Here is my question: If there really was (is) something of substance to this, why didn't Feinstein turn it over to the FBI in July/early August? Instead of "I've got something from someone I can't identify about a subject I can't tell you about, and you can't see it, but I gave it to the FBI" on September 12th?
Let's say every word is true, and it's something that disqualifies him (politically or legally). There have been hundreds if not thousands of hours of senators, congressmen, aides, security etc....wasted on hearings for ...what? Political theater?
I get the feeling from the Ronan Farrow piece that Feinstein was trying to walk a bit of a tightrope - trying to honor the woman’s request for privacy whilst trying to verify if there was anything to it. And then other dems, who prefer the more Trump like confrontational approach, wanted to leak it all at which point she punted to the FBI.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news...ugh-stirs-tension-among-democrats-in-congress
The letter was also sent to the office of Senator Dianne Feinstein. As the ranking minority member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Feinstein was preparing to lead Democratic questioning of Kavanaugh during his
confirmation hearing weeks later. The woman contacted Feinstein’s office directly, according to multiple sources. After the interactions with Eshoo’s and Feinstein’s offices, the woman decided not to speak about the matter publicly. She had repeatedly reported the allegation to members of Congress and, watching Kavanaugh move toward what looked like an increasingly assured confirmation, she decided to end her effort to come forward, a source close to the woman said. Feinstein’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
Feinstein’s decision to handle the matter in her own office, without notifying other members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, stirred concern among her Democratic colleagues. For several days, Feinstein declined requests from other Democrats on the Judiciary Committee to share the woman’s letter and other relevant communications. A source familiar with the committee’s activities said that Feinstein’s staff initially conveyed to other Democratic members’ offices that the incident was too distant in the past to merit public discussion, and that Feinstein had “taken care of it.” On Wednesday, after media inquiries to the Democratic members multiplied, and concern among congressional colleagues increased, Feinstein agreed to brief the other Democrats on the committee, with no staff present.