September 29, 2018

FBI background investigation into Kavanaugh is 'uncharted territory,' expert says

WATCH: FBI probe into Kavanaugh to be a 'special operation': Former FBI official

The FBI has entered "uncharted territory" with the reopening of the background investigation into Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, according to an expert.

On Friday, President Donald Trump ordered the FBI to reopen the background check into Kavanaugh after the Senate Judiciary Committee requested the president to make the request for a "supplemental" investigation with a week-long deadline.

Now, the FBI is likely "organizing their resources to ensure that every field office and every agent is available to conduct" the investigation within a week, said ABC News contributor and former FBI Special Agent in Charge Steve Gomez.

Jim Bourg/Reuters
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 27, 2018.

The investigation would be limited to the "current credible allegations," according to the statement from the Senate committee. That classification would fall under "any kind of allegation where there are witnesses that can be interviewed and any kind of information that can be gathered to determine whether the allegations are true or false," Gomez said.

Agents will conduct interviews, complete database checks and research people's criminal histories and any kind of civil litigation they've been involved with in the past, Gomez said, describing the background check as a "special operation." The interviews will be confidential and conducted by professionals who are experts with these types of allegations, he said.

(MORE: Trump orders additional FBI background probe)

"They are going to pursue every lead, every bit of information possible that comes up in the interviews so they are not going to stop until it’s done because this will now be raised to the highest priority category of investigation," he said.

These type of background checks are "very high priority" for the FBI, Gomez said. Both the bureau and the White House recognize that "time is of the essence" especially with the midterm elections coming up, the former special agent-in-charge said.

J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo
Protesters rally against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as the Senate Judiciary Committee debates his confirmation, Sept. 28, 2018, at the Supreme Court in Washington.

Gomez described the reopening of the investigation as a "political football game" that will likely "not have a resolution for both sides.

Still, Gomez supports the White House's and Senate committee's decision to request it.

"I think this is a good thing that they are going to conduct this investigation because clearly, everybody wants to know what happened amongst the recollections of those four to five people that were allegedly there at the party," he said. "So, it’s a question of what do they remember and what are they going to say in the FBI interviews."

(MORE: Republican Sen. Flake pushes for delay on full Kavanaugh vote after tense protester confrontation)

On the Senate floor Friday, Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake pushed for a delay of the full Senate vote. The motion came hours after protesters confronted him in a Capitol Hill elevator moments after he announced he would vote "yes" to confirm Kavanaugh.

"What you are doing is allowing someone who actually violating a woman to sit on the Supreme Court," one woman told Flake. "This is not tolerable."

Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA via Shutterstock
Ana Maria Archila Archila, co-executive director of the nonprofit Center for Popular Democracy Action, confronts Senator Jeff Flake in an elevator in Washington ahead of a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, Sept. 28, 2018. "On Monday, I stood in front of your office," Archila said, "I told the story of my sexual assault. I told it because I recognized in Dr. Ford's story that she is telling the truth. What you are doing is allowing someone who actually violated a woman to sit on the Supreme Court."

The attorney representing Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, the woman accusing Kavanaugh of sexual assault when they were in high school, said they appreciate the efforts of the senators who have supported that the FBI investigation be completed ahead of the Senate vote.

"A thorough FBI investigation is critical to developing all the relevant facts," said Debra Katz in a statement.

(MORE: Committee moves him forward, Flake suggests delaying Senate floor vote for FBI investigation)

Katz appeared to take an issue with the deadline, saying "no artificial limits as to time or scope should be imposed on this investigation."

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Professor Christine Blasey Ford testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for Kavanaugh on Capitol Hill, Sept. 27, 2018 in Washington.

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee heard explosive testimonies from Kavanaugh and Ford. Kavanaugh's confirmation will be finalized once the full Senate vote occurs.

ABC News' Jack Date contributed to this report.