Thread by @kasie

A woman has made a vague allegation of sexual misconduct against Judge Brett Kavanaugh dating back to his high school day, two sources tell me.

The allegation, outlined in a brief letter, is not specific and could cover a range of conduct, one source said ...

The woman who made the allegation will have to be more specific with law enforcement officials if any investigation into the matter is to proceed, I am told.

My sources tell me the allegation could be sexual assault, but may also allege lesser offenses.

The ranking member, Dianne Feinstein, has been in possession of the letter for some time, but other Democrats on the committee first learned of it in a meeting Wednesday night.

That’s when the matter was referred to the FBI for further investigation.

Normally, allegations like these would be discussed in closed session after a nominee’s public hearing. That session took place last week, but this wasn’t raised — because most Democrats didn’t know about it.

Democrats have tried everything they can to stop Judge Kavanaugh from being confirmed to the Supreme Court, where he would fill the seat of retired Justice Anthony Kennedy, a critical swing vote in many 5-4 decisions.

But the reality is Democrats can’t stop him.

It’s not clear how this allegation will impact the process going forward. It depends what the woman making the allegation decides to do.

But in the “me too” era, this could have unpredictable consequences: The two key swing Republican votes, @SenatorCollins and @lisamurkowski, are both women. (Not to mention red state Democrat Heidi Heitkamp.)

NBC News (me & @frankthorp) contacted every Judiciary Committee Democrat. None would comment for the record; many referred us to Sen. Feinstein’s statement on the matter.

The sexual nature of the allegations was first reported by the @nytimes and the existence of the letter was first reported by @theintercept.

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