Q Does the White House believe it is appropriate then -
MS. SANDERS: Ayesha - sorry?
Q Does the White House believe it is appropriate for these two - I know you're saying that the FBI -
MS. SANDERS: Again, we're going to allow the Senate to make the determination of the scope.
Ayesha.
Q (Inaudible.)
MS. SANDERS: Ayesha, go ahead.
Q Thank you. So President Trump talked a lot yesterday about this issue of being concerned about men being guilty before - being thought guilty before proven innocent and this idea of due process.
But in the past, with the Central Park Five, he put out an ad basically calling for the death penalty before they had been found convicted. And even after they were exonerated, he still basically said that they may be guilty. And, even as President, he has talked about - presided over rallies where people say, "Lock her up," talking about Hillary Clinton. So I guess, is there a disconnect between when the President is interested in due process for some, but not for others?
MS. SANDERS: Not at all. The President actually encouraged the Senate to hear Dr. Ford's testimony in the same way he encouraged them to hear Judge Kavanaugh's. He is simply stating the fact that we are a country of law and order, we are a country that still believes that you're innocent until proven guilty, and we want to see that process go through in its entirety. And it should be on a fair playing field. That's simply the only point he's making.
Q (Inaudible) guilty. He said -
MS. SANDERS: Sorry.
Q He said the Central Park Five was guilty.
Q Yes.
Q And he - does he feel that now?
MS. SANDERS: I'd have to look back at those specific comments.
Dave.
Q But that's a real question in the midst of this. The President has taken this moment -
MS. SANDERS: Sorry, Dave, go ahead.
Q This President has taken this moment to say that he's been affected personally by all of these allegations, and he's picking and choosing - just as this question was. He said the Central Five - Park Five was guilty, and then he has made Bill Clinton guilty. Has he decided to change his mind on the Central Park Five, as they have been exonerated?
MS. SANDERS: It's interesting that you bring up Bill Clinton. Nobody wants to hear those accusers' voices be heard, but you're certainly happy to hear all the others.
Dave, go ahead.
Q No, he had them - the President had them at the debate.
MS. SANDERS: I addressed this. I don't have anything else to add.
Q The President had them at the debate.
MS. SANDERS: Dave, go ahead.
Q Is he still talking to them?
Q Thank you, Sarah. Several times in the last week, the President has tried to reassure voters that he'll protect people with preexisting conditions from losing their health insurance. Is that a sign that he's worried Republicans are losing the argument on healthcare in this election?
MS. SANDERS: I think it's a sign that the President wants to protect people with preexisting health conditions. I think it's pretty simple. He said that he supports that, and he wants to make sure that that's not something that gets lost.
Jim.
Q Sarah, I wanted to go back to this - I mean, it was pretty obvious that the President was mocking Christine Blasey Ford last night. He said:
"How did you get home?" "I don't remember." "How did you get there?" "I don't remember." "Where is this place?" "I don't remember."
He seemed to be, to the delight of the crowd there in Mississippi, mocking her repeatedly. Isn't there something wrong with the President of the United States mocking somebody who says she was sexually assaulted?
MS. SANDERS: It seemed to me that he was stating facts that Dr. Ford, herself, laid out in her testimony. Once again, every single word that Judge Kavanaugh has said has been looked at, examined, picked apart by most of you in this room, but not - no one is looking at whether or not the accusations made are corroborated, whether or not there's evidence to support them.
Every person that she named has come out and said either they didn't recall it, or it didn't happen, or they weren't there. Every single bit of evidence and facts that we've seen in this moment have supported Judge Kavanaugh's case. And the President is simply pointing out the facts of the matter. And that is what the Senate will have to use to determine whether or not they vote to support him or not.
Q Are you saying Judge Kavanaugh -
MS. SANDERS: Jon.
Q - are you saying Judge Kavanaugh is the victim in all this?
MS. SANDERS: I think both Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh are victims at the hands of the Democrats. I think it is absolutely disgraceful what they've done and exploited this process. They exploited Dr. Ford. They're exploiting all of the women that have come out to make any type of accusation.
This is isn't the process that should have been done. And certainly, everybody deserves to be heard. But that includes Judge Kavanaugh, and that should be part of this process. And the facts have to be looked at. And I think you have to look at the prosecutor's memo. Those are where you see all of those facts laid out, and I think she makes a very compelling case.
Q And you don't have any problem at all with defending the President's comments last night?
MS. SANDERS: Jon, go ahead.
Q You don't have any problem defending the President's comments last night?
MS. SANDERS: I don't have any problem stating facts. No.
Jon.
Q Thank you, Sarah. Just five days ago -
MS. SANDERS: I know that's something you probably do have a problem with, but I don't.
Q Actually, Sarah, we do state the facts, and I think there have been many occasions when you don't state the facts, if I may respond.
MS. SANDERS: John, go ahead.
Q Thank you, Sarah. Just five days ago on Friday, the President, when asked about Dr. Ford's testimony before the Senate, said that "she was a very credible witness." And we saw a different tone, a different substance last night in those remarks to that campaign rally audience in Mississippi. Why the change in tone? And does the President still believe what he said on Friday that "she was a very credible witness"?
MS. SANDERS: I've addressed this a number of times. The President also said she had a "very compelling" story. And nobody disagrees with that -
Q (Inaudible) the credible -
MS. SANDERS: Hold on -
Q - the credible part.
MS. SANDERS: And nobody disagrees with that. But the President is simply stating the facts that she laid out in her own testimony and that the prosecutor laid out in her memo. At the end of the day, the Senate has to make a decision on where they stand.
I'll take one last question. Weijia, go ahead.
Q But to the point about whether he believes she is still credible - does he still - but does the President still believe that Dr. Ford's testimony was credible when she testified under oath in the Senate hearing?
MS. SANDERS: The President believes that Judge Kavanaugh should be confirmed. He has a lot of confidence in him and he'd like to see a vote to see that happen.
Weijia.
Q Thank you, Sarah. A couple questions. President Trump has seemed to link the credibility of a claim with how much time has passed since the individual made it. President Trump has also called the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church "very sad," but many of those victims waited decades before coming forward. Why does the President seem to assume men who are claiming abuse but wait to come forward are telling the truth, but not women?
MS. SANDERS: That's just completely untrue. The President has supported, again, throughout this entire process, Dr. Ford's ability to come forward and tell her story. He's the one that ordered the FBI to do a background - further supplemental background check to look into each of the accusations and allegations that the Senate deems necessary before making a vote. He's also been more than happy to give a platform to the accusers that have come out against then-President Bill Clinton. To say that he's never sided with women is just ridiculous
Q No, but he has implied that they're coming out of the woodwork all of a sudden and cited that as a reason why, even though he has called for an investigation, even though -
MS. SANDERS: He's saying that because after Judge Kavanaugh has been in public service and in the public eye for over 26 years, been through six backgrounds investigation - now part of a seventh - that this is the first time you're ever hearing of any of these allegations.
The fact that, through all of those background checks, not even an inkling of any of those things has ever come up, despite the fact he was one of the top prosecutors for Ken Starr and in a major public position, none of these things came up. When he was nominated to be on the federal bench, none of these things came up.
He has been a public figure, and there has been a lot of opportunity for people to raise this issue, and it never has. And now, at the 11th hour, the Democrats have exploited this process and done so publicly. And it's a shame, and he's simply calling that out.
Thanks so much guys. We'll see you soon.
