Former Speaker of the House and Trump ally Newt Gingrich said Thursday that if Democrats subpoena President Donald Trump, Republicans will see whether Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s tumultuous confirmation process “was worth it.”
Kavanaugh was accused of sexual assault by several women during his confirmation process starting in September. He and the first accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, testified separately before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which was followed by a weeklong FBI investigation into the allegations as protests erupted on Capitol Hill. Kavanaugh, who denied all the accusations, was confirmed by a 50-48 Senate vote.
During a live interview hosted by The Washington Post on Thursday evening, political columnist Karen Tumulty asked Gingrich what he expected should Democrats, who could win a majority in the House of Representatives in the coming midterm elections, subpoena Trump’s tax returns.
“Then they’ll be trapped into appealing to the Supreme Court, and we’ll see whether or not the Kavanaugh fight was worth it,” Gingrich replied.
When Tumulty asked why Trump seemed to be “raising that fear” of being investigated by Democrats, Gingrich said, “That’s because he wants everyone to go vote.”
“This is a billionaire who has fought lawsuits his entire career and he’s never noticed them. He doesn’t care,” Gingrich said of Trump earlier in the talk. “That’s why he has lawyers. So they can come at him from 100 levels — he’ll just hire 100 lawyers.
“He’ll say, ‘Call me when it’s over. I’ve got to do other things, I’ll see you — I’m going to China,’ or ‘I’m going to campaign,’ ” the former speaker added. “But I don’t think he has any fear of the Democrats’ ability to investigate.”
