Brett Kavanaugh confirmation: Democrats call to delay vote on Trump's Supreme Court pick as he denies sexual assault allegation

Accuser Christine Blasey Ford says she is willing to 'testify in public' about her accusations

Kavanaugh sexual misconduct accuser willing to testify before congress, says her lawyer

The confirmation of Donald Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court has been thrown into doubt, with a woman having accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct.

Christine Blasey Ford, a professor at Palo Alto University, is willing to testify about the claims she has levelled at Mr Kavanaugh, her lawyer Debra Katz has said.“She is willing to do whatever is necessary,” she told CBS. “She’s willing to do what she needs to do, she’s willing to hopefully tell her story in a manner that is a fair proceeding.”

Ms Ford, who made the allegations several months ago but only agreed that her name be made public at the weekend in an interview with the Washington Post, said Mr Kavanaugh tried to force himself on her at a high school party three decades ago.

Amid mounting calls from Democrats and some Republicans to delay a vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee that is scheduled for Thursday, Mr Kavanaugh has issued several adamant denials.

“This is a completely false allegation. I have never done anything like what the accuser describes—to her or to anyone,” he said.

“Because this never happened, I had no idea who was making this accusation until she identified herself yesterday.

“I am willing to talk to the Senate Judiciary Committee in any way the Committee deems appropriate to refute this false allegation, from 36 years ago, and defend my integrity.”

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Key Points

• Democrats call for delay to Senate confirmation vote
• Republican Senate Judiciary Committee Chair says Christine Ford 'deserves to be heard'

[17 September 2018 17:39 · Andrew Buncombe]

“Anyone who comes forward as Dr. Ford has deserves to be heard, so I will continue working on a way to hear her out in an appropriate, precedented and respectful manner.....

[17 September 2018 17:39 · Andrew Buncombe]

“The standard procedure for updates to any nominee’s background investigation file is to conduct separate follow-up calls with relevant parties. In this case, that would entail phone calls with at least Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford. Consistent with that practice, I asked Senator Feinstein’s office yesterday to join me in scheduling these follow-ups. Thus far, they have refused. But as a necessary step in evaluating these claims, I’ll continue working to set them up.....

[17 September 2018 17:40 · Andrew Buncombe]

“Unfortunately, committee Republicans have only known this person's identity from news reports for less than 24 hours and known about her allegations for less than a week. Senator Feinstein, on the other hand, has had this information for many weeks and deprived her colleagues of the information necessary to do our jobs. The Minority withheld even the anonymous allegations for six weeks, only to later decide that they were serious enough to investigate on the eve of the committee vote, after the vetting process had been completed....

[17 September 2018 17:40 · Andrew Buncombe]

“It’s deeply disturbing that the existence of these allegations were leaked in a way that seemed to preclude Dr Ford’s confidentiality....

[17 September 2018 17:40 · Andrew Buncombe]

“Over my nearly four decades in the Senate I have worked diligently to protect whistleblowers and get to the bottom of any issue. Dr Ford’s attorney could have approached my office, while keeping her client confidential and anonymous, so that these allegations could be thoroughly investigated. Nevertheless, we are working diligently to get to the bottom of these claims.”

[17 September 2018 17:41 · Andrew Buncombe]

Here's that statement in full:

[17 September 2018 17:53 · Andrew Buncombe]

The controversy over allegations made by Christine Ford, a California professor, is quickly becoming policised. In addition to the online mocking of her claims by the president's eldest son, Heavy.com has reported that Ms Ford signed a letter with other health professionals demanding Mr Trump stop his policy on family separations at the border. The website said she signed the letter as Christine Blasey, and it was used as an exhibit in an ACLU lawsuit against the Trump administration.

[17 September 2018 18:00 · Andrew Buncombe]

Meanwhile, Fox News' Laura Ingraham tweeted a story that says Ms Ford’s parents were defendants in a case that was presided over by Mr Kavanaugh’s mother, of whom he has spoken at length during confirmation hearings.

[17 September 2018 18:28 · Andrew Buncombe]

We're going to leave our live coverage for now. Thanks for reading. Here's a story that contains all the latest details: