President Trump says he hopes the woman who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her will appear at a hearing next week before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Speaking to reporters as he left the White House for a trip to visit flood damages in North Carolina, Trump said he "really wants to see" Christine Blasey Ford testify on Monday. "If she shows up and makes a credible showing," Trump said, referring to Ford, "that'll be very interesting, and we'll have to make a decision."
Trump repeated his support for Kavanaugh, calling him "such an outstanding man, it's very hard for me to imagine anything happened."
But he said it's not the FBI's job to conduct an investigation of her claims, saying, "It's up to the Senate and I really rely on them."
Ford's lawyers have asked the FBI to investigate her charge — that a drunken Kavanaugh groped her and tried to remove her clothes at a party when they were both teenagers — before she agrees to appear at the hearing, but Republicans have refused to go along.
In a tweet Wednesday morning, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said requiring an FBI investigation of a 36 year old allegation "is not about finding the truth, but delaying the process till after the midterm elections."
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has offered to allow Ford, a professor at Palo Alto University in California, to speak either in private or in public before the committee but has made it clear that her only opportunity will be Monday.
Ford's lawyers say she has been subject to death threats as a result of her allegations against Kavanaugh.
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