Toobin on Kavanaugh accuser: ‘Sickening’ that ‘anyone could consider this false testimony’

CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said Thursday it is “sickening” to hear statements from supporters of President Trump and Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh casting doubt on testimony from Christine Blasey Ford, who is accusing Kavanaugh of sexual assault.

{mosads}”This is sickening to watch. I’m sorry. I just find this excruciating,” Toobin said during a CNN panel discussion Thursday while Ford testified before a special session of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“I mean, someone thinks this woman is lying? I mean just the idea that anyone could consider this [to be] false testimony…”

Ford delivered gripping testimony on Thursday and insisted that there was absolutely no case of mistaken identify in her allegations that Kavanaugh tried to rape her during a party when they were in high school.

CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Toobin about how Republican senators would respond to the emotional testimony ahead of the midterms.

“I’m seeing it on social media, I’m seeing it in people I know,” Toobin said. “Women who have undergone experiences like this saying ‘I can’t watch this,’ because it is a triggering experience.’

“Fifty years from now people are going to be playing that exchange with Patrick Leahy, where he says ‘what do you remember most,’ and it’s ‘the laughter,'” he added.

Toobin was referring to an exchange between the Democratic Vermont senator and Ford when Ford recounted that she saw Kavanaugh and his friend, Mark Judge, laughing during the alleged assault.

Other media commentators also said the hearing could be politically dangerous for Republicans, some of whom have questioned the accusations facing Kavanaugh.

“This was extremely emotional, extremely raw, and extremely credible,” Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace said of Ford’s testimony during a break. “She obviously was traumatized by an event. This is a disaster for the Republicans.”

The White House has maintained support for Kavanaugh, who now faces allegations from three women who have come forward publicly. Kavanaugh has denied the accusations.

He is scheduled to testify later Thursday, and a vote on sending his nomination to the Senate floor is set for Friday.