September 21, 2018

Trump Suggests Kavanaugh Accuser Is Lying About Sexual Assault Allegations

He appears to have finally ditched the muted response.

Ting Shen/ZUMA

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President Donald Trump on Friday appeared to suggest that Christine Blasey Ford’s allegations of sexual assault against Brett Kavanaugh are not credible because she did not file charges when the alleged attack occurred more than 30 years ago, when she and Kavanaugh were teenagers.

The assertion marked the first time the president has publicly challenged Ford’s detailed account of sexual assault. Until Friday, Trump had displayed an uncharacteristically measured response to the allegations, defending Kavanaugh’s record and supporting a public testimony from Ford instead of attacking her credibility.

Trump on Friday also accused “radical left wing politicians” of weaponizing the accusations against Kavanaugh to derail his nomination process. In doing so, Trump pointed to his own personal experiences with Democrats and what he claims is the party’s destruction of “facts” to express sympathy for Kavanaugh.

Trump’s parallel made no mention of the string of sexual assault allegations—many of which include the very details of “date, time, and place” he claims are lacking in Ford’s story—that have been made against him. Both men have categorically denied their respective accusers’ allegations. 

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