Trump Attacks Kavanaugh Accuser By Name Amid Negotiations For Hearing

September 21, 2018 / 7:52 am

caption: President Trump says Judge Brett Kavanaugh, his pick for the Supreme Court, is "under assault by radical left wing politicians."

President Trump has ended what had been a notably restrained response to the accusation by Christine Blasey Ford that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her more than 30 years ago.

In a series of tweets Friday, Trump cast doubt on Ford's charge, mentioning her by name for the first time: "I have no doubt that, if the attack on Dr. Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement Authorities by either her or her loving parents." Trump continued, "I ask that she bring those filings forward so that we can learn date, time, and place!"

In fact, according to Department of Justice statistics, as of 2016 only 23 percent of rapes or sexual assaults were reported to the police. In another tweet, Trump said that "radical left lawyers want the FBI to get involved NOW. Why didn't someone call the FBI 36 years ago?"

Trump's tweets follow an interview he gave to Fox's Sean Hannity Thursday night in Las Vegas, where he appeared at a rally, in which the president first questioned why the FBI hadn't been called at the time of the alleged assault (which would likely have been handled by local law enforcement).

"You say, why didn't somebody call the FBI 36 years ago?," Trump asked. "I mean, you could also say when did this all happen, what is going on?

"To take a man like this and besmirch — now, with that being said, let her have her say and let's see how it all works out. But I don't think you can delay it any longer."

The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing for Monday and had invited Kavanaugh and Ford to testify. In a letter to the committee, Ford's lawyers said that she would be open to appearing before the panel, but that an appearance Monday "was not possible." Ford's lawyers and Democrats on the panel want the FBI to investigate the charges.

Senate Judiciary Committee staff continue to negotiate with Ford's attorneys but say two of her requests discussed in a conference call with committee staff from both parties on Thursday — to have Kavanaugh testify first and for the committee to subpoena other witnesses like Mark Judge — are "non-starters," according to a senior Senate Republican source familiar with the discussions.

Asking Kavanaugh to go first is "not doable" according to the source, noting he would need to respond to any new accusation that comes up at the hearing.

The source notes that it is not standard procedure for another witness to dictate who else should testify and "that's not precedent we are going to follow."

The committee is expected to announce next steps later Friday. Ford has demanded that the hearing be scheduled for Thursday, which the source said is still among the things under negotiation.

Another issue being discussed is Ford's request that only senators on the panel question the witnesses. Senate judiciary staff has reached out to some outside female prosecutors about questioning Kavanaugh and Ford at the hearing, but no one has been hired for this role yet. Republicans are sensitive to the fact that only men serve on the GOP side of the judiciary committee.

Ford says that Kavanaugh groped her and tried to forcibly remove her clothes during a house party in Bethesda, Md., in early 1980s. Kavanaugh has denied the accusation.

In another tweet Friday morning, Trump called Kavanaugh "a fine man," who he said is under assault "by radical left wing politicians who don't want to know the answers, they just want to destroy and delay." Trump continued, "I go through this with them ever single day in D.C."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaking to conservative activists at the Value Voters Summit in Washington on Friday morning, expressed confidence Kavanaugh would be confirmed.