The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Trump to wait on Senate, says Ford 'credible'
U.S. senators should take the time they need to be “comfortable” with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kava- naugh, President Donald Trump said Friday, adding that he found accuser Chris- tine Blasey Ford “credible.”
The president spoke in the Oval Office shortly after Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said he will condition a final “yes” vote on a new FBI investigation into sexual assault and misconduct claims against Kavanaugh.
Flake said that investiga- tion should last no more than a week.
Meeting with visiting Chilean President Sebastián Piñera, Trump was calm and measured despite the unexpected detour on the path to Kavanaugh’s confirmation, which the White House had hoped to conclude before the start of the next Supreme Court term Monday.
Trump said he was “not even a little bit” consider- ing a replacement for Kava- naugh.
But he said that Ford, who testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thurs- day that Kavanaugh had pinned her to a bed and attempted to rape her when she was 15, was “very compelling.”
“Certainly she was a very credible witness. She was very good in many respects,” Trump said. “And I think that, I don’t know if this is going to continue onward, or if we’re going to get a vote.” Trump added that he was still catching up to developments.
He also praised Kavanaugh’s testimony Thursday as “really something that I hadn’t seen before. Incredible. It was an incredible moment in the history of our country.
“I think it will work out very well for the country. I just want it to work out well for the country,” Trump said. “If that happens, I’m happy.”
Trump praised commit- tee Chairman Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who had presided, tight-lipped, as Flake told senators he would vote to advance Kavanaugh to the floor but wanted the further inquiry before he could vote to confirm him.
“I’m going to rely on all the people, including Sena- tor Grassley, who is doing a very good job,” Trump said.