President Trump calls for 'due process' in abuse cases
President Donald Trump on Saturday appeared to side with men accused of domestic abuse or sexual misconduct, following a week of turmoil surrounding allegations of spousal abuse against two male aides that brought the national "Me Too" movement inside the White House.
In a Twitter posting, Trump questioned whether "due process" is being given to those accused of wrongdoing and expressed sympathy for their damaged careers and sullied reputations.
"Peoples lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation," Trump tweeted Saturday morning. "Some are true and some are false. Some are old and some are new. There is no recovery for someone falsely accused - life and career are gone. Is there no such thing any longer as Due Process?"
The brief message, which made no mention of the accusers, marks the president's most pointed response to the ongoing national reckoning with sexual harassment and abuse and put him seemingly at odds with a movement that in recent months has led to the downfall of several powerful men accused of abhorrent behavior.
Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., a leader in the effort to combat sexual harassment in Congress, said her stomach turned when she saw Trump's tweet Saturday morning.
"The new mantra is, 'We believe the women,' and he is frozen in, 'I believe the men.' " Speier said in an interview. "He's beyond rehabilitation in my view."
White House spokesmen did not respond to a request for comment about which cases Trump was referring to and whether he also thinks that the lives of accusers can be shattered and destroyed.
But Saturday's tweet follows spousal abuse allegations against two Trump aides that roiled the White House over the past week. Both men left their posts despite denying the claims by ex-wives of physical and emotional abuse.
Trump did not mention the aides by name, and he did not specify what kind of "allegation" he meant. But the tweet seemed to respond directly to the departure Wednesday of staff secretary Rob Porter, whose two former wives publicly detailed abuse, and the departure Friday of speechwriter David Sorensen
, whose ex-wife made similar claims.
Trump stressed to reporters Friday that Porter claims innocence and added that he hopes Porter "will have a great career ahead of him."
Trump's statement Saturday also comes as some discomfort has begun to be expressed about the possibility that innocent people or complicated situations are getting swept up in the "Me Too" movement - a sentiment he appeared to be seizing upon.
Republican strategist Katie Packer Beeson, who penned a column set to run Sunday titled "Has the #MeToo movement gone #too far?," said she agrees with the premise of Trump's tweet, but argued that the president is conflating two things and does not think the sentiment applies to Porter and Sorensen
, who have credible allegations made against them.
"I also think that in Donald Trump's very glossy world, wife beaters don't look like Rob Porter," she said. "Wife beaters look like big hairy, sweaty men in tank tops, covered in tattoos who stumble home drunk and beat their wives. They don't look like fashion models. He can't accept that somebody like that might have a huge character flaw."
Advocates for abuse victims say false allegations are rare but do occur, adding it also is not uncommon for men to claim that wives or partners falsely claim abuse to gain leverage in divorce or custody matters.
"It's unfortunate that the president's instinct never seems to be to side with victims. False allegations are rare, and due process is important, but in the wake of #MeToo, more survivors are feeling empowered to speak publicly," said Jodi Omear, a spokeswoman for the abuse advocacy group RAINN.
Trump has said little previously about the "Me Too" movement, which has led to a reexamination of power dynamics and expectations for men and women in the workplace. Casino mogul Steve Wynn, a prominent Republican donor and Trump friend, is among the latest powerful men to lose their jobs over allegations of sexual misconduct. Wynn denies committing any harassment or abuse.
Trump was asked by reporters in November about the movement and responded: "Women are very special. I think it's a very special time, a lot of things are coming out, and I think that's good for our society and I think it's very, very good for women, and I'm very happy a lot of these things are coming out. I'm very happy it's being exposed."
But Trump's sympathetic response Saturday fits a pattern in which he has defended other men accused of harassment or abuse while casting doubt on accusers - including when allegations have been made against him.
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