The appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court has become even more complicated

"I also request that the latest allegations of sexual misconduct be referred to the FBI for investigation, and that you join our request for the White House to order the FBI to investigate the allegations of Christine Blasey Ford as well as these new claims, "Feinstein wrote.

Grassley's office issued a statement accusing the Democrats of not actively divulging information to the rest of the committee, but to abandon them at "politically opportune times".

"It is becoming increasingly apparent that they are more interested in a political decision than in bipartite and professional investigations," said Grassley spokesman Taylor Foy, while pledging to evaluate new allegations.

Kavanaugh has been appointed by President Donald Trump to be the man who would devote a conservative majority to the Supreme Court for a generation.

But the allegations against him appeared to be a serious complication for the Republicans, who are under intense pressure from them to confirm it quickly as they seek to mitigate the damage with voters who strongly favor Democrats in the mid-term elections. -November.

If Kavanaugh is finally confirmed, it will be by the tightest margins as Republicans can only lose one vote in the Senate if all Democrats are united.

Sunday's events and Thursday's hearing will intensify the pressure on two of the Republicans deemed most likely to tip over, the Maine senator, Susan Collins, and Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski. Outgoing Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, who sits on the Judiciary Committee, is also a subject of concern for the White House.

There was no immediate reaction to Sunday's new allegation from any of these trios.

A new allegation

The story of New Yorker focuses on an allegation of 53-year-old Deborah Ramirez, who was at Yale with Kavanaugh, and said that she remembered her exposure to a party in a dormitory.

In a statement, Kavanaugh issued a categorical refusal.

"This presumed event of 35 years ago did not happen," he said in a statement. "People who knew me know then that it did not happen and said it is dirt, simple and clear.I am eager to testify Thursday the truth and defend my good reputation – and the character and integrity reputation I have spent a lifetime building – against these last minute allegations. "

Kerri Kupec, a spokeswoman for the White House, also issued a statement.

"This 35-year statement, unsubstantiated, is the latest in a smear campaign coordinated by Democrats to demolish a good man," the statement said. "This assertion is belied by all those who would be present and totally incompatible with what many women and men who knew Judge Kavanaugh at the time of college said." The White House stands firmly behind Judge Kavanaugh. "

Ramirez initially hesitated to speak in public, she told the magazine, in part because her memory contained shortcomings because she had been drinking at the time of the alleged incident. She was not sure of Kavanaugh's role in the incident at first, but after six days of careful assessment of the memories and consultation with her lawyer, Ramirez told the New Yorker that she felt confident enough to remember that it was Kavanaugh.

A classmate from Ramirez who was not at the party and who refused to be identified told the magazine that he was "one hundred percent sure" that the night of the holiday or the next day he had been informed that Kavanaugh was the student who was exposed to Ramirez.

Several of Ramirez 's classmates interviewed by The New Yorker or who issued statements to the magazine stated that they had no recollection of the alleged incident or contested his report of the incident. ;events.

CNN has not independently confirmed the New Yorker report.

Despite Kavanaugh's denials, the new allegation will add even more importance to Thursday's hearing and may put pressure on the Republicans to overturn their refusal to ask the FBI to reopen the case. candidate, currently judge of the court of appeal.

Kavanaugh should be faced with extremely embarrassing questions when hearing from Democrats about his alcoholism, his sexual history and his behavior as a young man, at Georgetown Prep, a private school outside of Washington and at Yale In the 1980's.

Kavanaugh violently denied having assaulted Ford as a drunken teenager at a party. But he is now fighting for his reputation as he fights to keep a precious prize, a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court to elude him in front of millions of viewers.

Although he has repeatedly asked for a chance to give his version of the story, the fact that he must testify must be considered a weakening of Kavanaugh's position, because if Ford n ​​& # 39; He had not agreed to appear, he would probably already be far from being confirmed by the Senate.

And there is always the risk that, even if his presentation is credible, the political forces triggered by the audience evolve unexpectedly, defy the attempts of his supporters to control them and eventually weaken and even destroy his appointment.

There is no indication here that Republican leaders on Capitol Hill or in the White House could begin to wonder if the controversy over Kavanaugh's past is beginning to affect his chances of confirmation. But any application that becomes too weak is vulnerable to new attacks and information that may weaken the momentum towards confirmation.

CNN's Kaitlan Collins reported Sunday that several senior White House officials had voiced their concerns privately last week that a second Kavanaugh accuser was about to emerge. At least three senior aides said last week that they were confident that Kavanaugh would be confirmed, but warned that a second charge could defeat his appointment.

Ford agrees to testify despite complaints about the process

"Despite the real threats to his safety and his life, Dr. Ford believes that it is important that Senators hear directly from him about the sexual assault against her," said a spokeswoman. lawyer.

One of the biggest risks of Thursday's hearing is that it solves nothing.

It is possible, given the testimony of his character by friends who appeared on television, that Ford is as courageous and courageous as it makes its allegations.

But there is also a chance that Kavanaugh, who has been practicing his testimony for days with White House lawyers, also makes a credible case as he testifies after Ford made his allegation.

The Democrats are furious that Grassley, of Iowa, is not calling Ford's requested witnesses and that Trump has refused to order the FBI to reopen the background check process to encompass the US. presumed aggression in the 1980s.

There are also signs that many Republicans have already made their decision.

Democrats, however, accused Grassley of ignoring the breadth of the hearing because of the indifference to the suffering of a woman who said she was assaulted.

"His credibility is already very debatable in my mind and in the minds of many members of the Judiciary Committee," Hirono said about the "State of the Union."

"It has an ideological agenda, is very results-oriented".