Brett Kavanaugh confirmation – LIVE: Mitch McConnell hits out at Democrats saying they are ‘untrustworthy’ and wanted ‘media circus’ around Christine Ford
Follow the latest updates on the FBI investigation into claims of sexual assault against the Supreme Court nominee and the political back and forth in Washington
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Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court has been delayed as the FBI carry out a "limited" additional background check after Republicans were blind-sided by one of their senators who said his vote for the nominee was dependent on such a probe.
Donald Trump later said it "wouldn't bother me at all" if the scope of the investigation was 'expanded' to include interviews of all three of his nominee's accusers and Mr Kavanaugh himself.
Last week's explosive testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee of Dr Christine Blasey Ford, who alleges a drunken Mr Kavanaugh sexually abused her at a college party in 1982, was hotly contested by Mr Kavanaugh in his counter-testimony.
He appeared angry and had several tense exchanges with committee Democrats, accusing them of doing this as a matter of "revenge" and simply to smear his name.
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In the latest twist in the story, Chad Ludington, a former Yale classmate of Mr Kavanaugh, has accused him of seriously misrepresenting his drinking as a student, calling him a “belligerent and aggressive” drunk.
The FBI's investigation is to last no longer than a week from the day from when the original vote on the nominee was supposed to take place, meaning it will conclude at the end of this week.
It is unclear if the investigation could be expanded should more accusers come forward.
Democrats and Dr Ford are particularly keen on Mark Judge to be interviewed, the man she claimed was present in the room during the alleged assault. Two other women have also accused Mr Kavanaugh - Julie Swetnick and Deborah Ramirez.
Hello and welcome to The Independent's coverage of Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination process!
Follow along here as the FBI conducts its investigation of sexual assault allegations against the man who is seeking a lifetime appointment on the country's highest court.
There was a lot of drama last week on Capitol Hill as Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump's second nominee for the US Supreme Court, was supposed to be voted on to the bench.
However, the country heard the powerful testimony of one of the women accusing him of sexual assault, Christine Blasey Ford.
Here was our play-by-play of the day Dr Ford and Mr Kavanaugh - who appeared angry, emotional, and had tense exchanges with Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee - both testified.
As if that was not enough of an emotional, tense day for the Senate as well as sexual assault survivors around the country, the next day was the deliberation between committee members about when to vote on Mr Kavanaugh's appointment.
Read our live recap here:
The Senate ultimately decided to ask the Trump administration for a week-long, "limited scope" FBI investigation into Dr Ford's allegations.
One of the points of contention from late last week: Mr Kavanaugh's characterisation of his drinking habits.
He repeatedly said "I like beer" during his testimony and claimed he never "blacked out" from drinking as he refuted Dr Ford's allegations.
However one of his Yale classmates, Chad Ludington, said Mr Kavanaugh was lying about that. He called the nominee a "belligerent and aggressive" drunk.
The FBI investigation may never have happened if it were not for the request from Republican Senator Jeff Flake.
Mr Flake may have been influenced by a pair of women who had confronted him earlier in an emotional exchange as he boarded the lift on his way to the hearing room.
One women held the door open and screamed in his face "you have children" and said he would be putting a man on the Supreme Court for a lifetime appointment who had been accused of "violating a young girl".
The investigation is set to last no longer than one week, meaning it will likely conclude at the end of this week.
The "limited scope" does not include an interview with Dr Ford, however - one of the many points Democrats have decried.
It will, however, include four interviews, one of them with Mark Judge, the man Dr Ford said was in the room during the alleged assault.
Republicans and Mr Kavanaugh all painted a picture of Mr Judge as a recovering addict who suffers from major depression in a possible bid to discredit him according to some legal experts who spoke with The Independent late last week.
Read about the decision not to interview Dr Ford here:
Mr Ludington, the Yale classmate, who said Mr Kavanaugh had been lying to Congress about the nature of his drinking habits, has a challenger however.
Chris Dudley is a former NBA player and close friend of Mr Kavanaugh’s who attended Yale and played basketball with Mr Ludington.
Mr Dudley told the New York Times he “never, ever saw Brett Kavanaugh black out” from drinking, and “never, ever saw him act inappropriately toward any woman in the 35 years that I’ve known him".
While some may have considered the initiation of an FBI investigation a victory of sorts, many readers were taken back to the 1991 case of Anita Hill.
Ms Hill, a lawyer, had accused Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment while she worked for him at the US Department of Education and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
His confirmation hearing had actually concluded when President George HW Bush reopened it and requested a full FBI investigation within four days of Ms Hill's allegations.
The Senate had also heard from dozens of witnesses at the time, unlike what happened last week when only Dr Ford testified.
You can read more about Ms Hill, who called the Kavanaugh hearing "a mockery," here:
Protesters outside of Capitol Hill last week also remembered Ms Hill. Our Andrew Buncombe reported on the women wearing teal, in honour of the suit she wore during her testimony 27 years ago.
↵Republican Senator Orrin Hatch is tweeting out portions of Ms Mitchell's assessment memo regarding Dr Ford's testimony.
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