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'She has nothing': Trump attacks second woman to accuse Brett Kavanaugh 'She has nothing': Trump attacks second woman to accuse Brett Kavanaugh
(about 3 hours later)
Donald Trump has attacked one of two women to accuse Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, saying she “has nothing” on his supreme court nominee and was “messed up” and drunk when the alleged incident took place, as he accused Democrats of running a “con game” to block Kavanaugh’s confirmation. Donald Trump has disparaged one of two women to accuse Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, saying she “has nothing” on his supreme court nominee and was “messed up” when the alleged incident took place, as he accused Democrats of running a “con game” to stop the nomination.
Trump, seated next to the Colombian president at the United Nations in New York, cast doubt on allegations brought by Deborah Ramirez, who alleged that she was harassed by Kavanaugh when they were both at Yale. Trump, seated next to the Colombian president at the United Nations in New York, cast doubt on allegations brought by Deborah Ramirez, who claimed that she was harassed by Kavanaugh when they were first-year students at Yale.
“The second accuser has nothing,” Trump said. “The second accuser thinks maybe it could have been him, maybe not. She admits she was drunk. She admits time lapses.”“The second accuser has nothing,” Trump said. “The second accuser thinks maybe it could have been him, maybe not. She admits she was drunk. She admits time lapses.”
“She was totally inebriated and all messed up and she doesn’t know,” he continued, adding sarcastically: “Gee, let’s not make him a supreme court judge.”“She was totally inebriated and all messed up and she doesn’t know,” he continued, adding sarcastically: “Gee, let’s not make him a supreme court judge.”
His comments came after the White House said on Tuesday it was open to hearing public testimony from another woman who has accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault. His comments come as Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, the initial accuser who alleged that he sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers in high school, prepare to testify before a Senate panel at a public hearing in Washington on Thursday morning. There is currently no plan for Ramirez to testify at that hearing.
With his nomination hanging in the balance, Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, the initial accuser who alleged that he sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers in high school, are scheduled to appear before a Senate panel at a public hearing in Washington on Thursday morning.
Republicans have hired an as-yet unnamed female attorney to handle questioning during the hearing, with Democrats saying the move was inconsistent with the GOP pledge to avoid a “circus”. Before Trump spoke on Tuesday, the White House indicated that it was open to the idea of hearing testimony from Ramirez at that hearing before the Senate judiciary committee.
In an interview on Tuesday morning, the White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, was asked if the panel, the Senate judiciary committee, should hear from Ramirez.
In an interview with the New Yorker published on Sunday, Ramirez said Kavanaugh had exposed himself to her at a party in the early 1980s.
“Certainly we would be open to that, and that process could take place on Thursday,” Sanders said during an appearance on ABC’s Good Morning America. “The president has been clear, let them speak.”“Certainly we would be open to that, and that process could take place on Thursday,” Sanders said during an appearance on ABC’s Good Morning America. “The president has been clear, let them speak.”
Kavanaugh has vigorously denied the allegation against him and on Monday night took the extremely unusual step of appearing in a TV interview while the Senate considers his nomination.
“I had never sexually assaulted anyone, not in high school, not ever,” the judge said in an interview with Fox News.
Republicans have hired an as-yet unnamed female attorney to handle questioning during the hearing, with Democrats saying the move was inconsistent with the GOP pledge to avoid a “circus”.
Senate Republicans have increasingly hardened their defense of Kavanaugh even as they sought to assure Ford that she would receive “fair and respectful” treatment when she testifies on Thursday.Senate Republicans have increasingly hardened their defense of Kavanaugh even as they sought to assure Ford that she would receive “fair and respectful” treatment when she testifies on Thursday.
The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, said on the Senate floor on Tuesday that “vague, unsubstantiated and uncorroborated allegations of 30-plus-year-old misconduct” were “nowhere near grounds to nullify someone’s career or destroy their good name”. He also attacked Democrats, accusing them of “malpractice” for waiting until the final stage of the confirmation process to bring the allegation to light. The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, said on Tuesday he was “confident” Kavanaugh would be confirmed to the supreme court.
Speaking after him on the floor, the minority leader, Chuck Schumer, said McConnell should “apologize immediately” to Ford for calling her allegations against the judge part of a “smear” job led by Democrats. He said it was “galling” for McConnell to blame Democrats for playing partisan games with the accusations when he has done “more than maybe anyone to politicize the supreme court nomination process”. In a speech on the Senate floor earlier in the day, he promised a swift vote after Thursday’s hearing, arguing that “vague, unsubstantiated and uncorroborated allegations of 30-plus-year-old misconduct” were “nowhere near grounds to nullify someone’s career or destroy their good name”. He also continued his attacks on Democrats, accusing them of failing to afford Kavanaugh any “presumption of innocence” in their effort to keep him off the court.
Speaking on the Senate floor after McConnell, the minority leader, Chuck Schumer, said the majority leader should “apologize immediately” to Ford for calling her allegations against the judge part of a “smear” job led by Democrats. He said it was “galling” for McConnell to blame Democrats for playing partisan games with the accusations when he has done “more than maybe anyone to politicize the supreme court nomination process”.
“Don’t they want the truth?” Schumer asked of Republicans.“Don’t they want the truth?” Schumer asked of Republicans.
When asked on Tuesday if there should be a full FBI investigation about the claims, the Alaska senator Lisa Murkowski, seen as a key swing vote, told reporters: “Well, it would sure clear up all the questions, wouldn’t it?” On Tuesday afternoon, Schumer reiterated Democrats’ demand for an FBI investigation into the allegations against Kavanaugh.
Alaska senator Lisa Murkowski, seen as a crucial Republican swing vote, appeared to agree. Asked if the FBI should reopen its background investigation into the judge, she told reporters: “Well, it would sure clear up all the questions, wouldn’t it?”
With two days yet to go before the hearing, Republicans are already laying the groundwork to confirm Kavanaugh sometime next week. McConnell had initially hoped to confirm him in time for the first day of the new supreme court term on 1 October.
In a sign that Republicans are increasingly confident Kavanaugh will be confirmed, the Republican senator Orrin Hatch, a senior member of the committee, said he expected the Senate would work through the weekend to advance his nomination as quickly as possible.
Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican member of the committee, said rejecting Kavanaugh’s nomination on the basis of Ford’s allegation alone would send a strong signal to future supreme court nominees.
“If this is enough – 35 years in the past, no specifics about location and time, no corroboration – God help the next batch of nominees that come forward,” he told reporters. “It’s going to be hard to recruit good people if you go down based on allegations that are old and unverified.”
But Kavanaugh’s fate rests with a handful of Republican senators: Murkowski, Susan Collins of Maine and Jeff Flake of Arizona. Republicans hold a narrow 51-49 majority in the Senate.But Kavanaugh’s fate rests with a handful of Republican senators: Murkowski, Susan Collins of Maine and Jeff Flake of Arizona. Republicans hold a narrow 51-49 majority in the Senate.
Collins and Murkowski, who are not on the Senate committee, told reporters on Monday that they would wait for the hearing to make up their mind. Flake, who is retiring, was among the first to call for delaying a committee vote to hear from Ford. Collins and Murkowski, who are not on the Senate committee, told reporters this week that they would wait for the hearing to make up their mind. Flake, who is retiring, was among the first to call for delaying a committee vote to hear from Ford.
On Monday evening, Trump tweeted: “The Democrats are working hard to destroy a wonderful man, and a man who has the potential to be one of our greatest Supreme Court Justices ever, with an array of False Accusations the likes of which have never been seen before!”
The Democrats are working hard to destroy a wonderful man, and a man who has the potential to be one of our greatest Supreme Court Justices ever, with an array of False Accusations the likes of which have never been seen before!
Ford has alleged that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a party more than three decades ago, when he was 17 and she was 15, saying he put his hand over her mouth to stop her screaming as he attempted rape.Ford has alleged that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a party more than three decades ago, when he was 17 and she was 15, saying he put his hand over her mouth to stop her screaming as he attempted rape.
A third woman is expected to step forward with new allegations this week.A third woman is expected to step forward with new allegations this week.
Kavanaugh has vigorously denied the allegation against him and on Monday night took the extremely unusual step of appearing in a TV interview while the Senate considers his nomination.
“I had never sexually assaulted anyone, not in high school, not ever,” Kavanaugh said in an interview with Fox News.
Brett KavanaughBrett Kavanaugh
Sexual harassmentSexual harassment
Trump administrationTrump administration
US supreme courtUS supreme court
Law (US)Law (US)
US SenateUS Senate
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