Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is under fire as accusations of sexual misconduct cloud what was expected to be a simple nomination process.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to hold a hearing at 10 a.m. ET Thursday, in which a woman who has accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers will testify about the alleged incident.
Another woman came forward Sunday to accuse the Supreme Court nominee of sexual misconduct during a drunken party in a dorm room when they were both freshmen at Yale University.
Here are the latest updates:
Update 7:40 a.m. EDT Sept. 25: White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told "Good Morning America" on Tuesday that President Donald Trump "would be open" to Kavanaugh's second accuser, Deborah Ramirez, appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
The New Yorker reported Sunday that Ramirez, 53, said Kavanaugh made unwanted advances during a drunken party at a dormitory during the 1983-84 school year, when they were both attending Yale University.
Update 3:35 a.m. EDT Sept. 25: Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford's legal team detailed their concerns about the the handling of Thursday's hearing in a letter to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, on Monday.
The letter, written by lawyer Michael Bromwich, questioned the committee’s hiring of an unidentified “experienced sex crimes prosecutor.”
The prosecutor’s involvement “is contrary to the Majority’s repeated emphasis on the need for the Senate and this Committee’s members to fulfill their constitutional obligations,” the letter said.
“It is also inconsistent with your stated wish to avoid a ‘circus,’ as well as Dr. Blasey Ford’s repeated requests through counsel that senators conduct the questioning,” the letter continued. “This is not a criminal trial for which the involvement of an experienced sex crimes prosecutor would be appropriate.”
The letter added that “there is no precedent for this Committee to bring in outside consel for the sole purpose of shielding the members of the Committee from performing their responsibility to question witnesses.”
Bromwich’s letter also criticized Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s remarks that the allegations against Kavanaugh were part of a “smear campaign.”
Update 7:30 p.m. EDT Sept. 24: Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh repeatedly defended himself in his first television interview since he was nominated for the high court by President Donald Trump.
"I've never sexually assaulted anyone," Kavanaugh told Fox host Martha MacCallum during an interview Monday night in response to a question about why college professor Christine Blasey Ford would accuse him of such a thing.
“I never did any such thing,” he said.
Ford said the incident happened at a party they were both at during high school.
“I was never at any such party,” Kavanaugh said.
“I was never at a party like Dr. Ford described.”
Ford said Kavanaugh assaulted her at a small gathering at a house in a Maryland neighborhood in 1982.
“I’ve always treated women with dignity and respect,” Kavanaugh said throughout the interview.
“Again, again, I’m just asking for a fair process where I can be heard and defend my integrity and my family’s integrity,” he said repeatedly.
Kavanaugh said he’s looking for a fair process to defend his integrity and clear his name.
Kavanaugh’s wife Ashley was by his side during the interview and said the sexual assault allegations don’t make any sense.
“I know Brett and I’ve known him for 17 years ... (this) is not consistent with Brett,” she said.
She also said the allegations have been “incredibly hard” on their family. The couple have two girls together.
When asked about a second woman who accused him of acting in a lewd manner at a Yale dormitory party when they were freshman, Kavanaugh again denied the allegation.
“I never did any such thing.”
In a question about a potentially third accuser who has reportedly alleged Kavanaugh was part of a gang rape culture in the 1980s, he vehemently denied it, calling it “totally false and outrageous.”
“I didn’t so this or anything resembling this,” he said.
“I’m telling the truth.”
Update 6:00 p.m. EDT Sept. 24: In his first TV interview since becoming a Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh again denied allegations that he assaulted California college professor Christine Blasey Ford at a party while the two were still in high school.
“The truth is I’ve never sexually assaulted anyone in high school or otherwise,” Kavanaugh said in an excerpt from the Fox interview.
“I’m not questioning and have not questioned that perhaps Dr. Ford at some point in her life was sexually assaulted by someone in some place, but what I know is I’ve never sexually assaulted anyone,” he said.
Kavanaugh also told Fox host Martha MacCallum he was a virgin in high school and college.
"I did not have sexual intercourse or anything close to sexual intercourse in high school or for many years thereafter and the girls from the schools I went to, and I, were friends,” he said.
Update 5:00 p.m. EDT Sept. 24: Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and his wife Ashley sat down Monday afternoon for their first television interview since Kavanaugh was nominated to the high court.
The interview, with Fox News’ Martha MacCallum, is scheduled to air at 7 p.m. ET on Monday and comes amid accusations that the judge sexually assaulted at least one woman and may have behaved inappropriately toward another woman.
The couple is expected to address those allegations during the interview.
Update 3:55 p.m. EDT Sept. 24: In a letter released Monday by Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, Christine Blasey Ford reiterated her commitment to testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee about an encounter she said she had with Kavanaugh when they were teenagers.
Ford, a professor at California's Palo Alto University, told The Washington Post earlier this month that Kavanaugh drunkenly groped her and tried to take off her clothes at a party in the 1980s.
“While I am frightened, please know, my fear will not hold me back from testifying and you will be provided with answers to all of your questions,” Ford said in the letter, which was dated Saturday. “I ask for fair and respectful treatment.”
Ford said she contacted her congresswoman, Rep. Anna Eshoo, after she learned Kavanaugh was on the short-list for consideration for nomination to the Supreme Court.
“My original intent was first and foremost to be a helpful citizen – in a confidential way that would minimize collateral damage to all families and friends involved,” Ford wrote. “I thought that knowledge of his actions could be useful for you and those in charge of choosing among the various candidates.”
Ford said she later contacted one of her senators, Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein.
Update 3:30 p.m. EDT Sept. 24: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell slammed Democrats for "aiding and abetting" in what he called a "shameful, shameful smear campaign" against Kavanaugh.
"Senate Democrats and their allies are trying to destroy a man’s personal and professional life on the basis of decades-old allegations," McConnell said Monday from the Senate floor.
Update 2:15 p.m. EDT Sept. 24: In a letter addressed Monday to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Kavanaugh called the allegations against him "smears, pure and simple."
“They debase our public discourse," Kavanaugh wrote. "They are also a threat to any man or woman who wishes to serve our country. Such grotesque and obvious character assassination -- if allowed to succeed -- will dissuade competent and good people of all political persuasions from service."
At least two women have accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct in incidents that happened three decades ago.
Christine Blasey Ford, a professor at California's Palo Alto University, told The Washington Post earlier this month that Kavanaugh drunkenly groped her and tried to take off her clothes at a party when they were teenagers in the 1980s. The New Yorker reported Sunday that Deborah Ramirez, 53, said Kavanaugh made unwanted advances during a drunken party at a dormitory during the 1983-84 school year, when they were both attending Yale University.
"I will not be intimidated into withdrawing from this process," Kavanaugh wrote Monday. "The coordinated effort to destroy my good name will not drive me out. The vile threats against my family will not drive me out. The last-minute character assassination will not succeed."
Kavanaugh and Ford are expected to appear Thursday for an open hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Update 9:10 a.m. EDT Sept. 24: President Donald Trump reiterated his support of Kavanaugh on Monday, telling reporters that the judge is "an outstanding person, and I am with him all the way."
“I think it could be, there’s a chance that this could be, one of the single-most unfair, unjust things to happen to a candidate to happen for anything, but I am with Judge Kavanaugh and I look forward to the vote,” Trump told reporters at the United Nations in New York. “People who come out of the woodwork from 36 years ago and 30 years ago and never mentioned it, all of the sudden it happens. In my opinion it’s totally political.”
Update 2:24 a.m. EDT Sept. 24: The White House on Sunday again defended President Donald Trump's decision to nominate Kavanaugh after new allegations surfaced.
Earlier Sunday, The New Yorker reported reported that Deborah Ramirez, 53, said Kavanaugh made unwanted advances during a drunken party at a dorm during the 1983-84 school year while they both attended Yale.
“This 35-year-old, uncorroborated claim is the latest in a coordinated smear campaign by the Democrats designed to tear down a good man,” said White House spokesperson Kerri Kupec.
Meanwhile, attorney Michael Avenatti, who recently made headlines as porn star Stormy Daniels' lawyer, "claimed to represent a woman with information about high school-era parties attended by Kavanaugh," The Associated Press reported. He told the AP that he would reveal more details, including the client's identity, in the next few days and later clarified that his client is not Ramirez.
Update 8:45 p.m. EDT Sept. 23: An unredacted letter of Christine Blasey Ford's allegations against Brett Kavanaugh has been released.
Update 8:05 p.m. EDT Sept. 23: Officials are looking into another sexual assault allegation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Deborah Ramirez, 53, said Kavanuagh made unwanted advances toward her during a drunken party at a dorm during the 1983-84 school year, while they both attended Yale, The New Yorker reported.
"This alleged event from 35 years ago did not happen. The people who knew me then know that this did not happen, and have said so," Kavanuagh wrote in a statement, The New Yorker reported. "This is a smear, plain and simple. I look forward to testifying on Thursday about the truth, and defending my good name -- and the reputation for character and integrity I have spent a lifetime building -- against these last-minute allegations."
Update 1:45 p.m. EDT Sept. 23: The Senate Judiciary Committee confirmed that a public hearing will be held Thursday on a sexual assault claim made against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, according to The Associated Press.
Lawyers for Christine Blasey Ford said Sunday in a statement that their client will testify in an open hearing Thursday morning, CNN reported. The statement -- from attorneys Debra Katz, Lisa Banks and Michael Bromwich -- came after a call with staff members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sunday, CNN reported.
Original report: Christine Blasey Ford has agreed to testify next week in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Ford's lawyers said in a statement released Saturday afternoon.
The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, had previously said the committee would hold a hearing Monday on allegations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh unless a last-ditch effort to negotiate with Ford and her attorneys was reached by 2:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
Grassley had extended the deadline multiple times as both sides negotiated the details of Ford’s possible appearance before the committee.
In a new development reported by NBC Saturday morning, Garrett Ventry, a GOP communications aide and adviser who has helped coordinate the party's messaging amid Ford's claims against Kavanaugh has resigned. Ventry allegedly was fired from a previous job due to a sexual harassment allegation, NBC reported. Ventry denied any misconduct.
"Dr. Ford's testimony would reflect her personal knowledge and memory of events. Nothing the FBI or any other investigator does would have any bearing on what Dr. Ford tells the committee, so there is no reason for any further delay," Grassley said in a statement earlier this week.
California college professor Christine Blasey Ford said she was assaulted by a drunk Brett Kavanaugh at a party in the early 1980s when the two were still in high school. Another person, Mark Judge, was present at the time, but Judge has refused to testify about what happened in a bedroom when the three were present.
Kavanaugh has denied the allegations, saying the incident never happened.
"It would be a disservice to Dr. Ford, Judge Kavanaugh, this committee and the American people to delay this hearing any further," Grassley said, according to media reports.
Ford’s attorney, Lisa Banks, said the professor is willing to testify, but believes a “full, non-partisan investigation” is needed first.
“The committee’s stated plan to move forward with a hearing that has only two witnesses is not a fair or good-faith investigation; there are multiple witnesses whose names have appeared publicly and should be included in any proceedings,” Banks said.
Late Friday, Grassley set a Saturday afternoon deadline for Ford to decide whether she’ll testify next week.
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