Kavanaugh Confirmation: Donald Trump Says People Who Made False Statements 'Should Be Held Liable'

In the wake of Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court on Saturday, U.S. president Donald Trump said during a phone appearance on Fox News that anyone who "promoted falsehoolds" about the judge in recent weeks "should be held liable."

Despite allegations of sexual assault, Kavanaugh's position was sealed following a vote that ended 50-48 in his favor this weekend. Reacting to the news, Trump told Fox News host Jeanine Pirro that his critics had "overplayed their hand" in their opposition to his confirmation.

"I think that they should be held liable," Trump stated. "I would say they should be held to the highest standard. You can't go around—whether it's making up stories or making false statements about such an important position—you can't do that. You can destroy somebody's life."

He added: "There were many, many false things that were said about a very fine man and would have destroyed his family if this didn't happen. It all came together in the end and people realized it was false accusations, false statements. [The confirmation] was really something very nice."

"He suffered with false statements made against him," Trump said. "Things that never happened."

During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on September 27, Christine Blasey Ford accused Kavanaugh of assaulting her at a high school house party when she was aged 15. Kavanaugh, who gave testimony the same day, was criticised for his emotional response to the claims as well as wading into Clinton conspiracy theories and bashing "the left" for allegedly damaging his career.

Kavanaugh critics accused the judge of lying to the senate committee under oath.

Trump, meanwhile, stood by his nominee who consistently denied the sexual assault allegations against him. The president appeared to mock Ford's lengthy testimony during a recent political rally.

He told Fox News that his comments were made to "level the playing field."

"Well, there were a lot of things happening that weren't correct, they weren't true and there were a lot of things that were left unsaid." Trump told Pirro. "And I thought I had to even the playing field. It was very unfair to the judge, and now I can very nicely say Justice Kavanaugh. It was a very unfair situation. So I evened the playing field. Once I did that, it started to sail through."

On Saturday, Trump tweeted: "I applaud and congratulate the U.S. Senate for confirming our GREAT NOMINEE, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, to the United States Supreme Court. Later today, I will sign his Commission of Appointment, and he will be officially sworn in. Very exciting!"

Democratic senator Dianne Feinstein spoke out against the outcome of the vote Saturday.

She said: "The confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh shifts the Supreme Court far to the right, putting women's reproductive rights, civil rights, environmental protections, worker's rights, the ability to implement gun safety rules and the ability to hold presidents accountable at risk for a generation."