President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally Thursday, Sept. 20, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
The Latest on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and a woman accusing him of sexually assaulting her decades ago (all times local):
___
9:30 a.m.
President Donald Trump is challenging by name the woman accusing his Supreme Court nominee of sexual assault, saying if the attack she alleges were that 'bad' then she would have filed charges.
Trump tweeted Friday: 'I have no doubt that, if the attack on Dr. Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement Authorities by either her or her loving parents. I ask that she bring those filings forward so that we can learn date, time, and place!'
The president previously had avoided naming California college professor Christine Blasey (BLAH'-zee) Ford or casting doubt on her account. Ford alleges Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her more than 30 years ago when they were teenagers. Kavanaugh has denied the allegations.
___
9:20 a.m.
President Donald Trump says Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is 'under assault by radical left wing politicians.'
Trump tweeted Friday that Kavanaugh has an 'impeccable reputation' and that Democrats 'don't want to know the answers, they just want to destroy and delay.'
He adds, 'Facts don't matter. I go through this with them every single day in D.C.'
Kavanaugh's nomination has been thrown into doubt by California college professor Christine Blasey (BLAH'-zee) Ford's allegations he sexually assaulted her more than 30 years ago when they were teenagers. He has denied the allegations.
Negotiations continue over whether Ford will testify next week.
Republicans want to conclude the nomination process quickly. Democrats have seized on the development as justification to delay the high-stakes nomination and say it's being rushed.
___
9:10 a.m.
Presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway says the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct should not be conflated with the assault allegation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and his denial.
Conway told CNN on Friday, 'Let's not conflate the larger #MeToo movement with whatever did nor did not happen in the summer of 1982.'
Conway was a GOP political consultant for decades before working for President Donald Trump. She says she can relate to women who say they've been mistreated by men and understands why it might take years to come forward with such allegations. But she says California college professor Christine Blasey (BLAH'-zee) Ford's accusation Kavanaugh tried to rape her when they were teenagers should not be lumped in with the movement that has toppled men from the pinnacles of their careers.
Conway says Ford and Kavanaugh should testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee next week.
___
1:35 a.m.
Christine Blasey (BLAH'-zee) Ford may testify against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh after all. That word from her attorney could breathe new life into the prospect of a dramatic Senate showdown next week over Ford's accusation that he assaulted her when both were in high school.
The preference would be for Ford to testify next Thursday, and she doesn't want Kavanaugh in the same room, her attorney told Judiciary Committee staff in a 30-minute call that also touched on security concerns and others issues. That is according to a Senate aide who wasn't authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Ford is willing to tell her story to the Judiciary Committee, whose senators will vote on Kavanaugh's confirmation — but only if agreement can be reached on what her attorney called 'terms that are fair and which ensure her safety.' No decisions have been reached.