WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he could withdraw his support for Brett Kavanaugh depending on the testimony in a high-profile Thursday hearing into multiple accusations of sexual misconduct against the Supreme Court nominee.
Trump defended Kavanaugh, now a federal appeals court judge, at a New York news conference, but the president’s comments injected another note of uncertainty into Kavanaugh’s already troubled bid for a lifetime appointment to the nation’s highest court.
“You know, believe it or not, I’m going to see what’s said” at the hearing, Trump told reporters.
A third woman has accused Kavanaugh of aggressive sexual behavior in the 1980s. The nominee has vehemently denied all of the allegations ahead of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing coming up on Thursday where one of his accusers, Christine Blasey Ford, will also testify to senators.
Trump dismissed the allegations against Kavanaugh as a “big fat con job” orchestrated by Democrats. He did not say that Kavanaugh’s female accusers were lying.
“I can always be convinced,” Trump said. “It will be interesting to hear what she has to say.”