Trump said he found Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford's testimony 'compelling' and called her 'a very credible witness'

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Trump said he found Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford's testimony 'compelling' and called her 'a very credible witness'

Brett Kavanaugh Donald Trump

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

: U.S. President Donald Trump introduces U.S. Circuit Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh as his nominee to the United States Supreme Court during an event in the East Room of the White House July 9, 2018 in Washington, DC.

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  • President Donald Trump called Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, a "very credible witness" and said her testimony was "compelling."
  • His remarks came after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to favorably recommend Kavanaugh's confirmation, but with Sen. Jeff Flake calling for a week-long FBI investigation into the allegations before a floor vote.
  • Trump said he has no plans to replace Kavanaugh with a different nominee, and will let the Senate work out the details of future confirmation proceedings.
  • Catch up on everything that happened in this morning's Committee vote here.

President Donald Trump called Christine Blasey Ford, who accuses Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, a "very credible witness," but said he isn't considering replacing Kavanaugh and will allow the Senate to exercise discretion on further proceedings.

"I thought her testimony was very compelling. She looks like a very fine woman to me," he told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday alongside Chilean President Sebastián Piñera.

"And I thought that that Brett's testimony likewise was really something that I haven't seen it was incredible. It was an incredible moment I think in the history of our country. But certainly she was a very credible witness. She was very good in many respects," he added.

His comments came after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to favorably recommend Kavanaugh's confirmation to the full Senate. Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, however, upended the process by announcing he would vote favorably, but only with the understanding that the FBI would conduct a week-long investigation into the allegations first.

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Trump calmly told reporters that he hadn't thought about replacing Kavanaugh "even a little bit." When asked if the White House counsel would formally request a continued FBI investigation into the allegations, he answered he would rely on the guidance of Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley.

"That's a decision that they'll make and I expect them to make a decision soon," he said. To take a vote or whatever else they want to do. I'll be reliant on what Senator Grassley and the group decides to do."

The Judiciary Committee vote came one day after both Ford and Kavanaugh delivered a combined 8 hours of historic, emotional testimony before the Senators on the committee. Ford accuses Kavanaugh of groping and attempting to rape her at a suburban Maryland house party in 1982 when he was 17 and she 15.

Read Business Insider's full coverage of the Ford-Kavanaugh hearing:

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