President Trump said Tuesday the FBI doesn’t want to investigate sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
“I don’t think the FBI really should be involved because they don’t want to be involved,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office during a meeting with Poland’s president.
{mosads}Trump said he hasn’t spoken to his pick for the Supreme Court since Sunday, when The Washington Post published Christine Blasey Ford’s allegations that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her during a high school party in the 1980s.
Trump indicated that he has made a point not to speak with Kavanaugh because he expected to be asked about any conversations with the judge.
“He can handle himself better than anybody,” Trump said. “I’m totally supportive. I would say few people that I’ve ever seen, that I’ve ever known … have been so outstanding as Judge Kavanaugh.”
Kavanaugh and Ford are expected to testify in a public hearing next Monday about the allegations, though Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said Ford’s attorney still has not confirmed that the accuser will appear.
Trump on Tuesday echoed complaints from some Republicans over the timing of the allegations, questioning why Democrats did not disclose them sooner.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, was made aware of Ford’s claims in July but did not act on them or bring them up during hearings because the accuser asked they remain private.
Trump said the process will be delayed until it can completed, adding that “we want to get to the bottom of everything.”
The White House has stood by Kavanaugh even as his nomination has been thrown into turmoil by Ford’s allegations.
Ford claims that Kavanaugh pinned her down and attempted to remove her clothes during a party in the early 1980s, and then put his hand over her mouth when she tried to scream for help.
Kavanaugh has denied the allegations and said he is willing to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee to “defend my integrity.”