Mysterious letter about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh ‘referred to FBI’ by Democrats

Only Senator Dianne Feinstein appears to know the contents of the letter

Senator Dianne Feinstein speaks at the 2018 California Democrats State Convention (Denis Poroy/AP)

Senate Democrats have referred a letter concerning Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh to the FBI for investigation.

The letter’s contents have been closely protected by veteran Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein and others on the Judiciary Committee, responsible for vetting Donald Trump’s second nominee for the highest court in the country.

Democratic Senator Dick Durbin confirmed to journalists the letter had been referred to the FBI and Ms Feinstein said: "I have received information from an individual concerning the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. That individual strongly requested confidentiality, declined to come forward or press the matter further”.

She added: "I have honoured that decision. I have, however, referred the matter to federal investigative authorities,” but reportedly, House Democrat Anna Eshoo of California was the one who received the letter first and gave it to Ms Feinstein.

The Intercept first reported the mysterious letter had come from a constituent in California.

Ms Eshoo represents the district around Stanford University and the letter may have come from there.

The outlet also reported sources told varying accounts of the contents of the letter, but “the one consistent theme was that it describes an incident involving Kavanaugh and a woman while they were in high school.”

The revelation about the mystery letter has spurred the Capitol Hill rumour mill as Ms Feinstein and Ms Eshoo have remained tight-lipped about the matter.

Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Republican Chuck Grassley, said he did not have a copy of the letter.

The news of it comes as Senators are divided by party lines over whether Mr Kavanaugh misled the committee by not fully disclosing all requested documents.

The White House dismissed the claims the letter contained damaging information about Mr Kavanaugh.

In a statement spokesperson Kerri Kupec said: “Throughout his confirmation process, Judge Kavanaugh has had 65 meetings with senators — including with Senator Feinstein — sat through over 30 hours of testimony, addressed over 2,000 questions in a public setting and additional questions in a confidential session. Not until the eve of his confirmation has Sen. Feinstein or anyone raised the specter of new ‘information’ about him”.

Mr Grassley scheduled the vote for Mr Kavanaugh - who would replace departing Justice Anthony Kennedy - on 20 September.