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New Day

Kavanaugh and Ford Testify Thursday; Trump Meets with Rosenstein Thursday; Kavanaugh's Lawyer Speaks Out. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired September 26, 2018 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[07:00:00] ANDY SCHOLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Amazon says viewers, they get an option of which they want to listen to, guys, while they watch the game. They can listen to Joe Buck or Troy Aikman or also the new broadcast team of Kremer and Hannah Storm. Pretty cool how you're going to get to choose.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These women deserve to be heard. They're entitled to have a fair hearing.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: She was all messed up. Oh, gee, let's not make him a Supreme Court judge because of that.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MAJORITY LEADER: It is not uncommon to have professional staff do the questioning in a situation like this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She agreed to answer questions raised by the committee, not to be put on trial. This's completely inappropriate.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do you think your speech went today?

TRUMP: I think really well. It's gotten very good reviews.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were laughing at the president of the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think the beginning's going to have any impact overseas. It was very strong.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were a little taken back that that would be his assessment of how he's doing with the rest of the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

BERMAN: All right, good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. Alisyn's off. Erica Hill with me right now.

Breaking overnight, new developments in the turbulent confirmation battle of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. "USA Today" reports four people have come forward with sworn declarations corroborating Christine Blasey Ford's claims of sexual assault. Ford is expected to testify tomorrow morning under oath that 36 years ago Brett Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed, groped her and tried to remove her clothes.

So in these new statements just revealed overnight, four people, including Ford's husband, say she told them she had been assaulted in high school by someone who is now a federal judge. Two of these statements say Ford identified Kavanaugh by name. And all four of these people say Ford told them this before Kavanaugh was even nominated to sit on the Supreme Court.

Kavanaugh also expected to testify tomorrow under oath that no assault ever took place.

"USA Today" also published pictures of Kavanaugh's 1982 calendar given to the Senate by his lawyers who intend to use the calendar to show they believe that there's no indication that Kavanaugh attended a house party where Ford says she was assaulted.

And new attacks by President Trump on the second woman who claims she was assaulted by Kavanaugh, which, again, Kavanaugh denies. The president says that she messed up, Debbie Ramirez, and drunk at the time of the alleged incident. The president's comments came shortly after speaking to the United Nations where he was flat out laughed at by world leaders.

HILL: There are also new details about tomorrow's high-stakes Senate hearing where Kavanaugh and Ford will testify. Republicans on the Judiciary Committee bringing in outside counsel, a sex crimes prosecutor from Arizona, a woman, to question both witnesses. Democratic senators will do their own questioning.

Republicans, though, already looking ahead to Friday. GOP leadership scheduling a committee vote on Kavanaugh's nomination for Friday before any testimony has been heard, and, not surprisingly, that move angering Democrats. Well, one crucial Republican swing vote, Senator Lisa Murkowski, is warning her GOP colleagues not to prejudge the sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh.

BERMAN: Joining us now, Maggie Haberman, CNN political analyst, White House correspondent for "The New York Times," who has been doing some intriguing reporting always and over the last 12 hours.

Maggie, and I want to draw your attention to something you said overnight, that the president is sounding somewhat fatalistic on Judge Kavanaugh. What do you mean by that?

MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, was you know, one of his qualities tends to be whatever will happen will happen. The worst could happen.

He is not sounding -- this does not, to be clear, mean that he is looking ahead and seeing this going down, the Kavanaugh nomination, but he is frustrated by this process. He is very focused on what Thursday is going to be like. This is a president for whom TV is a very special medium, as we know, and he is aware that how this looks on television is going to be incredibly important, how people receive it, how Dr. Ford seems.

He has sounded -- anxious might not be the right word, but certainly aware for the last two weeks, week and a half, that Professor Ford could tell a compelling story and that that could make it a lot harder for Republican senators, who -- many of whom have already said, you know, it doesn't really matter, we're going to vote anyway. It might make it harder for them to do that.

So, look, this is not at all a process that he wanted. He was privately unimpressed with the interview that Brett Kavanaugh did. I don't think that's a huge surprise. You know, he tends to view people as -- in terms of either weak and strong and Kavanaugh was not exactly forceful in that interview. And I think it added to his concerns about what could happen tomorrow.

HILL: I do want to pick up on that part about -- that he -- that they have -- the president not being happy with Kavanaugh's performance in that interview.

Is there a sense of how much direction may have come from the White House prior to that for Kavanaugh, of how much the president may have weighed in, especially if now we're hearing he was not happy with the way that it went?

HABERMAN: No. I don't think the president was stage managing this interview, but I do think that -- I mean White House aides were certainly involved in --

HILL: Right.

[07:05:02] HABERMAN: Maybe have been involved in the prep the whole time. Most White House who I spoke with were also not thrilled with this interview. They acknowledge that he is not somebody who is used to being on television. These were details that he -- had made him supremely uncomfortable in their mute sessions where they were preparing for what this could be like days early. So it was a huge surprise to people, but it didn't necessarily forecast an easy time during what is expected to be a turbulent line of questioning tomorrow.

BERMAN: Did he wanted Kavanaugh to be more aggressive? And is that why we saw the president yet again yesterday going after directly the credibility of one of the accusers?

HABERMAN: Right. I actually think that that is a different issue, and I'll get to that in a second.

I mean I don't think it's so much that he wanted him to be more aggressive. I think he wanted him to be sharper, crisper, seem a little less robotic is the word that I heard over and over again, that he did not deliver -- he delivered a sort of flat performance. And as, again, as I said before, this is a president who looks at TV as a very specific medium and he tends to watch for TV animation in a different way and how people behave. So it's not a huge surprise.

In terms of how he was about Ms. Ramirez, which is the allegation that you mentioned earlier, how he responded at the U.N., that was I think a combination of things. I think he was frustrated with the allegations. I think that the White House has made clear that they don't consider that to be a fully stark report, right? That there were -- there were issues within it. But he had just come off the -- the UNGA floor where he was laughed at by world leaders and what it appears to be was that he was mocked in one forum, so he turned around and blasted someone in a different one. They were not related.

BERMAN: I want to play that. Do we have that?

HILL: Yes.

BERMAN: Let's play that moment where the president was speaking to world leaders at the United Nations and apparently told an unexpected joke.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country. America's -- so true. Didn't expect that reaction, but that's OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Didn't expect that reaction, although later on he said that actually -- that was planned. It was supposed to come off like that. But drawing that connection between what we saw, between the president being laughed at publicly, we know how he feels about that. And to your point, what better way to feel better apparently about it than to turn around and go after someone.

HABERMAN: Yes. He -- I mean these -- we've read a lot about the president, quote/unquote, fuming, that's the word that you hear a lot. These are -- these are outbursts and then he usually moves on. It's like he's expelling energy, essentially, and I think that's what happened there. I don't believe that that was part of the plan what to tell what was, you know, supposed to be a joke, as he described it later. I think he was saying something that he believes and he was saying the kind of thing that he says to a rally crowd.

The crowd at the U.N. General Assembly, which has viewed -- looked entirely favorably at his disruption, and that has -- that has been his goal is disrupting aspects of the global order. And that is -- if that is your plan, as it has been his, then that is absolutely your right as the president, but you can't be surprised that people who you are speaking to in that room are not going to applaud it the same way as your rally crowds. BERMAN: And you've noted -- you've covered this president from a long

time before he was president. How does he react to being laughed at?

HABERMAN: He -- remember, one of his frequent refrains on Twitter and his speeches, you know, at his rallies is always, the world is laughing at us. X, y, z, is laughing at this other person. I mean this was a literal rendition of the world is laughing at us. He was in front of world leaders at the U.N. and this was not the reaction that he was expecting. But whoever put that line in his speech should have. And if he went along -- if he wanted that line in the speech and an aide agreed to it and put it in, they did not do him a service by not warning him how this would be received.

HILL: But even if that warning came, Maggie, I mean would the president have listened because --

HABERMAN: May or may not have.

HILL: Right, because we know how well that does work for him at rallies. Again, know your audience. This is not your campaign rally audience.

HABERMAN: Right.

HILL: But if he wanted it and someone said, take it out, I'm the president, I'm going to do whatever I want.

HABERMAN: Well, sure, but you could say that about anything.

HILL: Sure.

HABERMAN: And then -- you know, and then he can't -- and then he can't be surprised. I mean he's not -- he's not completely unadvised. There are people who tell him what to do and he does listen. I -- you know, Steven Miller, his chief policy guy, was heavily involved in this speech. Steven Miller is not always known for weighing how things are going to play in certain rooms. So I'm not sure what the conversation was between the two of them but no one should have been surprised by that.

BERMAN: Will Rod Rosenstein work for the Trump administration as of Friday morning?

HABERMAN: Yes, I think so. I absolutely think so. I've thought so for days. I mean I think that they -- I think that he -- he was talking about resigning all weekend and then, for whatever reason, changed his mind. And I think that the president does not like one-on-one interpersonal confrontation, as we have known repeatedly. I also think the president and his advisers are aware that this puts him in a pretty bad spot to have to be facing Rosenstein in that way. This was not a meeting that the president sought, as I understood it. The president, I think, believes that Rosenstein said what we reported that he said. I think that the White House is not completely convinced by the, it was a joke, going back to it's a joke is apparently everyone's line these days.

[07:10:17] HILL: Yes.

HABERMAN: The line that he said. But that's a different question between whether Rod Rosenstein will be the deputy attorney general November 7th. And that -- that I don't know the answer to, right? I mean I think that Rod Rosenstein has been on borrowed time for a while. I think this just extends the borrowed time.

HILL: In some ways, though, doesn't he have to stay on, I mean, to have -- listen, you can make a case, right, there are plenty of conspiracy theories out there, as we know. But keeping him on, in many ways, actually helps the president and it helps also gives cover, depending on whatever the special counsel finds, which, again, we know nothing about what they have right now --

HABERMAN: Right.

HILL: Because Robert Mueller is not talking and his team is not talking. But it could also be helpful, beneficial to the president in the end if he's not happy with the findings.

HABERMAN: Why do you -- I'm not actually sure I follow you.

HILL: Meaning if Rod Rosenstein stays, right, the president didn't get rid of him --

HABERMAN: Right. Sure.

HILL: And then the president isn't happy with the findings of the special counsel and then he says, well, look, you know what, I could have gotten rid of him. I didn't. I left him in there because everybody told me to.

HABERMAN: Sure. Which is what he did with Comey.

HILL: And you see what happens. Exactly.

HABERMAN: It could. I mean I think that the -- I think the die is pretty cast on that, I agree with you, that I think that most people have said to him, you know, at least get through the midterms.

HILL: Right.

HABERMAN: Other people Would like him to go beyond. I mean you have this other question of whether Congress should be doing more to try to protect the special counsel. There are these different versions of bills that are just sitting and languishing that could protect the special counsel. I think that the flipside of that argument that people make is that the president, his relationship with DOJ leadership soured a very long time ago. This is not a functional relationship.

I know there have been reports that he and Rosenstein are friendly now. I think that's a bit of an overstatement. I think that they do OK now compared to how they did. But I think that a change to the attorney general's spot is almost certain to come and I think with that is likely to come the deputy. BERMAN: There's a press conference scheduled for later today, 5:00

p.m.

HABERMAN: Yes, how about that, in our city.

BERMAN: In New York City. The president is going to take questions from reporters. The timing is pretty interesting.

HABERMAN: Yes. Yes.

BERMAN: What do you think he wants to achieve here?

HABERMAN: I mean, I think a couple of things. I think that he didn't like how the laughter went yesterday, so I think some of this is just reclaiming, in his mind, the narrative where he can try to tell the story as he wants of his presidency. I do think it is about setting the table in some way ahead of this hearing tomorrow. I don't know that Senate officials would like him to do that. I suspect they would rather that he doesn't.

Although, you know, generally speaking, for him, this is grading on a massive curve here, but he had not actually been that aggressive in terms of talking about Professor Ford. Certainly he had that tweet that Mitch McConnell told him was not helpful last week. That is generally it as far as that allegation. Ramirez, he obviously went a little harder at.

But I don't think that anybody who is involved in the Republican side of trying to get Brett Kavanaugh over the finish line really is looking forward to having this be something that has to get debated a day before the hearing. I think that, you know, he continues to view himself as his own best spokesman. So I think there's sort of no surprise that at a moment when he feels like he is being besieged, that he wants to say something.

HILL: And have the last word, essentially, on (INAUDIBLE) for him --

HABERMAN: And -- or the first work and then maybe the last word.

HILL: Or that -- yes, yes.

HABERMAN: Yes, yes, I think that's right.

HILL: All the words.

HABERMAN: Many words.

BERMAN: All right, Maggie Haberman, thank you very much for being with us. A fascinating time watching every sign that comes across the transom (ph). Thanks.

HABERMAN: Thank you.

BERMAN: Up next, Brett Kavanaugh's lawyer, Beth Wilkinson, joins us live. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:18:01] BERMAN: "USA Today" reports that attorneys for Christine Blasey Ford have given the Senate Judiciary Committee sworn statements from four people who say Ford told them about her sexual assault claims against Brett Kavanaugh as far back as ten years ago. This comes ahead of tomorrow's high-stakes Senate hearing where Ford and Kavanaugh will tell their stories. Again, Kavanaugh denies any sexual assault.

Joining us now is Brett Kavanaugh's attorney, Beth Wilkinson.

Beth, thanks so much for being with us.

Hoping you can help clarify some statements that Judge Kavanaugh has made publically within the last few days.

BETH WILKINSON, ATTORNEY FOR BRETT KAVANAUGH: Sure.

BERMAN: Number one, he says that he may have met Christine Blasey. He's not sure?

WILKINSON: I don't think they ran in the same social circles, so they may have met on occasion. But he's very sure that the allegations that she made did not occur. And, as you know, everyone else who she named who was at that party either doesn't remember the party or doesn't even know and never met Judge Kavanaugh.

BERMAN: He says -- you say they may have met on occasion. Did they or did not they meet?

WILKINSON: I really -- I really don't know. I know they had overlapping social circles, so they may have met. But the real issue here is, we keep saying is, is the allegations about this very specific incident at a party that no one else was there that she named acknowledges occurred or remembers anything like that.

BERMAN: Understood. So they may have met.

She also -- he said, Judge Kavanaugh said on Fox News, he doesn't remember attending any parties with Christine Blasey. Is it possibly he attended parties with Christine Blasey and does not remember?

WILKINSON: It could always be possible because, as you know, this was 36 years ago. One of the biggest problems with, you know, trying to disprove this, as I think people are trying to put the burden on him, is that it's very hard to disprove or even remember exactly what you did 36 years ago. That's one of the reasons why he provided his calendars in response to the Senate Judiciary Committee's request for all the documents, so they could at least see what he was doing that summer. But without knowing where the incident happened, the date when it happened, you know, the time period when it happened, it's very hard to disprove that and say, I was never at a party -- maybe there was a large party -- where she was there and he was there at the same time.

[07:20:09] BERMAN: OK. So it's possible they were at parties and at this point he doesn't remember 36 years later.

WILKINSON: That's always possible. I think that that's -- that is the reality, again, of talking about something that happened such a long time ago.

BERMAN: So Liz Swisher (ph), in "The Washington Post," who says she was a college friend of Judge Kavanaugh, says he was a sloppy drunk, slurring his words, stumbling. Does he dispute that?

WILKINSON: Well, lots of people dispute that, including him. I mean he's admitted, though, that he's drank. He admits that they drank beers. You know, they were -- back then you could drink at 18. So when you were in high school, he admits that, when he looks back, there are some things that he did that he cringes over. I don't think there's any dispute that he drank when he was in high school and when he was in college, but that is not the issue here.

BERMAN: Well, it is in the sense that he said, again in this interview, that he was focused on sports, academics and service projects and implied in some peoples' minds that he was some kind of choirboy. That's the phrase in "The Washington Post." And there are people coming forward who saying they don't believe that's the case. You say he did things that made him cringed or caused regret. What did he do?

WILKINSON: Well, I think, again, you're -- you're -- you're mistaking exactly what was said. You're taking parts of what he said. He said that he did play sports. He did say that he -- and he -- and he worked that summer. He -- he was a good student and he did go to parties and he did drink beer. He didn't deny any of that.

BERMAN: Did he drink in excess? Did he drink to the point of being drunk?

WILKINSON: He -- he -- he said on occasion he drank more beers than he should.

BERMAN: And he says he did things that cause him regret and to cringe now. What would that include?

WILKINSON: In the -- in that context, I think he was talking about the yearbook page, which people have paid so much attention to. And I think there's lots of things when folks are 17-years-old and 18-years- old that they put on the yearbook page that when we all look back we wish we hadn't said. And so I think that's just acknowledging that he's a real person. And I think anybody, if this is going to be the standard of how we judge someone go into public service, I don't know why anyone in their right mind would want to go through something like this. No matter what side of the aisle you're on. I mean if we're going to start saying what you put in your yearbook page is what decides whether you have good character or bad character, I hope my children know that if they make some mistakes along the way, you know, that they can live a good life and still contribute to public service.

BERMAN: I understand. In some cases, though, it's a standard that he has set for himself, because, again, in this Fox News interview, he said he has always treated women with dignity. You brought up the yearbook page. You brought up the yearbook page. Ranada Schroeder (ph). And he claimed to be some part of Ranada (ph) alumnus group. And there are those -- she's a woman who apparently knew a number of boys who went to Georgetown Prep. A number of them included her name. Apparently in relation to some kind of alleged conquest that they all had with her. She has come out and said that it's horrible and hurtful. I pray that Judge Kavanaugh's daughters never are treated this way.

Is that treating people with dignity? Again, Judge Kavanaugh says he's always treated people with dignity?

WILKINSON: Again, you're leaving out most of the facts. She says that they never had any reaction. He remembers going on one date with her and said that he gave her a kiss good night. She says she doesn't even recall that happening. No one says, and including her, that there was any, you know, sexual conduct between her or any of these other boys. And I think, you know, that -- again, to suggest that that statement in the yearbook, as he said, he has a lot of respect for her and he regrets any -- in any way that statement hurt her feelings. But there's nobody, including her, that says there was any inappropriate contact -- conduct or any disrespect for her.

BERMAN: No, but, again, this gets to -- this gets to his assertions over the last few days where he says he has always treated women with dignity. I don't think that Ranada Dolphin (ph), as her name is now, thinks that's being treated with dignity which she says she calls the statements horrible and hurtful. Again, this just gets to the picture that Judge Kavanaugh is painting for himself now. So is it --

WILKINSON: Well, I think you're -- I think you're trying to -- you're trying to malign his character over things that occurred when he was -- excuse me.

BERMAN: I'm not -- I'm just trying to -- I'm just trying to -- is that treating people -- he says always treating people with dignity. Is that yearbook page treating Ranada Schroeder with dignity?

WILKINSON: I think what you're hearing from lots of people, not just him, women -- 65 women, women who knew him when he was young, people -- who he knew them in high school and college and all the way through say he did treat women with dignity and respect, that he has been an advocate for women. Is he a perfect guy? No. And, again, I don't think anyone is perfect. But he has a long line of people who have known him in all different arenas of his life who say he treated with dignity and respect.

BERMAN: And, again, it was a standard that he set in that interview saying he always did. I was just trying to establish, and I'm not going to push it because I think we got as far as we can on that point, I'm trying to establish whether or not that was treating women with dignity.

To the drinking, again, and this is something that was discussed in the Fox News interview, and to an extent he has said he had a few beers. He did things that made him cringe and cause regret.

In that interview, he says he has never blacked out. My question to you is, is his claim that he remembers everything from after every night of heavy drinking?

[07:25:08] WILKINSON: I don't think that's what he said and I don't think he said there was every night of heavy drinking. I think he said he did not black out. He did not say that he never drank too many beers. In fact, he said that he did. And, again, I depends on -- we're talking about 36 years ago. The question was, did he black out -- did he black out drink at that time, and he said no.

BERMAN: Did he remember everything from when he was drinking then?

WILKINSON: I don't even know what you mean by does he remember (INAUDIBLE).

BERMAN: Is the standard -- is the standard -- is the standard --

WILKINSON: The question isn't about everything he ever did. Again, you're talking about every day of his life when he was in high school. We're talking about a very serious allegation here. You're talking about an allegation of sexual assault.

BERMAN: Yes.

WILKINSON: And that's a very important thing. That can ruin someone's reputation over a lifetime. And we're not in a courtroom. We're outside in public opinion where you're putting forth all these general allegations instead of talking about the very specific incident where we don't know where it occurred, we don't know when it occurred. We know the people who are supposedly there and they all deny that having any recollection of that, or of that ever happening.

BERMAN: Yes.

WILKINSON: Even people who are not friends of Judge Kavanaugh.

BERMAN: What I'm trying to do is test some of the statements that he said over the last few days.

WILKINSON: Sure.

BERMAN: Again, because we haven't had a chance to question him. He will be questioned tomorrow in front of the Senate.

There's a 1997 memoir by Mark Judge, who writes of someone named Bart O'Kavanaugh. That Bart O'Kavanaugh was passed out drunk and threw up in a car. Is that the judge?

WILKINSON: I have no idea what Mark Judge was doing. My heart goes out to him because he was very honest in writing about addiction problems that he had and he's been clean and sober for many years and I don't know anything about him other than he issued a statement -- he wrote that book and he issued a statement saying he was accused of being in that room with Judge Kavanaugh. He said that never happened and that that was not like anything he knows about Brett Kavanaugh and it's not consistent with what he knows about his character and integrity.

BERMAN: Does the judge -- does the judge know whether or not he is the Bart O'Kavanaugh in Judge's memoire?

WILKINSON: I don't think he has any idea who Mr. Judge is referring to either.

BERMAN: OK. "USA Today" came out and says that they have statements -- four sworn statements from people who say that Judge Ford (ph) has told them over the last 10 years of a sexual assault that took place some 36 years ago. All of these supposed interactions happened before Judge Kavanaugh was even nominated to the Supreme Court. Two of them mentioned Brett Kavanaugh by name. Do you dispute that these people -- or do you have a reason to question the voracity of these four people and their sworn statements?

WILKINSON: No, these are statements, as I understand it, from looking at them, that were made very recently. And this is 30 years after the incident.

What I find most fascinating is the Senate Judiciary Committee wrote all of us and asked for all the documents. In "The Washington Post" interview, Dr. Blasey or Dr. Ford said that she had been seeing a therapist and there were therapist notes that support this. She did not turn over those notes, as I understand it from the reporting. Judge Kavanaugh's not mentioned anywhere in there. And there's a dispute about how many people were there.

She also said there was a lie detector test. The Senate specifically asked her for that and they failed to turn over the results of the lie detector test.

I think, at this point, all of the evidence that she has should be turned over. Judge Kavanaugh turned over his calendars. And I think it's very difficult to kind of assess the, you know, the kind of corroboration that occurred when the first time this incident was supposedly ever discussed by Dr. Ford was in 2012, when she discussed it with her therapist, and we don't have those notes, which she showed to "The Washington Post."

BERMAN: Understood. That people do swear though that these conversations took place, in some cases in 2012, I believe 2013, 2016 and 2017. They've sworn to this. There's an e-mail exchange form 2018, again, from before when Judge Kavanaugh was actually nominated.

What would be the motivation of Christine Blasey to bring up this issue that she had with someone who was a federal judge, and by name Brett Kavanaugh twice, if he wasn't even nominated to the Supreme Court at that point? Why -- would it be a plot hatched years ago?

WILKINSON: Well, I'm not going to comment on her motivations. All I know is that in 2012, when she discussed it with her therapist, there was no discussion of Judge Kavanaugh, and there was a discussion of a different number of people that has been talked about now.

BERMAN: Yes. WILKINSON: I think people have different recollections. And it's what makes it so difficult, you know, to determine what really happened when you're talking about something that occurred 36 years ago.

BERMAN: Let me read you a quote from a sex crimes prosecutor. People think that children would tell right away, and that they would tell everything that happened to them. In reality, children often keep this secret for years, sometimes into their adulthood, sometimes forever. Do you agree with that?

[07:29:58] WILKINSON: I'm sure that's true. And, I mean, I think there's lots of reasons why women don't talk about sexual assault when it happens. And nobody is questioning why women might not do that, for exactly the reason we're seeing today, that people on both sides of the aisle are using this for their own political purposes.