White House defends Trump for mocking Kavanaugh accuser
Spokeswoman says US president was ‘stating the facts’ on alleged assault by Supreme Court nominee, accuses Democrats of ‘coordinated smear campaign’
WASHINGTON — White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders defended US President Donald Trump’s decision to go after the woman who has claimed she was sexually assaulted by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Sanders told reporters Wednesday at a rare White House briefing that “the president was stating the facts” at a Mississippi rally Tuesday night.
Sanders also blasted Democrats, accusing them of launching a “full-scale assault on” Kavanaugh’s integrity. She called it “a coordinated smear campaign.”
Three wavering Republican senators have lambasted Trump for going after Christine Blasey Ford. Just last week, Trump had described her testimony as “very credible.”
The blowback to Trump’s scoffing at Ford came as lawmakers awaited results of a revived FBI background check, expected imminently, on accusations of sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh in high school and college. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Republican-Kentucky) has said the chamber will vote on Kavanaugh later this week, and the conservative jurist’s fate is in the hands of a handful of undecided GOP and Democratic senators.
On NBC’s “Today” show Wednesday, Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, said that ridiculing “something this sensitive at a political rally is just not right.” Flake added, “I wish he hadn’t done it. It’s kind of appalling.”
Separately, Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine told reporters, “The president’s comments were just plain wrong,” and Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said they were “wholly inappropriate and in my view unacceptable.”
Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a tweet that people can “decide who to believe” but everyone should stop the “personal attacks” against Ford, Kavanaugh and their families.
GOP lawmakers expressed concern that Trump’s comments could make it harder to win over wavering colleagues whose votes will likely prove pivotal to Kavanaugh’s chances.
“All of us need to keep in mind there’s a few people that are on the fence right now. And right now, that’s sort of where our focus needs to be,” said Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, who has traded barbs with Trump and will retire at year’s end.
And speaking at an event hosted by The Atlantic magazine, Trump ally Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said he “didn’t particularly like” the president’s remarks, adding, “I would tell him, knock it off. You’re not helping.”
Trump’s statements on Ford have swung dramatically since her testimony. At first, he heeded the advice of aides and Republican leaders, praising Ford as a “very credible witness.” But he has sounded less convinced each time he has addressed the subject. By Monday, he was highlighting gaps in Ford’s memory.
Trump’s mockery reflected a growing frustration among some in the White House, and by the president, that her story has not received the same level of scrutiny as Kavanaugh’s, said a person close to the process who was not authorized to speak publicly.
As he flew aboard Air Force One to the Mississippi rally, Trump was also enraged by stories in The New York Times about Kavanaugh’s high school and college years and alleging tax avoidance efforts by the president and his family, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway on Wednesday echoed the president’s newly aggressive approach. She said Ford has “been treated like a Fabergé egg by all of us, beginning with me and the president.” She said Trump was merely “pointing out factual inconsistencies.”
“Have a vote on the man,” Conway said of Kavanaugh. “Vote him up or down.”
Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota have also yet to declare their positions on Kavanaugh.
Senators are preparing to vote on Kavanaugh as soon as late this week — and it’s expected to be close. Vice President Mike Pence, who would be brought in to break a tie, is due to campaign Monday in Texas for both Senator Ted Cruz and Representative Pete Sessions, but officials with both campaigns braced for changes.
Democrats contend the investigation has not been expanded to sufficient potential witnesses. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (Democrat-New York) has said he wants senators to receive an FBI briefing on its findings at least 24 hours before the chamber takes its first procedural vote on Kavanaugh, but Republicans have given no sign of assenting to that.
The FBI has finished an interview with Chris Garrett, a high school friend of Kavanaugh. Ford said she “went out with” Garrett for a few months in high school. Garrett’s lawyer, William Sullivan, said Garrett has voluntarily cooperated with the FBI’s reopened background check, but he declined to comment further.
Garrett is at the least fifth person known to have been interviewed since last Friday, when the White House directed the FBI to look again into the allegations.
Others interviewed include Mark Judge, who Ford has said was in the bedroom where, she says, a drunken Kavanaugh sexually attacked her at a 1982 high school gathering. Also interviewed were two others Ford said were present but in a different room: Patrick “P.J.” Smyth and Leland Keyser. Judge, Smyth and Keyser say they don’t recall the incident described by Ford.
The FBI has also questioned Deborah Ramirez, who says he exposed himself to her during a college party. But there are no indications agents have questioned Julie Swetnick, who has alleged she was victimized at a party attended by Kavanaugh and his friends.
Kavanaugh has denied the accusations by all three women.
The Times of Israel Community.