'No Verifiable Evidence': Final Investigation Clears Kavanaugh, but Security Concerns Spark Unusual Step

WASHINGTON – Despite the Senate Judiciary Committee having just cleared Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct allegations in a new report, the vitriol that plagued his contentious confirmation hearings continues.

Bloomberg reports the situation is raising security concerns for Kavanaugh, prompting the newly minted justice to skip the traditional walk down the high court's front steps during next week's formal investiture ceremony.

The 53-year-old justice faced charges of misconduct from several accusers, including Christine Blasey Ford, an American professor of psychology at California's Palo Alto University.

During testimony before the Senate panel in late September, the psychology professor alleged she was the victim of an attempted sexual assault by Kavanaugh and another boy at a house party in the 1980s.

But in a tweet Saturday, the committee indicated they found the charges to be baseless after speaking with 45 individuals and taking 25 written statements.

According to The Hill, the 414-page report states committee investigators "found no verifiable evidence that supported" Ford's allegation against Kavanaugh.

"The witnesses that Dr. Ford identified as individuals who could corroborate her allegations failed to do so, and in fact, contradicted her," the panel said in its report.

In addition, the panel is dismissing allegations from two other accusers: Deborah Ramirez and Julie Swetnick.

Both Swetnick and her attorney, Michael Avenatti, have been referred for a criminal investigation to the Justice Department regarding their conduct during the Kavanaugh proceedings.

"Indeed, the evidence appears to support the position that Julie Swetnick and Mr. Avenatti criminally conspired to make materially false statements to the Committee and obstruct the Committee's investigation," the report notes.

Kavanaugh, who has emphatically denied any wrongdoing, was sworn in as the nation's 114th Supreme Court justice on Oct. 6.  Some Democrats have threatened to launch impeachment efforts against Kavanaugh if they win control of Congress in the midterm elections on Nov. 6.