Hillary Clinton said it would be “very easy” for the FBI to investigate the claims of Christine Blasey Ford, the woman claiming that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers.
Clinton appeared on The Late Show on CBS on Friday, offering her support for Ford and calling out Republicans for failing to properly investigate her claims. Ford claims that Kavanaugh jumped on her at a party when they were teenagers, groping her and attempting to take off her clothing and then covering her mouth with his hand when she screamed. As Hollywood Life noted, Hillary Clinton said the serious allegations must be investigated by the FBI.
Speaking with Stephen Colbert, Clinton said it would be “very easy” for the FBI to investigate the claims. Blasey had asked the federal agency to investigate before she spoke to the Senate Judiciary Committee, but Republicans have tried to press forward.
“[Republicans on the committee are] trying to rush this through to the detriment of the American public who deserves to have answers to whatever charges might be presented,” Clinton said, adding, “So I’m hoping that at some point there will be an agreement to have an investigation. It would be very easy for the FBI to go back and finish the background investigation, to investigate these charges. And, you know, maybe find out there’s nothing to them, maybe find out there’s something to them, but at least have that investigation completed. And I think that’s what is a fair request, for due process to be asked for.”
Pressure appears to be increasing from Republicans to move forward. They have called on Ford to testify about her claims without an FBI investigation first, with many publicly casting doubt on her allegations. On Friday, Donald Trump attacked Ford on Twitter , saying that if the allegations were true she would have immediately come forward to have them investigated.
But other Republicans have shown hesitancy to back Kavanaugh, with Senator Lisa Murkowski saying she wants to wait until Ford can testify before making her decision.
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she’s waiting until Christine Blasey Ford testifies to decide whether she will back Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh https://t.co/nAG3cunj2T pic.twitter.com/1Z87hjsBgz
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) September 22, 2018
Christine Blasey Ford has been in negotiations with the committee to testify, with her lawyer meeting for all of the day on Friday in an attempt to agree on terms of her testimony. She had originally asked to testify after Kavanaugh and that he not be in the room when she speaks, but Republicans have reportedly pushed back at some of her demands.
