President Donald Trump reacted to the cultural implications of the sexual assault allegations against Judge Brett Kavanaugh before departing for a speech in Philadelphia on the South Lawn.
“My whole life, I’ve heard you’re innocent until proven guilty. But now you’re guilty until proven innocent. That is a very, very difficult standard. I say that it’s a very scary time for young men in America when you can be guilty of something that you may not be guilty of,” Trump said, adding, “What’s happening here is much more to do than even the appointment of a Supreme Court Justice.”
The president continued, saying, “You can be somebody that was perfect your entire life and somebody could accuse you of something … that is one of the very, very bad things that’s taking place right now.”
Kavanaugh is currently in the midst of an FBI investigation into decades-old sexual assault allegations made against him from his high school and college years. The investigation follows an emotional Senate Judiciary hearing in which one of his accusers, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, alleged that Kavanaugh assaulted her in 1982.
Ford, however, was unable to provide key details to the committee during her testimony. A sex crimes prosecutor commissioned by the Judiciary Committee wrote a memo to Senate Republicans saying that Ford’s allegation does not have a level of evidence needed to bring a prosecution.
