US SC nominee: Trump questions claims of accuser
WASHINGTON: As a US woman who has accused a Supreme Court nominee of sexual assault negotiated the terms and timing of testifying before a Senate committee, President Donald Trump on Friday questioned her account, suggesting the incident might not have been as bad as claimed.
So far, Trump had kept a disciplined posture on the issue, agreeing that university professor Christine Blasey Ford be heard, even as he defended Brett Kavanaugh and questioned the timing of the airing of the allegation from 30 years ago.
But on Friday, he changed tone, tweeting, “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. I ask that she bring those filings forward so that we can learn date, time, and place!”
Ford has sought an FBI inquiry into her allegation before she testifies, adding this condition to her initial offer to testify.
An FBI inquiry has been ruled out by both Trump and Republican lawmakers and the Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing for both her and Kavanaugh on Monday. Ford now wants it to be shifted to later in the week, and has sought, through her attorney, a guarantee for her security.
Ford has been receiving death threats since she went public with her allegations and has had to move with her family to a secure location. The alleged assault took place when Ford was 15 and Kavanaugh was 17. HTC