President Trump rejected calls Tuesday for the FBI to investigate a decades-old claim of sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, claiming the top law enforcement agency doesn’t “want to be involved.”
“I don’t think the FBI should be involved because they don’t want to be involved,” Trump told reporters at the White House, adding that the entire situation is “very unfortunate.”
Kavanaugh faces an accusation of attempted rape by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, a California-based professor who claims he assaulted her at a party when they were both in high school in Maryland. Trump’s Supreme Court pick has categorically denied the allegation, which surfaced for the first time just days before the Senate Judiciary Committee was scheduled to vote on his nomination.
Both Ford and Kavanaugh have agreed to testify in an open hearing on Capitol Hill next week about the allegations, something Trump said the district court judge is “anxious” to do. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has scheduled the session for next Monday, though he hinted during a radio appearance Tuesday that the high-stakes hearing could be canceled if Ford declines the committee’s invitation.
Trump said he is willing to “delay the process until it’s finished out,” while criticizing Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., for refusing to share Ford’s allegation with her colleagues when she first received it in July.
“We want everybody to be able to speak up and speak out. The fact is, though, this should have been done a long time ago,” Trump said. “When Sen. Feinstein had Judge Kavanaugh in her office … why wouldn’t you bring this up when he is sitting in her office for a very extended period of time?”
The president, who said he has not met with Kavanaugh since the allegation first emerged, told reporters the Supreme Court nominee is “very anxious” to re-appear before the Judiciary Committee to dispute Ford’s allegations.
“Judge Kavanaugh is anxious to do it. I don’t know about the other party but Judge Kavanaugh is very anxious,” Trump said, adding that he maintain tremendous confidence in his pick for the high court. “Few people that I’ve ever seen, that I’ve ever known, have been so outstanding as Judge Kavanaugh.”
