Repeating a line he’s used before, President Donald Trump responded to a question about the charges against New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft by noting that his longtime friend had denied the accusations against him. “Well, that’s very sad. I was very surprised to see it. He’s proclaimed his innocence totally and — but I’m very surprised to see it,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Friday, just hours after authorities announced Kraft faces charges of soliciting a prostitute, alleging that he was videotaped twice receiving a sex act at a Florida massage parlor. Kraft is a frequent guest at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach. Trump has previously used similar language when asked about men accused of sexual misbehavior. When two of then-White House staffer Rob Porter’s ex-wives alleged domestic violence, a White House spokeswoman called the allegations “simply false” and a “smear campaign.” “We wish him well,” Trump told reporters after Porter resigned. “As you probably know, he says he is innocent and I think you have to remember that.” When Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore faced accusations of improper sexual behavior with teenaged girls, a White House spokeswoman argued one charge was a “mere allegation.” “Well, he denies it,” Trump told reporters. “Look, he denies it. If you look at what is really going on and you look at all the things that have happened over the last 48 hours, he totally denies it. He says it didn’t happen. And, you know, you have to listen to him, also. He said 40 years ago, this did not happen.” Trump himself faced accusations of sexual misconduct from at least 18 women on the campaign trail, which he also denied, calling the women “horrible, horrible liars” and promising to sue them after the election. Get our Politics Newsletter. The headlines out of Washington never seem to slow. Subscribe to The D.C. Brief to make sense of what matters most. Please enter a valid email address. * The request timed out and you did not successfully sign up. Please attempt to sign up again. Sign Up Now An unexpected error has occurred with your sign up. Please try again later. Check the box if you do not wish to receive promotional offers via email from TIME. You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Thank you! For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder. Contact us at letters@time.com.<doc-sep>The Telegraph Two of the surprise packages of this clay-court season have been British – initially Dan Evans, who made a deep run in Monte Carlo, and more lately Cameron Norrie, who played his second final in three weeks on Sunday. Unfortunately, Norrie wasn’t able to land a maiden ATP title in Lyon. But then he was up against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has been the dominant force of 2021 outside the slams, and now stands at No 1 in the table of most rankings points gained since January 1. Nevertheless, it had been a hugely creditable effort for Norrie to go this far, especially when you consider that he took out top seed Dominic Thiem on Thursday, and then trounced big-hitting Russian Karen Khachanov in Saturday’s semi-final, losing only two games in the process. Norrie has come to clay late in his career, but it feels like this is developing into his favourite surface. He has one of the heaviest left-handed forehands in the game, loaded with top-spin, and uses it like a miniature version of Rafael Nadal. The result has been a tally of 14 wins and only four losses since he began his European clay-court swing in Barcelona. So while the French Open, which starts next Sunday, has traditionally been a graveyard of British hopes, there are reasons to hope that this year’s event could deliver some more positive results. Norrie’s previous final in Estoril had been a nervewracking affair which he eventually lost on a deciding-set tie-break to the more experienced Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Sunday was more straightforward for Tsitsipas, who needed only 69 minutes to hammer home a 6-3, 6-3 victory. It was Tsitsipas’ second title of the clay-court sequence, after he won Monte Carlo in mid-April, taking out Evans in the semi-final along the way. He has become a serious contender to upset the establishment – specifically Nadal and Novak Djokovic – at Roland Garros over the next few weeks. “I felt in good shape from the beginning of the tournament,” said Tsitsipas afterwards. “I am proud of today’s match, I knew it would be a difficult one against Cameron, who has been showing great tennis this week. He has been winning against good players and showing what the left hand can do on clay. “It was not an easy match today. I had to handle the nerves and I am proud of my performance and the way I stayed focused towards my goal.” On this year’s results, meanwhile, both Evans and Norrie stand among the world’s 20 most successful men. Evans is at No 16 and Norrie No 14. The next challenge for them both is to convert that ATP Tour form into a deep run at a major.<doc-sep>President Trump Donald TrumpTrump lashes out after grand jury seated for New York criminal probe Schumer tees up vote on Jan. 6 commission bill Senators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission MORE said Friday that news of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft facing charges in a prostitution sting was "very sad." Speaking to reporters at the White House on Friday afternoon, the president said he was surprised to see Kraft, a longtime friend of his, facing charges by Florida police. "Surprised to see it. He has denied it," Trump said, calling it a "very sad" situation. President Trump on Bob Kraft charges, per pooler @HallieJackson: "Surprised to see it. He has denied it." — Meridith McGraw (@meridithmcgraw) February 22, 2019 Kraft, 77, is facing two charges of soliciting prostitution. His spokesman has denied allegations of any unlawful activity. Police said during a news conference that they have video evidence of the encounters. ADVERTISEMENT "Our concern in this investigation centers around the possibility of victims of human trafficking," Jupiter, Fla., police chief Daniel Kerr said at the press conference Friday morning. "We categorically deny that Mr. Kraft engaged in any illegal activity," Kraft's spokesperson said in a statement. "Because it is a judicial matter, we will not be commenting further." Kraft, who has not been arrested, has frequently offered words of support for the president. He often visits Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., which is approximately 20 miles from Jupiter. The president reportedly prioritized an issue related to the NFL on Kraft's behalf during recent trade negotiations with Canada. Twenty-four other people were charged by police Friday in the sting, which authorities said could have involved human trafficking. Kraft is not accused of or charged with being involved in human trafficking. — Updated 4 p.m.<doc-sep>
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution, Florida police said in a press conference on Friday. President Trump, a good friend of Kraft's, said he was "surprised" by the charges when asked about them by reporters. Kraft and the Patriots visited Trump in the White House after their Super Bowl LI win in 2017. Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots, was charged Friday with two counts of soliciting prostitution in relation to a months-long investigation into a series of South Florida massage parlors. A spokesperson for Kraft released a statement after the news broke, saying, "We categorically deny that Mr. Kraft engaged in any illegal activity. Because it is a judicial matter, we will not be commenting further." President Trump, a close friend of Kraft's, said he was surprised to hear the news when asked about the charges by reporters. "Well, it's very sad," Trump said. "I was very surprised to see it. He's proclaimed his innocence totally, but I'm very surprised to see it." Kraft offered a detail of his friendship with Trump in a 2017 interview with the New York Daily News, noting that when his wife Myra died in 2011, Trump made an effort to console him, attending the funeral and proceeding to check in on him by phone every week to see how he was doing. "He was one of five or six people that were like that," Kraft said. "I remember that." Kraft's relationship with Trump carried through the latter's ascension to the presidency, and Kraft still has a direct line to reach the president by phone. Kraft also visited the White House along with the Patriots to celebrate the team's comeback win in Super Bowl LI in 2017. The Patriots are due for another visit to the White House after their win over the Rams in Super Bowl LIII in early February, but a date has yet to be set. Patriots owner Bob Kraft was just charged with soliciting prostitution. Here's how he made his $4.3 billion fortune, from working at his father-in-law's packaging company to buying the NFL team for $172 million. NFL insider Adam Schefter says Robert Kraft 'is not the biggest name involved' in Florida prostitution sting Victims of alleged human trafficking ring that ensnared Robert Kraft were forced to live in massage parlors and perform sex acts, according to police