Lindsey Graham says he'd tell Trump to "knock it off" after president mimicked Ford
Sen. Lindsey Graham — one of embattled Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's staunchest defenders — said he didn't like what the president said about Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford at a rally Tuesday night, but it was "factual."
Mr. Trump, at a rally in Mississippi Tuesday night, appeared to mock Ford's memory and testimony displayed on Capitol Hill last week. "How did you get home? 'I don't remember,'" Mr. Trump said at the rally in Southaven, apparently alternating between questioner and an impression of Ford. "How did you get there? 'I don't remember.' Where is the place? 'I don't remember.' How many years ago was it? 'I don't know.'"
Graham, speaking at a rally at the Atlantic Festival in Washington, D.C., acknowledged he didn't particularly like what Mr. Trump said.
"The bottom line is, I know what can happen to a woman who comes forward in a political environment. Dr. Ford, I thought, was treated respectfully by Miss Mitchell. I'm glad she did it. She was boring. Boring's OK. So, I've been a prosecutor most of my -- defense attorney and judge before I got in this business. For every woman that comes forward, God knows how many never say a word and take it to their grave. Sometimes people are accused of something they didn't do.
"So President Trump went through a factual rendition that I didn't particularly like, and I would tell him to knock it off. You're not helping. But it can be worse."
Graham brought up the Juanita Broadrrick allegation from the late 1990s and said he thinks the nation has "come a long way" since she and Bill Clinton's other accusers talked about their allegations in 1998.
Graham said he thought Ford was treated "respectfully," but Kavanaugh was treated "like crap," to which the crowd booed.
"Yeah, well, boo yourself," Graham responded.
Graham became a focal point of last week's testimony when he unleashed his fury with Democrats, blasting them over delays in Kavanaugh's confirmation process and how they handled Ford's allegations.
The FBI, at the direction of the White House and request of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is conducting a review to add to Kavanaugh's background file. That investigation could be completed as early as Wednesday, CBS News' Jeff Pegues reports. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says the Senate will vote on Kavanaugh this week.