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FOX NEWS FIRST: Ex-boyfriend pokes holes in Christine Blasey Ford's story; FBI Kavanaugh probe could end Wednesday

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Christine Blasey Ford is sworn in before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018. (Win McNamee/Pool Photo via AP)

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Developing now, Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018

  • The claims of an ex-boyfriend of Christine Blasey Ford, the first woman to accuse Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, have cast doubt on her testimony last week at a Senate hearing
  • The FBI could finish its investigation of Kavanaugh as soon as Wednesday, a source told FOX News
  • Negotiations between Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team and President Trump's lawyers for a possible interview have stalled over the recent report that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein discussed secretly recording the president, FOX News has learned
  • President Trump personally led efforts to silence porn star Stormy Daniels and keep their alleged relationship a secret, according to one report
  • Two letters sent to the Pentagon tested positive for the poison ricin, the day after a 'suspicious' envelope addressed to President Trump was intercepted

THE LEAD STORY - CHRISTINE FORD'S HONESTY QUESTIONED: In a letter released Tuesday and obtained by FOX News, an ex-boyfriend of Christine Blasey Ford seemingly contradicts her testimony under oath last week that she had never helped anyone prepare for a polygraph examination ... The former boyfriend, whose name was redacted, also said Ford neither mentioned Kavanaugh nor said she was a victim of sexual misconduct during the time they were dating from about 1992 to 1998. He said he saw Ford helping a woman he believed was her "life-long best friend" prepare for a potential polygraph test. He added that the woman had been interviewing for jobs with the FBI and U.S. Attorney's office.

Under questioning from sex-crimes prosecutor Rachel Mitchell last week, Ford said that she had "never" had "any discussions with anyone ... on how to take a polygraph" or "given any tips or advice to anyone who was looking to take a polygraph test." In a letter Tuesday evening that referenced the ex-boyfriend's declaration, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley demanded that attorneys for Ford turn over her therapist’s notes and other key materials, and suggested she was intentionally less than truthful about her experience with polygraph examinations during Thursday's dramatic Senate hearing. The doubts about Ford's testimony surface as another Kavanaugh accuser, Julie Swetnick - who has made lurid, uncorroborated sexual assault allegations about the Supreme Court nominee - faces growing questions about her own credibility.

FBI INVESTIGATION OF KAVANAUGH WRAPPING UP? - The FBI may wrap up its investigation into misconduct accusations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as soon as late Wednesday, a source tells FOX News, potentially clearing the way for a final Senate vote on his confirmation within days ... If the FBI's report is indeed delivered to the White House on Wednesday, FOX News expects a vote on Kavanaugh's confirmation could come as soon as Saturday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., must first satisfy a number of procedural and parliamentary hurdles before a vote can be held, including filing a cloture petition (which must remain pending for a full day) in order to formally end debate on Kavanaugh's nomination. McConnell has vowed to hold a vote by the end of the week. Republicans command a narrow 51-49 majority in the Senate, giving them little margin for error.

ROSENSTEIN 'WIRE' STORY COMPLICATES MUELLER-TRUMP TALKS: Discussions between Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office and President Trump's legal team over the conditions of a possible presidential interview have "not terribly advanced" from where they were a couple of weeks ago, a source familiar with the talks told FOX News ... The source said negotiations hit a snag when the New York Times reported Sept. 21 that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had discussed secretly recording Trump and enlisting cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove the president from office. Rosenstein has called the Times report "inaccurate and factually incorrect" and at least one source has told FOX News that Rosenstein intended his comment about recording Trump to be sarcastic. Trump is tentatively scheduled to meet with Rosenstein at the White House later this week to discuss the report.

Also, the Associated Press reported that two prosecutors detailed to the Russia investigation for the past year are returning to their duties in other parts of the Justice Department. They join two other attorneys who left the team, assigned to investigate potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, over the summer.

NOT-SO-QUIET-STORM: President Trump personally directed the efforts to prevent porn star Stormy Daniels from publicly discussing their alleged sexual encounter, the Wall Street Journal reported ... According to the Journal, Trump had learned that Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was planning to give an interview about their alleged relationship, even though she had signed a non-disclosure agreement in October 2016. Last February, anonymous sources told the Journal, Trump ordered his then-lawyer Michael Cohen to seek a restraining order against Daniels and coordinate with his son, Eric Trump and another outside attorney who had represented him and the Trump Organization.

SUSPICIOUS ENVELOPES UNDER EXAMINATION: Authorities at the Pentagon found at least two packages suspected of containing ricin, a spokesman said Tuesday, the day after a suspicious envelope addressed to President Trump was discovered... A Pentagon spokesman confirmed to Fox News that two packages -- addressed to U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis and the Navy's top officer, Adm. John Richardson -- were suspected of containing ricin. The packages never made their way into the Pentagon, but were flagged in a mail delivery building next door Monday, the spokesman said. Initial tests were positive for ricin, a poison made from castor beans, but the FBI is now doing analysis to make final determinations.

Late Tuesday, the U.S. Secret Service said it had received a "suspicious envelope" addressed to President Trump the day before. The agency said the envelope "was not received at the White House, nor did it ever enter the White House." News of the suspicious packages in Washington came as authorities said two people were taken to a hospital after being exposed to a "white powdery substance" at Sen. Ted Cruz's office in Houston.

AS SEEN ON FOX NEWS

KAVANAUGH'S 'ICEGATE': "Whoever shall throw ice in a tavern is disqualified from service on the federal judiciary."  – Tucker Carlson, on "Tucker Carlson Tonight," ridiculing the allegation against Brett Kavanaugh that he threw an ice cube at a man "unprovoked" at a New Haven, Conn., bar in September 1985. Clearly, the Founding Fathers foresaw this kind of situation, Carlson riffed. WATCH

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#OnThisDay

2003: A tiger attacks magician Roy Horn of duo "Siegfried & Roy" during a performance in Las Vegas, leaving the illusionist in critical condition on his 59th birthday.

1995: The jury in the O.J. Simpson murder trial in Los Angeles finds the football legend not guilty of the 1994 slayings of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman. In 2008, 13 years to the day later, Simpson is found guilty of robbing two sports-memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a Las Vegas hotel room.

1991: Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton enters the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

FOX News First is compiled by FOX News' Bryan Robinson. Thank you for joining us! Enjoy your day! We'll see you in your inbox first thing Thursday morning.

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