HE COULDN’T LAST
Prez tries, fails to avoid assailing Kav accuser
He just couldn't help himself.
President Trump shrugged off nearly a week's worth of restraint and directly questioned Christine Blasey Ford's sexual assault claims against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Friday, saying she should have gone to law enforcement if the attack was “as bad as she says.”
It was the first time he challenged Ford by name.
“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!” the President wrote.
Ford claims that she was sexually assaulted by a drunken Kavanaugh at a Maryland house party in the 1980s. She was 15 at the time.
The California psychology professor says Kavanaugh violently pinned her to a bed and tried to undress her while cov- ering her mouth.
Kavanaugh has denied the allegations.
Trump's comments come as Ford and Senate Republicans attempt to come to an agreement about a possible appearance on Capitol Hill.
GOP lawmakers reportedly offered Ford a chance to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee next week and will meet some requests her lawyer made regarding her appearance.
“We'll do it on Wednesday, we expect the accuser before the accused, and we do intend to have the counsel do the questioning,” a Republican senator told Politico.
Ford's lawyer initially asked that Kavanaugh testify first and her client be allowed to testify Thursday. She requested only lawmakers be allowed to question the two witnesses.
Ford does not want Kavanaugh in the same room and is willing to speak to the panel only on “terms that are fair and which ensure her safety,” her attorney said in an email to lawmakers.
Kavanaugh, 53, has said he is ready to testify and wants a chance to clear his name.
Trump's tweet was change of tactic after a week of carefully steering clear of openly criticizing Ford.
But Trump offered a hint of his true feelings ahead of a political rally on Thursday evening in Las Vegas.
“Why didn't somebody call the FBI 36 years ago? I mean, you could also say, when did this all happen, what's going on? To take a man like this and besmirch -- now with that being said, let her have her say and let's see how it all works out,” Trump said on Fox News just before the rally.
In a second tweet Friday morning, the President — who has faced multiple accusations of sexual misconduct — accused Democrats for playing politics.
“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. Facts don't matter. I go through this with them every single day in D.C.,” he wrote.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, meanwhile, told evangelical leaders the Senate will “plow right through” with Kavanaugh's confirmation.
McConnell (R-Ky.) told urged the conservative crowd at the annual Values Voter conference Friday to “keep the faith.”