A senior adviser to US President Donald Trump revealed on Sunday that she has been a victim of sexual assault.
Kellyanne Conway, one of the most prominent figures in the White House, made the revelation to CNN's Jake Tapper while defending Brett Kavanaugh – the Supreme Court nominee who has been accused of sexual assault.
"I feel very empathetic, frankly, towards victims of sexual assault and sexual harassment and rape," she said. "I'm a victim of sexual assault. I don't expect Judge Kavanaugh, or Jake Tapper, or Jeff Flake, or anybody, to be held responsible for that. You have to be responsible for your own conduct."
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Conway went on to defend her decision to work for Trump, a man Tapper noted had been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women. "Don't conflate that with this, and certainly don't conflate it with what happened to me," she hit back. "Don't always bring Trump into everything that happens in this universe. That's mistake number one."
Conway went on to claim the Kavanaugh Senate hearings were "raw partisan politics," adding "it's not a meeting of the #MeToo movement."
Arizona Senator Jeff Flake on Friday forced Trump into ordering a new FBI investigation into allegations against Kavanaugh, delaying a full Senate vote on the nominee until the end of this week.
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, September 27, 2018. /VCG Photo
On Thursday, more than 20 million people watched Dr. Christine Blasey Ford appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee. She accused Kavanaugh of pinning her down and assaulting her in the 1980s. At least three women have now accused the 53-year-old conservative judge of sexual misconduct while drunk. Kavanaugh denies all the allegations.
Forty-two percent of Americans believe the claims against Kavanaugh, while 31 percent do not and the rest do not know, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll split along party lines. A weekend YouGov poll found 41 percent believed Ford and 35 percent Kavanaugh.
Democrats expressed concern on Sunday over media reports that the White House was working with Republicans to narrow the scope of the FBI investigation. Meanwhile, a White House official told Reuters the investigation would start off with interviews with only four people.
Republicans see Kavanaugh as pivotal to gaining control of the nine-member Supreme Court bench, which begins a new session on Monday with eight justices. Trump nominated him to replace Anthony Kennedy, who was a swing vote between four conservative and four liberal justices.
(With input from agencies)