(Bloomberg) -- Lawyers for Christine Blasey Ford, who accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were in high school, criticized the FBI's investigation of the allegation as a "stain" on the bureau.
The letter was sent hours after senators on Thursday began viewing a supplemental FBI probe into the claim Kavanaugh attacked Ford at a gathering in 1982, and a separate misconduct allegation against the nominee by Deborah Ramirez.
"The ‘investigation' conducted over the past five days is a stain on the process, on the FBI and on our American ideal of justice," lawyers Debra Katz, Lisa Banks and Michael Bromwich wrote in a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray.
The lawyers took issue with the bureau's failure to interview Ford, who they say would have "provided corroborating evidence," including her medical records and her communications with Washington Post reporters who wrote about her allegations.
"Such an interview would have played a crucial role in providing the FBI with a full picture of all of the facts involved in this important and serious matter," the lawyers wrote.
Ford's lawyers also sent the names of eight additional witnesses -- including her husband, the person who conducted her polygraph test, and friends she told of the alleged assault -- the FBI could have interviewed.
Following Ford and Kavanaugh's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee last Thursday, the White House granted the FBI authority to conduct a limited supplemental background check into sexual misconduct allegations.
Other accusers included Ramirez, who said Kavanaugh exposed himself to her during a college party, and Julie Swetnick, who said Kavanaugh took part in efforts at parties during high school to get girls intoxicated so that groups of boys could have sex with them.
The FBI interviewed nine people and submitted summaries of its interviews to the White House late Wednesday. Republican senators who viewed the report Thursday said it was thorough and offered no new information, while Democrats said it was incomplete.
To contact the reporter on this story: Arit John in Washington at ajohn34@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Kevin Whitelaw at kwhitelaw@bloomberg.net, Justin Blum, Laurie Asséo
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