deborah ramirez has given the fbi more than 20 names and we know the fbi has already spoken to people like a forme

vestigators have now spoken to kavanaugh's second accuser, deborah ramirez, a classmate from yale. most of the coursesources, tell news, thes fbi limiting this probe. the fbi has been, quote, ed handcu the white house is disputing that. but some democrats are warning those restraints could turn the investigation into a farce. this morning, we're getting a clearer picture that some of those the fbi is talking to, in the race to meet friday's deadline, of background nomination into brett kavanaugh. christine blasey rd's leg team telling nbc news, dr. ford has not been contacted by the fbi. but on sunday, the fbi did speak to debah ramirez. source familiar with the conversation, says provided a list of witnesses that can corroborate her allegation that kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a party, an allegation kavanaugh denie denies. ame deeply troubled by what has been a blatant mischaracterization of brett hielf of his drinking at yale. ding, when brett g drunk, he was often belligerent and aggrespve. presiden insists the white house isn't putting limits on the fbi. >> they have fre

beforeth the senate judiciary committee to refusing to call other key witnesses like dark judge, deborah ramirez and others and to put them on under oath. it is astonishing that all members on the committee abdicated their responsibilities and they dodged public scrutiny by bringing in a female their job anddo questioned doctor ford. it's just plain political cowardice and women in new mexico and around the country are watching. after hearing her testimony and reviewing the record, i believe doctor ford. it's worth noting that no republican senator said she isn't credible, not a single one has said she'sre not credible. the majority whip said and i quote, i find no reason to find her not credible. the president found her testimony, very compelling that she is a credible witness. although true to formm the president changed the course and insulted her in front of you laughing crowd in front of television cameras. yet another new low for the president's treatment of women. the testimony was all the more compelling because she was able to expertly explained how the memory is here by narrow transmit

close to judge were in communication withe his yale classmates to get them -- allegations by deborah ramirez later published in "the new yorker." beyond the unseemliness of a federal judge pressuring former class a mates to support his nomination -- classmates to support hisha nomination, it ses judge kavanaugh was at least very misleading to judiciary committee about ms. ramirez's story. when asked by senator hatch when he first heard of ramirez's allegations, he answered, quote, in "the new yorker" story. based on the nbc reports, if they're correct, that was not truthful. and it would be one thing if thatat were one isolated incide. habut again, there are far too many misstatements, far too many inaccuracies, far too many misexacterrizations. he pled ignorance to many bush era controversies only for e-mails to be released showing he was aware of them all and played a role in many. he offered explanation for high school yearbook quotes. and it's not the quotes themselves or what they indicated, it's his explanations sort of defy belief. and, of course, based on the accounts by his high sch

the judge were in communication with his dealm classmates to get them to rebut allegations by deborah ramirez later published in the new yorker. the -- federal judge pressuring former classmates to support his nomination, it seems that judge kavanaugh was at least very misleading to the judiciary committee about ms. ramirez is story. when asked by senator hatch when you first heard of her allegations he answered, , thou, in the new yorker story. first heard, based on nbc report if they are correct, that was not truthful. and it would be one thing if ever oneou isolated incident. but again, there are far too many statements, far too many inaccuracies, far too many mischaracterizations. he put it much too many bush era controversies, only through emails released it surely he was aware of a them all and played a role in many. he offered explanation for high school yearbook quotes, and it's not the courts themselves what the indicated. it's his explanation sort of defy belief. and, of course, based on the accounts by its high school and college classmates he has grossly mischaracterized his with

bebÍa hasta perder la conciencia. >> con la nueva investigaciÓn en marcha le llego el turno a deborah ramÍrez en una fiesta a principios de la dÉcada de los 80. ramÍrez supuestamente entregÓ el fbi una lista de testigos que la respaldan. pero la casa blanca dicen que estÁ poniendo un mÁximo de cuatro testigos. pone las personas que asistiÓ a la fiesta y deborah ramÍrez. la casa blanca no interviene, estamos administrando este proceso que es del senado y lo ha sido desde principio dijo la secretaria de prensa. dice que nunca serÁ suficiente para los demÓcratas que intentan mantener a brett en el banquillo. para charles otro excompaÑero que sorpresivamente escribiÓ una carta al new york times. dice que son mentiroso al decir que nunca se desmayÓ al beber. para algunos senadores los resultados de la investigaciÓn deben ser convincentes. esto ocurre cuando la corte suprema comienza este lunes un nuevo periodo. aunque los republicanos esperaban confirmar a brett antes la silla sigue vacÍa. >> y ahora no se sabe hasta cuando la corte suprema se instala hoy con ocho jueces. los demÓcratas exigen que

de violaciÓn y una amiga de la doctoram una de las personas que asistiÓ a la fiesta ese dÍa y deborah ramÍrezcrata del comitÉ judicial . niegan que estÉn implicando que el fbi esteviendo a quiÉn entrevistarÍa quiÉn no. esta asesora presidencialafirma que todos pueden decir la verdad. afirma que ford fue atacada pero se confunde.ford afirma estar 100% segura. su testimonio mÁs dramático fue cuando revelÓ que ella tambiÉn es una vÍctima de asalto sexual. los demÓcratas consideran esencial, que se entreviste a julie, de poner droga en la bebida a las jÓvenes para que luego fueron violadas en grupo. aÑadiendo que Él fue testigo de las violaciones. el fbi va a poner a prueba todo lo que han hecho los testigos y si mienten, podrÍan encarar penas de cÁrcel, dice este exagente del fbi. otros se preguntan si lo que se averigua, marcarÁ alguna diferencia. " se decidido lo que voy hacer", afirma este senador republicano. >>esto es un chiste, esta persona no debe estar en la post que tiene ahorita y menos a la corte suprema. >> la investigaciÓn del fbi, durÓ tres dÍas. >>el liderazgo republicano del sena

deborah ramirez who alleges cavanaugh exposed himself to her was interviewed by the fbi. she told the new yorker that people who were key to cooperating my story have not been contacted. i feel like i have been silence. >> democrats agreed that the investigation should be limited. we do not agree that the white house should tie the fbi's hands. >> reporter: with a investigation complete republicans are pushing ahead for a final vote on the confirmation. >> we are confident, after reviewing this information that he will be -- we will be voting yes. there was a limited scope of the investigation. >> i don't think you have done that much to give them much political cover. it is not been that widespread. >> reporter: there will be a procedural vote tomorrow with the final vote likely coming saturday. do you. >>> right now, a live look in washington dc were protesters are marching through the streets in opposition to judge cavanaugh's nomination to the supreme court. today is a national day of action. marches are planned throughout the country. >>> a bay area man who was cavan

finally, deborah ramirez was the second accuser who claimed that brett kavanaugh exposed himself to her during a dorm room party at yale in the early 1980s. kavanaugh denied all of the claims and we do know three other people were also interviewed, but we don't know their identities. >> who didn't the fbi talk to? >> two big names not interviewed. christine blasey ford herself and brett kavanaugh. democrats including today, dianne feinstein said an investigation without their input was incomplete. the white house counsel's office pushed back in recent days, saying that all senators had the time to get their stories because the hearing was just last week and both of them testified. christine blasey ford's attorneys are not satisfied and released this statement. they said an fbi supplemental back ground investigation did not include an interview of dr. christine blasey ford nor the witnesses who corroborate her testimony. they cannot be called an investigation. we are profoundly disappointed that after the sacrifice she made coming forward, those directing the fbi investigation were not i

. >> cnn learned the fbi spoke to deborah r debor deborah ramirez on sunday. there's no indication the fbi plans to speak with julie swetnick. >> the swetnick thing is a joke, it's a farce. >> two sources tell cnn that kavanaugh and christine blasey ford were not on the official witness list given by senate republicans to the white house, but that "a" weagents were expeo talk to witnesses she said were at the party when she was assaulted. >> reporter: the stakes for the fbi probe higher and higher by the day, meanwhile president trump is going to have a campaign rally in tennessee. >>> joining us now, cnn senior political reporter and a former fbi agent and cnn political analyst is john avalon. what do you think of the scope and the parameters of this? is this investigation a sham as some democrats worry? >> alisyn, it's definitely not going to get to the truth or anything close to the truth if the fbi does not have the latitude to interview the relevant people that come up in the course of their investigation. in my opinion, you would start actually with chri