During a panel discussion on Tuesday’s Good Morning America about the sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, ABC News Legal Correspondent Sunny Hostin fretted that the accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, would be put “on trial” during a Senate hearing scheduled for Monday and warned the “older white men” in the GOP to be “very careful” in their questioning.
Talking to Hostin and Chief Legal Analyst Dan Abrams, co-host George Stephanopoulos laid the burden of proof upon Kavanaugh to disprove the accusations against him: “...if this hearing happens on Monday, they’re both up there, they both tell their story to the country. What will be the standard of proof for Kavanaugh?”
Abrams proclaimed:
...what the standard is going to be is, today, do they believe Kavanaugh’s telling the truth? He’s the one up there, he’s the one who’s up for the appointment, he’s the one who’s accused. And he’s gonna be the one that they’re focusing on in terms of his credibility. Do they believe he’s telling the truth?...Here, public opinion is gonna matter enormously, as to whether they believe him and do they believe her?
Stephanopoulos then turned to Hostin and wondered how any Senator could possibly vote for Kavanaugh: “Flip that around, Sunny, but after, if they both testify, to vote for Kavanaugh, you’re gonna have to, at some level, be saying she’s not telling the truth.”
Hostin condemned any effort to question Ford’s credibility:
You must disbelieve her. Exactly. And I think she’s very much on trial here....And this woman is not only doing it – she’s not doing it in a court of law, she’s doing on it the world stage. So for her to come forward and put her credibility, I think, on the line is extremely significant considering that we’re in the #MeToo movement right now.
Moments later, Stephanopoulos began to wrap up the segment by declaring: “It sounds like this is gonna be a huge gut check for the Senate and the country.” Hostin added: “Absolutely. And let’s face it, on the GOP side, you have older white men, only, interviewing this woman. I think that, that is an optic that the GOP has to be very careful about.”
On Monday’s The View, of which Hostin is a co-host, Democrats were applauded for having finally “played hard ball” against Kavanaugh.
The hypocrisy of Stephanopoulos, a former Bill Clinton operative, fretting over Senators not believing an accuser was truly stunning. Stephanopoulos actively engaged in smearing Gennifer Flowers when she alleged, in the midst of the 1992 presidential campaign, having an affair with Clinton. The Democratic operative turned anchor even called and threatened reporters not to cover the story at the time.
Back in May, Stephanopoulos grilled journalist Linda Vester on her harassment claims against veteran NBC newsman Tom Brokaw, noting that she had “angered” a colleague that he “admired.”
Apparently believing accusers of sexual harassment or assault varies depending on who is being accused.
Here is a full transcript of the September 18 panel discussion on ABC’s GMA:
7:05 AM ET
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Let’s bring in our legal team right now, our Chief Legal Analyst Dan Abrams, our Senior Legal Correspondent and Analyst Sunny Hostin. And as we said, Dr. Blasey Ford has not yet agreed to testify formally. Democrats are saying you have to have an FBI examination before a public hearing. Why would that be important?
DAN ABRAMS: Well, look, for the Democrats, they say that they want the FBI to follow leads. They want to talk to witnesses, etcetera. The FBI is not investigating a crime here. What the FBI is doing is effectively doing a background check. And what the Democrats want is that investigation to continue. And the issue’s going to be, does that investigation move forward? Do they spend a lot more time on that? Or does this simply become a question of watching him testify again and potentially her.
STEPHANOPOULOS: And you think she has no choice?
SUNNY HOSTIN: She has no choice, she has to testify. But I think it’s very important that the background check continue. When I was a federal prosecutor, I was only looking at a three-year appointment, this is a lifetime appointment. The FBI went to my former neighborhood and interviewed my neighbors. I hadn’t lived there since I was 16 years old, George. And so, this is a very, very serious background investigation that needs to continue.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Except one of the points that Republican defenders of Kavanaugh have made is he’s had these background checks several times for federal judgeships, for working in the White House, and this never came up.
HOSTIN: Yes, and this – but this is also different. This is also different. This is a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court. Character matters. And this woman’s bravery, I think, coming forward, is extremely important. And to those people that I keep on hearing saying things like, “Well, this happened in high school. He was only 17 years old.” Well, guess what? In Maryland, and states all across the country, for sexual assault, we do criminalize 16-year-olds. You can go to prison for that.
STEPHANOPOULOS: That gets to the question, if this hearing happens on Monday, they’re both up there, they both tell their story to the country. What will be the standard of proof for Kavanaugh?
ABRAMS: I think Sunny’s right, that the notion that, oh, you can sort dismiss this and say it happened 35 years ago. Because what the standard is going to be is, today, do they believe Kavanaugh’s telling the truth? He’s the one up there, he’s the one who’s up for the appointment, he’s the one who’s accused. And he’s gonna be the one that they’re focusing on in terms of his credibility. Do they believe he’s telling the truth? And, remember, unlike in a trial, where you're told, “Do not read things. Do not let people affect your opinion.” Here, public opinion is gonna matter enormously, as to whether they believe him and do they believe her?
HOSTIN: And I think –
STEPHANOPOULOS: Flip that around, Sunny, but after, if they both testify, to vote for Kavanaugh, you’re gonna have to, at some level, be saying she’s not telling the truth.
HOSTIN: You must disbelieve her. Exactly. And I think she’s very much on trial here. I have interviewed hundreds of crime victims, especially victims of sexual assault. This is one of the most difficult things they can do. And this woman is not only doing it – she’s not doing it in a court of law, she’s doing on it the world stage. So for her to come forward and put her credibility, I think, on the line is extremely significant considering that we’re in the #MeToo movement right now.
ABRAMS: It sounds like the defense here is going to be, “Maybe she thinks that this happened, right? Maybe she believes that this happened. Could it have been a case of mistaken identity? Could there will other explanations?” But the point is, exactly what happened 35 years ago, where did it happen, what was the date, etcetera, becomes less important today, I think, than simply, do they think that Judge Kavanaugh is telling the truth?
STEPHANOPOULOS: It sounds like this is gonna be a huge gut check for the Senate and the country.
HOSTIN: Absolutely. And let’s face it, on the GOP side, you have older white men, only, interviewing this woman. I think that, that is an optic that the GOP has to be very careful about.
ABRAMS: Yeah.
STEPHANOPOULOS: We’ll see. Thank you both very much.
