FBI director faces new scrutiny over investigation of Brett Kavanaugh

Claim that FBI lacked authority to conduct further investigation into Kavanaugh may be inaccurate

The FBI director, Chris Wray, is facing new scrutiny of the bureau's handling of its 2018 background investigation of Brett Kavanaugh, including its claim that the FBI lacked the authority to conduct a further investigation into the then supreme court nominee.

At the heart of the new questions that Wray will face later this week, when he testifies before the Senate judiciary committee, is a 2010 Memorandum of Understanding that the FBI has recently said constrained the agency's ability to conduct any further investigations of allegations of misconduct.