Brett Kavanaugh - LIVE: White House stands by Trump's mockery of Christine Ford as FBI probe continues ahead of confirmation vote
The president is mired in controversy after attempting to defend his Supreme Court nominee
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Your support makes all the difference.Key Republicans are having their support for Brett Kavanaugh tested after Donald Trump mocked his Supreme Court nominee’s sexual assault accuser at a campaign rally in Mississippi.
The president joked about Dr Ford's testimony to a laughing crowd on Wednesday, criticising her for failing to remember every detail from the night she alleges Mr Kavanaugh assaulted her during a high school party nearly 36 years ago.
Meanwhile, the FBI has reportedly neared the conclusion of its probe into the embattled nominee ahead of the Senate Judiciary Committee deadline of Friday — despite numerous potential witnesses indicating they have not yet spoken with investigators from the federal agency, including Dr Ford.
Arizona Republican Jeff Flake, who forced the majority to take a one-week delay and allow for an FBI investigation into the sexual assault claims against Mr Kavanaugh, denounced the president’s comments in an interview with NBC.
Follow along with The Independent as the rest of Capitol Hill reacts to the latest developments.
The New York Times has published a letter Brett Kavanaugh reportedly wrote in 1983 ahead of his high school “beach week” trip, in which the future judge appeared to be planning travel arrangements with his friends.
The letter was signed “Bart,” an apparent reference to the same name his high school friend Mark Judge used to describe a character in a book he wrote who was a sloppy drunk.
“Warn the neighbors that we’re loud, obnoxious drunks with prolific pukers among us. Advise them to go about 30 miles,” the letter reads.
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has tweeted this message encouraging Americans to call their senators and urge them to vote "no" on Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination.
Susan Collins, a Republican senator and key vote in Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation battle, has denounced Donald Trump’s mockery of Christine Blasey Ford.
“The president’s comments were just plain wrong,” the senator said. She has not confirmed whether she will vote for the embattled nominee on Friday.
Mitch McConnell has lambasted Democrats on the House floor, deriding the minority party for having the “temerity” to accuse Brett Kavanaugh of not having the appropriate temperament to sit on the Supreme Court “because he got a little testy” during his hearings.
The FBI reportedly has not contacted over 40 people who could potentially provide useful information surrounding Brett Kavanaugh and the federal agency’s ongoing probe into sexual assault accusations against the embattled Supreme Court nominee.
Monica Mclean, a retired FBI employee and longtime friend of Christine Blasey Ford, has spoken out against an anonymous letter sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee by her supposed ex-boyfriend, which alleges — among other things — that she helped prepare her friend for a polygraph test.
In a statement to ABC, Ms Mclean said, “I have NEVER had Christine Blasey Ford, or anybody else, prepare me, or provide any other type of assistance whatsoever in connection with any polygraph exam I have taken at anytime.”
Michael Avenatti, the attorney representing Julie Swetnick, the third woman to accuse Brett Kavanaugh of misconduct, has come forward with another anonymous allegation against the Supreme Court nominee.
The alleged accuser claimed Mr Kavanaugh was guilty of spiking "punch" at parties in the early 1980s with drugs or "grain alcohol' in an apparent attempt to coerce women into sexual acts.
Lindsey Graham, who provided a full-throated and fiery defence of Brett Kavanaugh during last week's Supreme Court nomination hearings, has denounced Donald Trumo's mockery of Christine Blasey Ford.
The Republican senator said he would tell the president "to knock it off," adding, "he's not helping." Still, Mr Graham said Mr Trump agreed that his Supreme Court pick had been treated "like crap."
Here's video of Lindsey Graham getting heated after defending Brett Kavanaugh, telling audience members who rejected his support of the Supreme Court nominee, "Well, boo yourselves!"
As CNN's Jim Acosta points out on Twitter, it wasn't even a week ago when Donald Trump was calling Christine Blasey Ford a "fine woman" and a "credible witness."
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