- President Donald Trump on Tuesday defended Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as he faces sexual-misconduct allegations.
- Two women have accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct: Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez.
- Trump blasted Kavanaugh’s second accuser, Ramirez, and claimed Democrats were playing a “con game” to derail Kavanaugh’s nomination.
- Ford and Kavanaugh are set to testify on her allegation before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday defended Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as he faces several allegations of sexual misconduct, taking particularly vehement aim at Kavanaugh’s second accuser.
Just two days after new allegations arose against Kavanaugh from a college classmate, Trump called the accusations a “con game” by Democrats seeking to derail his nomination.
“The second accuser doesn’t even know, she thinks maybe it could have been him, maybe not. Admits she was drunk,” Trump said. “She admits time lapses, this is a person, and this is a series of statements that is going to take one of the most talented intellects from a judicial standpoint in our country – keep him off the US Supreme Court?”
On Sunday, The New Yorker detailed new allegations from Deborah Ramirez, who claims Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a party when they were both at Yale University in the early 1980s.
After delivering remarks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, Trump suggested that Ramirez was too "inebriated" and the party occurred too long ago for her to properly recall what transpired. The president referred to the charges against Kavanaugh as "totally unsubstantiated."
"I think [Kavanaugh] is just a wonderful human being," Trump said. "I think it is horrible what the Democrats have done. It is a con game, they are really con artists. They know he is a high-quality person. ... They are playing a con game, and they are playing it very well, much better than Republicans. They are lousy politicians, they have lousy policy, they don't know what the hell they are doing."
Trump went on to say it would be a "horrible insult to our country" if Kavanaugh is not confirmed, claiming he could be one of the "greatest" Supreme Court justices in US history.
TRUMP, during a UN meeting, defends KAVANAUGH: "Charges come up from 36 years old that are totally unsubstantiated?... and now a new charge comes up, and she says, it might not be him & she was totally inebriated... this is a con game being played by the Democrats." pic.twitter.com/rgqZL0QPaP
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 25, 2018
Kavanaugh has been accused of sexual misconduct by at least 2 women
Another woman, Christine Blasey Ford, leveled a sexual-assault allegation earlier this month that threw Kavanaugh's confirmation process into chaos.
Ford alleged Kavanaugh attempted to force himself on her at a high-school party when they were teenagers, covering her mouth with his hand as she attempted to scream.
Kavanaugh and Ford are both set to testify on her allegation before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. The White House on Tuesday said it would also be open to having Ramirez testify.
"Certainly we would be open to that and that process could take place on Thursday," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in an appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America."
Sanders added, "The president said a number of times that these individuals should be heard."
On Sunday, Michael Avenatti, the lawyer representing adult-film star Stormy Daniels, has also claimed to have a client with evidence of alleged sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh.
Avenatti on Tuesday said he would likely disclose his client's identity in the next 36 hours.