Kellyanne Conway speaks out: 'I'm a victim of sexual assault'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An emotional Kellyanne Conway came forward Sunday and stated that she is a victim of sexual assault.
The revelation by Conway, counselor to President Trump, came during a tense back-and-forth with journalist Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union” while Conway defended the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
“I feel very empathetic, frankly, for victims of sexual assault and sexual harassment and rape,” Conway said. “I’m a victim of sexual assault.”
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Conway added: “I don’t expect Judge Kavanaugh or Jake Tapper or Jeff Flake to be held responsible for that. You have to be responsible for your own conduct.”
Conway then went on to address the women who confronted Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., on Friday after he said he would vote to pass Kavanaugh through the judiciary panel.
"I want those women who were sexually assaulted the other day who were confronting Jeff Flake, God bless them, but go blame the perpetrator,” she said. “That's who is responsible for the sexual assaults, the people who commit them.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Flake, who originally said he would vote for Kavanaugh’s nomination, became a crucial factor in the process on Friday when he called on the White House to greenlight an investigation into new allegations of sexual misconduct leveled against Kavanaugh.
Trump ordered the FBI on Friday to reopen Kavanaugh's background investigation after several women accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct. Kavanaugh has denied the allegations.
Senate leaders agreed to delay a final vote on Kavanaugh's nomination to allow for a one-week FBI investigation. The Judiciary Committee has said the probe should be limited to "current credible allegations" against Kavanaugh and be finished by next Friday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The FBI is looking into the allegations by Christine Blasey Ford, who alleges that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a party when they were teenagers, and Deborah Ramirez, who has alleged that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a party in the early 1980s.
The FBI is not investigating Julie Swetnick, who has publicly accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct at high school parties.
Swetnick’s allegations have not been able to be corroborated and it has been revealed that she has an extensive history of involvement in legal disputes, including a lawsuit in which an ex-employer accused her of falsifying her college and work history on her job application.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Associated Press contributed to t his report.