The GOP Is Trying to Thread a Needle With Kavanaugh Accusations
*By Amanda Weston and Max Godnick*
President Trump appears to be "losing his patience" with the Brett Kavanaugh scandal, according to one White House correspondent.
The commander-in-chief's latest Twitter comments certainly seem to indicate as much.
"I have no doubt that if the attack on Dr. Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement Authorities by either her or her loving parents," Trump [tweeted on Friday morning](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1043126336473055235). "I ask that she bring those filings forward so that we can learn date, time, and place!"
He's referring to accusations from Christine Blasey Ford that Kavanaugh, a Supreme Court nominee, sexually assaulted her during a party while the two were in high school.
Moments after Trump's tweet on Friday, CRTV correspondent Jon Miller told Cheddar that Trump is reflecting the sentiment of many Americans who "absolutely want to take these charges seriously, \[but are\] wondering why they weren't filed 36 years ago when this event happened."
Miller himself said he thinks the chronology is "suspicious."
Still, Trump and his administration may have reason to worry.
"I think \[Trump\] was concerned that there's going to be bad news next week that could take down the Kavanaugh nomination," said Daniel Lippman, co-author of the Politico Playbook, in a separate interview with Cheddar on Friday.
Trump [took to Twitter](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1043160312315146240) later on Friday to address the controversy.
"Senator Feinstein and the Democrats held the letter for months, only to release it with a bang after the hearings were OVER - done very purposefully to Obstruct & Resist & Delay," he said. "Let her testify, or not, and TAKE THE VOTE!"
Trump's tweets followed the news that Ford is open to testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, [but only if certain terms are met](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/20/us/politics/brett-kavanaugh-christine-blasey.html). Her lawyers said testifying Monday (the original date for testimony) was not possible, igniting a debate about when, if at all, a deadline ought to be set.
For Miller, the sooner Ford testifies, the better.
"I think that the Senate should hold the hearing Monday, and if she doesn't show up, they confirm him," Miller said.
Lippman disagreed.
"It would look very bad for Republicans to say, 'Well, if she won't come on Monday, we're not going to let her come \[later on\],'" he said.
NBC News and The Wall Street Journal [released poll results](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/poll-opposition-kavanaugh-s-confirmation-grows-n911581) this week claiming that more Americans now oppose Kavanaugh's confirmation than support it. It's the first time in the poll's history that a majority of Americans have opposed a Supreme Court nominee.
Lippman said the "constant drumbeat of bad news about Kavanaugh" is the main reason why most Americans have deemed the judge unfit for office.
"You want a Supreme Court justice to be the arbiter of fairness and good behavior and good morality," he said. "Most judges and lawyers, they don't act like \[Kavanaugh\] allegedly did when they were 17."
But the drumbeat aside, Miller believes the GOP still has the advantage.
"I think Republicans have the leg up simply because they have the numbers, given no one deflects," Miller said. "But I do think that in terms of public opinion ... that the numbers in support of Kavanaugh are going down. Unfortunately what the American people think about Kavanaugh doesn't exactly matter, here. The ball is in the Senate's court."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/trump-changes-his-tone-on-kavanaugh-accuser).
A new analysis reveals that for more than two decades, the West has been the driest it has ever been since 800 A.D. The drought which began in 2000 has brought more devastating wildfires and draining water reserves well below healthy levels. Climate Scientists and Adjunct Associate Research Scientist at Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University,Benjamin Cook, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Inflation remains hot as the January PPI has increased by 1 percent, twice what analysts had been expecting with a jump of 9.7 over the year. Beth Ann Bovino, the U.S. chief economist, for S&P Global Ratings, joined Cheddar News to discuss the rapid pace of inflation alongside higher wages, predicting the Federal Reserve will act quickly and forcefully this year. "They haven't changed their forecast, yet, that's gonna come out soon. But we expect that a March rate hike is basically pretty much baked in the cake," she said. "We think six rate hikes in total for 2022."
For black history month, Cheddar is highlighting black business leaders who are driving the need for representation forward. On February 10, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce hosted an event called 'Developing the Black-Owned Business Ecosystem.' The virtual event was organized under the lobbying group's two initiatives -- the Equality of Opportunity Initiative, and the Coalition to Back Black Businesses. The event highlighted the developments needed to develop more black-owned businesses in the U.S. Dr. Anthony Wilbon, Dean of the School of Business at Howard University, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss his experience as a speaker at the event.
A newly declassified letter by senators Ron Wyden and Martin Heinrich claimed the CIA. has been conducting a Secret Surveillance Program which has been collecting a bulk of data from American citizens. The letter which was written in April of 2021 urges the CIA to come clean about the kind of data it collects and how many Americans have been impacted. According to these two senators, the program did not have the safeguards of congressional oversight.
Art Hogan, Chief Market Strategist at National Securities, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says investors are taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to the situation between Russia and the Ukraine and elaborates on the impact higher oil prices stemming from the conflict would have on the market.
Last week, Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee, wrote a a letter airing concerns that the CIA is collecting the data of American citizens without their consent. The lawmakers fear that the program might be exploiting private data. Morgan Wright, the chief security advisor at cybersecurity firm SentinelOne, joined Cheddar News to discuss the ramifications of the letter. "We don't have all the dots in one place to connect them," said Wright, cautioning against jumping to conclusions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that diplomacy is still possible, while U.S. officials warn that an attack on Ukraine is imminent. Cheddar News speaks with James Astill, Washington bureau chief of The Economist on the latest developments in Eastern Europe.
As the number of Russian troops rose to 130,000 along its Ukrainian border, hopes for a diplomatic solution remain among world leaders. Jason McMann, head of geopolitical risk analysis at Morning Consult, joined Cheddar News to break down the fluid situation. "We saw signs pointing towards an increase in tensions between Ukraine and Russia, whereas today we're seeing some signs that the Russian government may be willing to continue down a path of diplomatic negotiations to try and find some sort of non-military solution," he said.
