Kavanaugh wants to testify on a complaint for aggression, the White House says: NPR

Updated at 18:06 ET

Supreme Court candidate Brett Kavanaugh would be happy to be able to testify again in the Senate after a woman publicly accused him of sexual assault more than three decades ago.

"Judge Kavanaugh is looking forward to a hearing where he can clarify the name of this false allegation and is ready to testify tomorrow if the Senate is ready to listen to him," House spokesman said Monday. white.

Kavanaugh was to speak by phone with the Republican staff of the Judiciary Committee of the Senate. The panel 's Democrats refused to participate, arguing that the FBI should investigate allegations by Christine Blasey Ford, who claims that Kavanaugh assaulted her at a party in the early 1980s while "fighting" was a big issue. they were both high school students. They also demand a public hearing with Ford and Kavanaugh, who agreed to testify under oath before the committee.

"Her memory of these events is crystal clear," Ford Lawyer Lisa Banks told Morning Edition. "She will agree to participate in all the proceedings she has asked to participate."

The indictment, made privately in July, gained momentum over the weekend when Ford set the record with the Washington Post.

In the early 1980s, she described a high school party during which Kavanaugh, drunk, stuck her in a bed, attempted to undress and covered her mouth while screaming. She said that she escaped after Kavanaugh's friend, Mark Judge, jumped on them.

Kavanaugh, who was at the White House on Monday, vehemently rejected Ford's account.

"It's a completely false allegation," he said in a statement released Monday morning at the White House. "I have never done anything similar to what the accuser describes – to her or to anyone."

Kavanaugh had issued a similar statement Friday before the identity of his accuser was made public.

"I am ready to speak to the Senate Judiciary Committee in the manner that the Committee considers appropriate to refute this false allegation, dating back 36 years, and defend my integrity," said Kavanaugh.

President Trump defended his candidate, noting that Kavanaugh had been approved by the FBI half a dozen times.

"Judge Kavanaugh is one of the best people I have ever known," Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday. "Never even a small defect on his record."

Trump regretted that the allegation against Kavanaugh appeared so late in the process, but stated that he wanted the Senate to satisfy any lingering question.

"If it's a little late, it's going to be a bit late, it certainly should not be very important," Trump said. "I would like everyone to be very happy.More importantly, I want the American people to be happy, because it's getting some great."

As the president stood behind his candidate, White House advisor Kellyanne Conway also bothered to show her concern for Kavanaugh's accuser.

"This woman should not be insulted and she should not be ignored," Conway told Fox News. "This woman will be heard."

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said on Monday that Ford "deserved to be heard," but complained that the Democrats have not shared any information. information about these allegations when Ford sent a letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein of California in July.

It is unclear whether there would be sufficient telephone interviews to answer questions from some Grigley Grop colleagues. Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, tweeted on monday that Kavanaugh and Ford "should both testify under oath before the Judiciary Committee". As one of the few women in the GOP in the Senate and a decisive vote on Kavanaugh's appointment, Collins's views could have an inordinate weight with Grassley.

Senator Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., Who sits on the Judiciary Committee, has joined the Democrats in saying that the vote on Kavanaugh's appointment may have to be postponed.

"I have made it clear that I am not comfortable going ahead with the vote on Thursday if we have not heard his side of the story or explored that further, "Flake told the Washington Post. "For me, we can not vote until we hear more."

Earlier Monday, Feinstein requested a hearing before any action of the committee on the appointment.

"I agree with Senator Flake that we should delay this week's vote," Feinstein said. "There is a lot of information we do not know and the FBI should have the time to investigate this new material."

Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Stated that he was open to hearing from Ford while resisting calls to delay the vote.

"If Ms. Ford would like to provide information to the committee, I would be happy to listen to what she has to say and compare that to all the other information we have received about Judge Kavanaugh," Graham said. A declaration. "If the committee is to hear from Ms. Ford, it should be done immediately so that the process can continue as planned."

Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who is not part of the committee but who is a key vote indecisive on the appointment of Kavanaugh, says CNN a delay may be necessary.

"If there is a real substance to that, it requires an answer," Murkowski said.

The Republicans, who hold a slim majority on the committee and in the Senate, are eager to confirm Kavanaugh in time for him to join the high court when he will begin his fall term in two weeks. But faced with a growing Me Too movement, they are also susceptible to appearances.

"The vote by rail now would be an insult to the women of America and the integrity of the Supreme Court," said Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of the R-Ky. And other GOP leaders complained that the allegation was made public just days before Kavanaugh's confirmation vote.

"Unfortunately, the committee's Republicans have only known this person's identity for less than 24 hours on reports and have been aware of his allegations for less than a week," Grassley said. "Senator Feinstein, on the other hand, had this information for several weeks and deprived his colleagues of the information needed to do their job."

Ford first contacted Feinstein and The Washington Post in July, but at the time, she was not willing to make her allegations publicly.

"Victims of sexual assault have the right to decide if and when they should come forward," Banks said of his client. "It was something she was struggling with tremendously, she was evaluating her desire and belief that she had a civic duty to provide this information to those who made the decision about Brett Kavanaugh with, frankly, his afraid to come forward, and there was a great personal risk to her and her family by doing it. "

Ford decided to go public after the journalists started contacting her last week. His lawyer said Ford was "not motivated by politics at all".