A Fox News host lashed out at sexual assault allegations leveled against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh Wednesday, saying, "Every woman in America who has been a victim of a sexual assault" remembers more than accuser Christine Blasey Ford.
Jeanine Pirro, a prosecutor-turned-TV personality, made the comment in a segment reacting to Donald Trump's rally on Tuesday in Mississippi, where he mocked Ford's recollection of the alleged assault.
Ford, a psychology professor, said in testimony last week that Kavanaugh assaulted her when she was 15. At least two other women have come forward with similar claims. The FBI was enlisted to investigate.
"I did this for 30 years," Pirro continued, in a statement publicized by Media Matters. She was reacting to the suggestion that the president had "changed his tune" to appeal to his base.
"I've prosecuted rape cases," Pirro continued. "What I'm telling you is for you to say because [Trump] is pointing out inconsistencies in her own testimony that he is suggesting to other women who have been victimized that hey, look, we're not going to believe you, is absolutely not the case.
"The women who have been victimized are asking the same question. Why do I remember when I was raped? Why do I remember who was there?" Pirro said, later adding: "What they [women] fear is not the President of the United States and the politics. What they fear is the abuser."
On September 28, Trump said he found Ford's testimony to be "very compelling." But this week, at a rally in DeSoto County, Mississippi, he imitated the alleged victim on stage. "'How did you get home?' 'I don't remember.' 'How did you get there?' 'I don't remember,'" he said.
"Really Evil People"
At the same rally, he called the accusers "really evil people." The president told attendees that Kavanaugh's life was "in tatters" in the wake of the assault claims.
"His [Kavanaugh] wife is shattered," Trump said. "His daughters, who are beautiful, incredible young kids—they destroy people. They want to destroy people. These are really evil people."
Early this morning, the White House confirmed that it had received summaries of the FBI interviews conducted as part of the investigation into the veracity of the accusers' claims.
"The White House has received the Federal Bureau of Investigation's supplemental background investigation into Judge Kavanaugh, and it is being transmitted to the Senate," the White House principal deputy press secretary wrote in an official statement, posted to Twitter.
"This is the last addition to the most comprehensive review of a Supreme Court nominee in history, which includes extensive hearings, multiple committee interviews, over 1,200 questions for the record and over a half million pages of documents." It continued: "The White House is fully confident the Senate will vote to confirm Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court."
The New York Times reported the final vote on Kavanaugh's confirmation could come by Saturday. On Wednesday, the White House press secretary denied that Trump had been mocking Ford's testimony. When asked about it, Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the president had been "stating the facts."
Kavanaugh has denied the sexual assault allegations.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jason Murdock is a staff reporter for Newsweek.
Based in London, Murdock previously covered cybersecurity for the International Business Times UK ... Read more
