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Senate GOP Say FBI Report Clears Kavanaugh, Dems Say It Only Heightens Concerns

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- United States Senators are getting a chance to look at the FBI report into sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle took turns privately reviewing one copy of the confidential report Thursday.

The FBI's expanded background check excludes key witnesses, like the woman accusing Kavanaugh of sexual assault while the two were teenagers.

Democratic Senators want the report to be made public. Republicans says the report clears Kavanaugh's name, and they are pushing for a confirmation vote.

Minnesota Senator Tina Smith said she had one hour to review the report Thursday. She has always opposed Kavanaugh's confirmation, and says the new report only heightens her concerns.

"Judge Kavanaugh does not have my trust or confidence, and my concerns about his truthfulness only deepened from after having seen this information," Smith said. "I would like to add the depth of this reopened investigation was inadequate, that there are multiple people who could have answered questions that weren't asked in this investigation, and that is really unfortunate"

Smith told WCCO-TV that she was not able to go into details of the FBI reports due to Senate rules.

A vote to move Kavanaugh's nomination to the full Senate is expected Friday. A final vote could come as early as Saturday.

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