After initially staying neutral on the issues surrounding his Supreme Court nominee, President Donald Trump has since openly embraced his support of Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s innocence.
On Tuesday night, Trump took to Twitter to ask his supporters to “pray” for Kavanaugh and his family as they face the “high level con game” put on by Democrats who are trying to destroy the life and career of a “fine person,” Fox News is reporting.
“The Democrats are playing a high level CON GAME in their vicious effort to destroy a fine person,” Trump tweeted. “It is called the politics of destruction. Behind the scene the Dems are laughing. Pray for Brett Kavanaugh and his family!”
Kavanaugh has been accused of sexual assault by Christine Blasey Ford, a professor in Northern California, who contended he pinned her down and attempted to unclothe her during a house party when they were high school students in 1982. Since then, two more women have reportedly joined Ford, 51, in bringing forward allegations of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh.
Ford has agreed to testify before a panel assembled by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. The committee’s chairman, Chuck Grassley, announced on Tuesday that panel Republicans have hired outside counsel Rachel Mitchell to examine both Kavanaugh and Ford, according to CNN . Grassley said he hired a woman to ensure that Ford gets treated with fairness and respect, the news outlet added.
President @realDonaldTrump asks supporters to ‘pray’ for Kavanaugh, says Dems playing ‘high level con game’ https://t.co/2l9ERHMzKM
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 26, 2018
“I promised Dr. Ford that I would do everything in my power to avoid a repeat of the ‘circus’ atmosphere in the hearing room that we saw the week of September 4,” Grassley said as quoted by CNN, which cited a Tuesday night statement. “I’ve taken this additional step to have questions asked by expert staff counsel to establish the most fair and respectful treatment of the witnesses possible.”
It remains unclear whether the testimony of Deborah Ramirez, the second woman who accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, will be heard on Thursday. Her lawyer, John Clune, said Tuesday he is pushing for an FBI investigation into the allegations, without which Ramirez might not testify, USA Today is reporting.
“I wouldn’t recommend she do that, no,” he said in response to the question of whether his client would testify if an FBI probe wasn’t conducted.
Ford’s attorney has also pressed for the FBI to get involved, which initially cast doubts on whether she’d testify before the panel. However, Ford announced she would give her testimony late last week.
