Trump questions Kavanaugh's accuser, says opponents want to 'destroy' nominee
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday cast doubt on the woman who accused his Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault and blamed opponents for trying to “destroy” his nominee.
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., September 20, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Segar
After days of restrained comments about the allegations from California professor Christine Blasey Ford, Trump turned to Twitter to question her account of what happened between her and Kavanaugh at a party in 1982 when they were in high school.
“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 said. “I ask that she bring those filings forward so that we can learn date, time, and place!
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Supreme Court nominee judge Brett Kavanaugh testifies during his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 5, 2018. REUTERS/Chris Wattie -/File Photo
“Judge Brett Kavanaugh is a fine man, with an impeccable reputation, who is under assault by radical left wing politicians who don’t want to know the answers, they just want to destroy and delay,” Trump wrote, appearing to grow impatient with the appointee’s confirmation proceedings.
A U.S. Senate panel vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation was delayed after Ford’s allegations came out last week.
Ford told a Senate committee she would be willing to testify later next week as a Friday morning deadline set by the Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee loomed.
The panel had scheduled a hearing on Monday.
Reporting by Lawrence Hurley, Richard Cowan, Susan Heavey and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Bill Trott
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