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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Trump defends SC nominee as accuser faces deadline

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WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Wednesday stepped up his defence of his US Supreme Court nominee, saying it was hard to imagine Brett Kavanaugh committed a sexual assault and that it would be unfortunate if his accuser did not testify before the Senate.


With Trump’s effort to cement conservative control of the nation’s highest court on a knife’s edge, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley set a Friday morning deadline for Christine Blasey Ford to decide if she will talk to lawmakers.


Ford, a psychology professor at Palo Alto University in California, has said Kavanaugh, a federal appeals court judge, sexually assaulted her in 1982 when both were high school students in Maryland. Kavanaugh has called Ford’s allegation “completely false.”


If Ford opts not to testify, Kavanaugh’s chances for confirmation in the Republican-led Senate could be boosted, with senators in Trump’s party so far remaining largely supportive.


“I think it’s not fair to Judge Kavanaugh for her not to come forward and testify,” moderate Republican Senator Susan Collins, whose vote could be crucial, said in a radio interview.


Grassley’s committee wants prepared testimony from Ford by Friday and an answer on whether she will accept its invitation to testify to the panel on Monday, either publicly or privately. The committee also has invited Kavanaugh to testify on Monday.


Ford’s lawyers said on Tuesday she would testify before the committee only if the FBI first investigated her allegation. The FBI has said it is not investigating the matter, a decision backed by Republicans.


“It is not the FBI’s role to investigate a matter such as this,” wrote Grassley, who also sent a letter to committee Democrats formally rejecting their bid for the FBI to investigate.


Later on Wednesday, Grassley wrote to the senior Democrat on the committee, Dianne Feinstein, requesting she immediately provide an unredacted copy of the letter Ford sent her in July about the assault allegation, saying he must review it before Monday’s hearing.


In a statement on Wednesday, a lawyer for Ford said her client was willing to cooperate with the committee, but criticised its plan to have only Ford and Kavanaugh testify.


“There are multiple witnesses whose names have appeared publicly and should be included in any proceeding,” Ford’s lawyer Lisa Banks said.


“The rush to a hearing is unnecessary, and contrary to the committee discovering the truth,” Banks said.


Ford’s allegation has jeopardised Kavanaugh’s nomination to the lifetime post on the Supreme Court, which previously was on track towards confirmation. — Reuters


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