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| Trump: Kavanaugh sex assault claims were 'all made up' | Trump: Kavanaugh sex assault claims were 'all made up' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| US President Donald Trump has said the sex assault claims made against his new Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh were a "hoax" and "all made up". | US President Donald Trump has said the sex assault claims made against his new Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh were a "hoax" and "all made up". |
| The Republican president condemned Democratic calls to impeach the judge as an "insult to the American public". | The Republican president condemned Democratic calls to impeach the judge as an "insult to the American public". |
| The Democratic leadership has distanced itself from the calls by two of its rank-and-file lawmakers. | The Democratic leadership has distanced itself from the calls by two of its rank-and-file lawmakers. |
| Justice Kavanaugh was confirmed by the Senate on Saturday, in a 50-48 vote that followed strictly partisan lines. | Justice Kavanaugh was confirmed by the Senate on Saturday, in a 50-48 vote that followed strictly partisan lines. |
| What did President Trump say? | |
| As he left the White House for an event in Florida on Monday, Mr Trump said: "So I've been hearing that now they're thinking about impeaching a brilliant jurist. | As he left the White House for an event in Florida on Monday, Mr Trump said: "So I've been hearing that now they're thinking about impeaching a brilliant jurist. |
| "A man that did nothing wrong, a man that was caught up in a hoax that was set up by the Democrats using the Democrats' lawyers and now they want to impeach him." | "A man that did nothing wrong, a man that was caught up in a hoax that was set up by the Democrats using the Democrats' lawyers and now they want to impeach him." |
| He added: "I think it's an insult to the American public." | He added: "I think it's an insult to the American public." |
| "The American public has seen this charade, has seen this dishonesty by the Democrats." | "The American public has seen this charade, has seen this dishonesty by the Democrats." |
| He said the conservative judge was "a top scholar, top student, top intellect and who did nothing wrong and there was no corroboration of any kind". | He said the conservative judge was "a top scholar, top student, top intellect and who did nothing wrong and there was no corroboration of any kind". |
| The allegations against the nominee were "all made up, it was fabricated and it was a disgrace," Mr Trump said. | The allegations against the nominee were "all made up, it was fabricated and it was a disgrace," Mr Trump said. |
| Immediately following Prof Christine Blasey Ford's testimony, the president had called her a "compelling" witness. | |
| But he later questioned her credibility and mocked her at a rally. | |
| Where is Justice Kavanaugh? | |
| On Monday evening, Mr Trump will host a swearing-in ceremony for the top judge at the White House. | |
| He is Mr Trump's 69th judicial appointment since becoming president. | |
| The 53-year-old justice was sworn in on Saturday evening in a private ceremony at the Supreme Court. | The 53-year-old justice was sworn in on Saturday evening in a private ceremony at the Supreme Court. |
| He will take his seat on Tuesday - on the far right of the bench, next to Justice Elena Kagan - hearing immigration and other cases. | |
| Justice Kavanaugh has followed up on his pledge to hire women to serve as his law clerks, becoming the first justice to have an all-female staff. | |
| What about Christine Blasey Ford? | |
| Prof Ford - who said the judge sexually assaulted her at a house party in 1982 when they were high school students - has been unable to move back home because of "unending" death threats, according to one of her lawyers. | |
| Lawyer Debra Katz told MSNBC: "It's going to be quite some time before they're able to live at home. | |
| "The threats have been unending. | |
| "It's deplorable. It's been very frightening." | |
| What Trump's 'elevator screamers' tweet tells us | |
| Do Democrats want to impeach Justice Kavanaugh? | |
| A handful of Democratic lawmakers, including congressmen Luis Gutierrez of Illinois and Ted Lieu of California, have pressed for Justice Kavanaugh's removal. | |
| But top Democrat Nancy Pelosi has said trying to impeach the new justice "would not be my plan". | |
| "Let's take it one day at a time," she said last week. "We are not about impeachment." | |
| Senator Chris Coons told NBC: "I think that's premature... Folks who feel very strongly one way or other about the issues in front of us should get out and vote." | |
| A petition to impeach Justice Kavanaugh has more than 150,000 signatures. | |
| Samuel Chase in 1804 was the only justice to be impeached by the House. He was acquitted by the Senate the following year. | |
| Is Justice Kavanaugh off the hook? | |
| On Saturday, Nancy Pelosi announced she will file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to make public a confidential FBI investigation into the claims against Justice Kavanaugh. | |
| Democrat Jerrold Nadler, who is in line to chair the House Judiciary Committee if his party wins a majority in the mid-terms, said that he would be prepared to open an investigation into the top judge. | |
| Mr Nadler did not address the impeachment question, telling the New York Times the investigation would look into whether Senate Republicans had "whitewashed" the FBI inquiry. | |
| Justice Kavanaugh also faces more than a dozen judicial misconduct complaints over his public statements as a nominee to the Supreme Court. | |
| And the American Bar Association has reopened its evaluation of Justice Kavanaugh's temperament. |