Trump says he supports ‘comprehensive’ FBI Kavanaugh probe

Donald Trump has said he wants the FBI to carry out a “comprehensive” investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct by Brett Kavanaugh – but said he stands by his Supreme Court nominee “all the way”.

The president said during a press conference that he wants the probe to wrap up quickly because the accusations have been “so unfair” to Mr Kavanaugh and his family.

But he said it is fine with him if the FBI wants to pursue accusations made by three women who have publicly come forward, even as he has left the scope of the investigation to Senate Republicans.

“My White House will do whatever the senators want,” Mr Trump said. “The one thing I want is speed.”

The president added: “We don’t want to go on a witch hunt, do we?”

Mr Trump also said he was surprised Mr Kavanaugh has been so open about his beer drinking, one area Democrats are planning to focus on as they question whether the nominee was fully truthful in his evidence before the Senate.

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell mocked the questions about Mr Kavanaugh’s drinking in high school and college and accused Democrats of “moving the goalpost” in a bid to stop the nomination.

He pledged that the Senate will be voting on Mr Kavanaugh this week.

“The time for endless delay and obstruction has come to a close,” he said.

The White House insisted it was not “micromanaging” the review of Mr Kavanaugh’s background, but some Democratic legislators claimed the White House was keeping investigators from interviewing certain witnesses.

Mr Trump tweeted that no matter how much time and discretion the FBI was given, “it will never be enough” for Democrats trying to keep Mr Kavanaugh off the bench.

Senior Democrat Chuck Schumer stressed the importance of conducting a “serious, impartial and thorough” FBI investigation into the allegations against Mr Kavanaugh.

He praised Mr Trump for saying there will be no limits on the investigation, but said the order to the FBI needs to be made public “so the whole country” can see it.

FBI agents have interviewed one of the three women who have accused Mr Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct. Senators have asked that the background investigation be completed by Friday.

Even as the FBI explored the past allegations that have surfaced against Mr Kavanaugh, another Yale University classmate came forward to accuse the federal appellate judge of being untruthful in his evidence to the Senate Judiciary Committee about the extent of his drinking in college.

As the fresh review unfolded, the prosecutor who was brought in by Republicans to handle questioning at last week’s hearing outlined in a new memo why she did not believe criminal charges would be brought against Mr Kavanaugh if it were a criminal case rather than a Supreme Court confirmation process.

Rachel Mitchell wrote that she did not believe a “reasonable prosecutor would bring this case based on the evidence before the committee”.

She argued that that there were inconsistencies in accuser Christine Blasey Ford’s narrative and said no one has corroborated her account. Ms Ford, a California college professor, was not questioned as part of a criminal proceeding but in the confirmation process.

In speaking to FBI agents, Deborah Ramirez detailed her allegation that Mr Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a party in the early 1980s when they were students at Yale University, according to a source.

Mr Kavanaugh has denied the allegation.

Ms Ford, who says Mr Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers, has not been contacted by the FBI since Mr Trump on Friday ordered the agency to take another look at the nominee’s background, according to a member of Ms Ford’s team.

Mr Kavanaugh has denied assaulting her.

In a statement released on Sunday, a Yale classmate of Mr Kavanaugh’s said he was “deeply troubled by what has been a blatant mischaracterisation by Brett himself of his drinking at Yale”.

Charles “Chad” Ludington, who teaches at North Carolina State University, said he was a friend of Mr Kavanaugh’s at Yale and he was “a frequent drinker, and a heavy drinker”.