It was just about a week ago that we first learned about the existence of a heretofore undisclosed letter received by Senator Dianne Feinstein over the summer from a woman who alleged that Judge Brett Kavanaugh had attacked her at a party when the two were teenagers. At the time, the name of the woman and the details of the allegations remained secret at her request, although they slowly began to leak out. By Sunday that woman, Christine Blasey Ford, had come forward in an interview with The Washington Post that quickly snowballed to the point where the plan that would have had the Senate Judiciary Committee vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination yesterday had to be scrapped as even many Republicans were joining the call for hearings on the allegations. By the end of the day on Monday, the Thursday vote had been canceled and a hearing on the allegations set for this coming Monday. That hearing was quickly thrown into doubt, though, with Blasey Ford’s lawyers saying their client wanted an F.B.I. investigation before agreeing to make their client available for a hearing. Initially, this led to something of an impasse but that appeared to be broken through as the two sides opened negotiations that strongly suggest there will be a hearing sometime next week, although the date and the format remain unclear.
Throughout all of this, the remarkable thing has been the extent to which President Trump has remained quiet through all of this, something which is decidedly atypical for him. In the public comments he had made, the President has been unsurprisingly supportive of Judge Kavanaugh but also surprisingly deferential toward Dr. Blasey Ford, saying that she should be able to have her allegations heard. This came at a time when many top advisers were telling reporters behind the scenes that they were worried that the President would say something publicly or via Twitter that would blow the situation wide open in a way that ends of hurting Republicans. As for this morning, that seems to be exactly what has happened:
WASHINGTON — President Trump directly questioned for the first time on Friday the veracity of the accusations levied by a woman who has said Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her while they were both teenagers.
Mr. Trump said in a Twitter post that if the alleged attack “was as bad as she says,” charges would have been filed by the woman, Christine Blasey Ford, or her parents.
He asked her to produce contemporaneous law enforcement reports “so that we can learn date, time, and place!”
Many women are reluctant to come forward and report sexual assaults to authorities, in part because they fear they will not be believed.
In suggesting that Dr. Blasey’s version of events from a high school party in the early 1980s lacked credibility, Mr. Trump ended his dayslong restraint from commenting on the accusations — a move that aides have feared could further complicate the confirmation process just weeks before the midterm elections.
Questioning the credibility of a woman who says she was sexually assaulted could jeopardize the support of key Republican senators for Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination. It could also further energize female voters in the midterms who are opposed to Mr. Trump.
Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, assured an audience of conservative Christians on Friday that Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation would go through.
“Keep the faith. Don’t get rattled by all of this. We’re gonna plow right through it and do our job,” Mr. McConnell said at the Values Voter Summit. “In the very near future, Judge Kavanaugh will be on the United States Supreme Court.”
Until Friday, the president’s public comments about the matter had been limited to praise for Judge Kavanaugh and blame lobbed at Democrats for slowing the judge’s Supreme Court confirmation process.
At the time of the incident, Dr. Blasey was about 15 years old. She said she was at a small gathering of teenagers in suburban Maryland when Mr. Kavanaugh assaulted her. She said he and a friend pushed her into a bedroom, and Mr. Kavanaugh pushed her onto a bed. She said he jumped on her, groped her and tried to take off her clothes while covering her mouth with his hand to keep her from crying for help.
Dr. Blasey has not been able to recall the date of the party where she says Mr. Kavanaugh assaulted her. He has denied the accusations. Both have said they are willing to provide sworn testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
(…)
“This is EXACTLY why Dr. Ford didn’t want to come forward,” Senator Tammy Duckworth, Democrat of Illinois, said in a tweet.
Senator Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware, called Mr. Trump’s comments “unacceptable and beneath the presidency of the United States.”
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Democrat of New Hampshire, said the president should call for the F.B.I. to investigate if he wants to “get to the bottom” of Dr. Blasey’s account.
More from The Washington Post:
President Trump on Friday pointedly questioned the credibility of the woman who has accused Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh of sexual assault when they were teenagers, contending that she or her parents would have reported the attack to law enforcement at the time if it were as bad as she has said.
Trump’s tweet marked a sharp break from the days after the accusation first surfaced, during which he refrained from attacking Christine Blasey Ford, a professor in California, and said she deserved to be heard by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“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 in the tweet, which was his first to mention his Supreme Court nominee’s accuser by name.
“I ask that she bring those filings forward so that we can learn date, time, and place!” Trump said.
Ford told The Washington Post in an interview published online Sunday that Kavanaugh drunkenly pinned her to a bed on her back, groped her and put his hand over her mouth to stifle her screams at a house party in the early 1980s.
Ford said she told no one at the time what had happened to her. She was terrified, she said, that she would be in trouble if her parents realized she had been at a party where teenagers were drinking, and she worried they might figure it out even if she did not tell them
(…)
Ford said she told no one at the time what had happened to her. She was terrified, she said, that she would be in trouble if her parents realized she had been at a party where teenagers were drinking, and she worried they might figure it out even if she did not tell them
The president also took aim at “radical left lawyers” who are seeking to get the FBI to investigate Ford’s allegations, saying: “Why didn’t someone call the FBI 36 years ago?”
Democrats have called for the FBI to reopen its background-check investigation into Kavanaugh, rather than a criminal probe.
The FBI has said it has no plans to do so unless the White House asks for such an investigation. And a Justice Department spokesman said earlier this week that Ford’s allegation “does not involve any potential federal crime.”
Here are the President’s tweets:
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.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 21, 2018
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 21, 2018
The radical left lawyers want the FBI to get involved NOW. Why didn’t someone call the FBI 36 years ago?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 21, 2018
Senator Feinstein and the Democrats held the letter for months, only to release it with a bang after the hearings were OVER – done very purposefully to Obstruct & Resist & Delay. Let her testify, or not, and TAKE THE VOTE!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 21, 2018
Trump’s comments came as Blasey Ford’s attorneys and Senators are in the midst of negotiations regarding what looks like it will be a hearing regarding her charges against Judge Kavanaugh at some point next week, although apparently not on Monday, and they could not possibly be any less helpful. As many people were quick to point out on Twitter in the wake of the President’s comments, there are very good reasons why women who are victims of sexual assault and harassment don’t come forward sooner. This is especially true when the incident in question occurred when the victim was a minor, as was the case regarding the allegations against Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore last year or, more broadly, the wide-ranging accusations that have been made against Catholic Priests around the country and around the world. Whether it’s because of the fear over what going public would mean, the shame over having been victimized, or the prospect that they will be the ones who end up being accused of “asking for it” or being a “slut,” or simply the shame of dealing with something like sexual contact at such a young age, there are plenty of good reasons why these things are not immediately reported.
These comments also come, of course, in connection with the numerous allegations against the President regarding his own checkered history. In addition to the long history of reports that followed him as a “celebrity” over the years, there have been plenty of revelations since he became a candidate for President regarding his treatment of women. During his campaign, for example, he engaged in vile personal attacks against women such as Megyn Kelly, Ted Cruz’s wife Heidi, and Carly Fiorina. And, of course, it was just one month before the General Election that we learned about the existence of the Access Hollywood tape, and the claims by nineteen women that Trump had harassed them in the past. Since he became President, we have learned about Trump’s affairs with porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal and the steps that were taken to pay these women off to buy their silence. Given this history, it was inevitable that Trump would be unable to remain quiet and that he’d attack Blasey Ford. What impact that will have on the upcoming hearings and, beyond that, the midterm elections remains to be seen.
