Susan Collins Calls Christine Ford A Liar: ‘I Do Not Believe’ Brett Kavanaugh Assaulted Her

After delivering a lengthy Senate floor speech announcing her decision to vote to confirm Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh amid multiple sexual misconduct allegations, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) doubled down on her defense of Kavanaugh during a CNN interview that aired Sunday morning.

Speaking to State of the Union guest host Dana Bash, Collins called Christine Blasey Ford’s Senate testimony “heartwrenching” and “compelling” while noting that she didn’t believe Ford came forward because she had a political motive. Collins then stated that Kavanaugh pointed out he was 100 percent certain he didn’t assault Ford, leaving her with the decision of looking at all the evidence and seeing if any of it corroborated Ford’s account.

“Do you still think it is possible that he did it?” Bash asked. “You just don’t have the proof to back that up?”

“I do not believe that Brett Kavanaugh was her assailant,” the Maine Republican responded. “I do believe she was assaulted. I don’t know by whom and I’m not certain when but I do not believe he was the assailant.”

Bash noted that many watching will say that “you don’t believe her,” that Ford “was wrong,” and that what Kavanaugh said was more valid than Ford’s testimony.

“In this country, we have a presumption of innocence and as a matter of fairness,” Collins answered. “What I decided to use as a standard was the question of is it more likely than not that Brett Kavanaugh assaulted Christine Ford and there was no corroborating evidence that he did so.”

After Collins went on to say that the people who Ford identified as being at the gathering that night don’t recall it, Bash highlighted that it’s not unusual for people not to remember an event 36 years later that was unremarkable from their viewpoint. This then resulted in Collins essentially blasting Ford as a liar.

“I don’t really think that is possible when Christine Ford testified that she ran down the stairs and out the door, surely her best friend, who was there, would have followed her and asked her what was wrong,” she said. “Nobody has come forward to say I’m the one who gave you a ride home or I was the other person at the party.”

Collins continued, echoing the crackpot theory that Ed Whelan tossed out last month, “I’m not saying she was not sexually assaulted. I believe she was and that horrible experience has upended her life, but it does not mean that Brett Kavanaugh was her assailant.”

Well, there you go.

Watch the clip above, via CNN.