Last Updated Sep 24, 2018 10:58 AM EDT
As Judge Brett Kavanaugh faces another allegation of sexual misconduct by a woman claiming he exposed himself to her at a party when they were both students at Yale University in the 1980s, President Trump is sticking by his pick to fill the vacancy on the United States Supreme Court, telling reporters Monday morning, “I am with him all the way.”
“I look forward to a vote and for people to come out of the woodwork from 36 years ago and 30 years ago and never mention it, and all the sudden it happens,” the president also said. “In my opinion, it’s totally political,” Mr. Trump said on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting Monday morning.
The latest allegation comes as Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Kavanaugh of assaulting her while they were both in high school, and Kavanaugh are expected to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
According to The New Yorker, 53-year-old Deborah Ramirez alleges Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a party when they were both students at Yale University in the 1980s, something both Kavanaugh and the White House have denied.
Follow along for live updates below:
Lindsey Graham says we’re “witnessing is the total collapse of the traditional confirmation process”
“What we are witnessing is the total collapse of the traditional confirmation process for a Supreme Court nominee. It is being replaced by a game of delay, deception, and wholesale character assassination. Clearly when it comes to President Trump, elections – in the eyes of Democrats – have no consequences,” Sen. Lindsey Graham said in a statement on Monday.
He suggested that the confirmation process needs to move ahead with the hearing as currently scheduled for Thursday with a final committee vote “soon thereafter.” Fellow Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas echoed Graham, saying it was time to “end the character assassination” against Kavanaugh.
“The Democrats are engaged in a campaign of delay and character assassination against Judge Kavanaugh. It’s time to vote this week,” Cotton added.
Trump calls Kavanaugh accusations “totally political”
After leaving his first event at the United Nations this week, Mr. Trump defended Kavanaugh when he was asked about his Supreme Court nominee by reporters.
“He’s a fine man with an unblemished past and these are highly unsubstantiated statements represented by lawyers. You should look into the lawyers doing the representation. Judge Kavanaugh is an outstanding person, and I am with him all the way. We’ll see how it goes in the Senate, we’ll see how it goes with the vote,” said Mr. Trump to cameras at the United Nations.
He added, “I think it could be, there’s a chance that this could be one of the single most unfair, unjust things to happen to a candidate for anything but I am with Judge Kavanaugh and I look forward to a vote and for people to come out of the woodwork from 36 years ago and 30 years ago and never mention it and all the sudden it happens, in my opinion, it’s totally political. It is totally political.”
New Yorker author Jane Mayer on Kavanaugh allegations: “Let’s get to the bottom of this”
One of the authors behind the latest account into accusations against Kavanaugh, Jane Mayer, told “CBS This Morning” that at a “certain point…there’s things people won’t say to a reporter that they might feel they need to say to the FBI.”
“That’s why everybody thinks let’s get to the bottom of this. Let’s figure it out,” she urged. Mayer, along with New Yorker reporter Ronan Farrow, who has been behind several other stories reporting women’s accounts of sexual harassment and assault carried out by high profile figures, reported an account by 53-year-old Deborah Ramirez who alleged Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a party when they were both students at Yale University in the 1980s.
Mayer said that she felt the “public ought to know” about the latest allegations against Kavanaugh.
Kellyanne Conway says Kavanaugh allegations feel like “a vast left-wing conspiracy”
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, speaking to “CBS This Morning” said that the allegations against Kavanaugh are “starting to feel like a vast left-wing conspiracy.”
“I know there’s pent-up demand for women to get their day, women who have been sexually harassed and sexually assaulted, and I personally am very aggrieved for all of them, but we cannot put decades of pent-up demand for women to feel whole on one man’s shoulders. What exactly is the standard for ruining one man’s life based on decades of allegations that have nothing to do with him?” said Conway.
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