Washington – U.S. President Donald Trump has given his full backing to his nominee for the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh, saying the allegations of sexual assault against the judge are “totally political’’.
Christine Ford has accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers some 35 years ago.
The woman, a professor, is now due to testify to senators on Thursday, following tense negotiations.
Over the weekend, a second woman made allegations of misconduct to a local media outlet, saying the incident happened during their college years, prompting opposition Democrats to demand the nominations proceedings to be put on held.
“In my opinion, it’s totally political. It’s totally political,” Trump said.
“There’s a chance that this could be one of the single most unfair, unjust things to happen to a candidate for anything.’’
Trump also called Kavanaugh a “fine man with an unblemished past’’ and added: “I am with him all the way’’. He questioned why the allegations did not come out years ago.
Republicans, who hold the majority in the Senate, the upper house which ultimately votes on nominations, have not indicated they would back off their support for Kavanaugh.
The judge has denied any involvement in either of the incidents, and in a statement on Sunday said the second allegation was a “smear, plain and simple’’.
Kavanaugh’s fate may come down to the senators themselves, who will have to decide based on what they hear this week.
Complicating matters is that Ford says she cannot recall the exact date of the alleged assault and that alcohol was involved, while the second case has so far seemed to lack corroborating evidence or witnesses.
