Kavanaugh: My Accuser Is Wrong

Brett Kavanaugh doubled down Monday on his denial of a sexual misconduct allegation going back to his high school days. "This is a completely false allegation," Kavanaugh said in a statement cited by CNN. "I have never done anything like what the accuser describes—to her or to anyone." The Supreme Court nominee also offered to talk to the Senate Judiciary panel "in any way the Committee deems appropriate to refute this false allegation, from 36 years ago, and defend my integrity." Kavanaugh released the statement after his accuser, 51-year-old Christine Blasey Ford, came forward to say that a teenage Kavanaugh forced her onto a bed at a party, covered her mouth, and groped her before a classmate of his disrupted the alleged assault.

What happens next is unclear. The Senate panel's chairman, Charles Grassley, said he planned to talk to both Kavanaugh and Ford by phone before asking anyone to appear before the panel, but Democrats want the FBI to take control and handle any investigation from here, reports the Washington Post. In the meantime, they want the confirmation process postponed. Meanwhile, the White House is sticking by Kavanaugh, though Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway said on Fox Monday morning that Ford "should be heard," adding that "this woman should not be ignored and should not be insulted." Conway also called Kavanaugh "a man of character and integrity." (More Brett Kavanaugh stories.)