Donald Trump has questioned the credibility of the woman who has accused his Supreme Court nominee of sexual assault, saying she would have reported the attack to police at the time if the attack "was as bad as she says".
Doctor Christine Blasey Ford, a professor in California, has claimed Judge Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her more than 30 years ago when they were teenagers, something he vehemently denies.
The US president’s remarks were a marked departure from his comments in the days since the accusation first surfaced, during which he refrained from attacking Dr Ford and said she deserved to be heard by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
On Friday the US president tweeted: "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!"
Mr Trump had previously avoided naming Dr Ford or openly casting doubt on her account.
Dr Ford took her allegations public with an interview in the Washington Post last Sunday, in which she claimed that Mr Kavanaugh drunkenly pinned her to a bed on her back, groped her and put his hand over her mouth to muffle her screams at a house party in the early 1980s.
She said she remembered thinking: “I’m not ever telling anyone this. This is nothing, it didn’t happen, and he didn’t rape me.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee has said it will hold a hearing to allow Dr Ford and Mr Kavanaugh to put forward their accounts.
The move has delayed a planned vote to confirm Mr Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, which Republicans are eager to secure before the upcoming Midterm elections as they currently hold a majority.
Mr Trump yesterday accused “radical left wing politicians” of attempting to smear Mr Kavanaugh’s reputation in order to "destroy and delay” a vote.
“Facts don’t matter. I go through this with them every single day in DC,” Mr Trump tweeted.
In a series of tweets, Mr Trump defended his nominee as “a fine man, with an impeccable reputation” as he expressed his frustration with the delay in the confirmation process.
Democrats have called for an FBI investigation into the allegations rather, but the Justice Department has said Dr Ford’s allegation “does not involve any potential federal crime.”
Dr Ford’s lawyer Debra Katz is still negotiating with Republicans about the conditions under which she might testify next week before the Senate.
Dr Ford has also asked the committee to subpoena Mark Judge, who she claims was in the room at the time of the alleged incident. Mr Judge has told the committee he does not recall the incident and does not want to speak publicly.
A spokesman for the Committee’s Republican chairman, Senator Chuck Grassley, said he "will consult with his colleagues on the committee. He remains committed to providing a fair forum for both Dr Ford and Judge Kavanaugh."
Dr Ford has also dismissed the suggestion by a prominent friend of Mr Kavanaugh that she may have mistaken the identity of her attacker – suggesting another classmate might have been responsible.
In response, Dr Ford said she knew and socialised with both men, adding “there is zero chance that I would confuse them”.
Mr Kavanaugh has said he wants a hearing "as soon as possible, so that I can clear my name".
Mr Trump has up until now been careful not to criticise Dr Ford but in an interview with Fox News on Thursday night he asked: "Why didn’t somebody call the FBI 36 years ago? … What’s going on?"
He added that Dr Ford should "have her say… but I don’t think you can delay it any longer. They’ve delayed it a week already."
A substantial delay could push the judge’s confirmation vote to after the November elections, when Democrats could possibly seize control of the Senate.
Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, sought to reassure evangelical activists on Friday that Republicans will "plough right through" to confirm Mr Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
A number of influential evangelical and anti-abortion leaders have expressed frustration in recent days that Republican senators have not done enough to protect their nominee.
It comes as CNN reported the Senate committee is likely to propose a hearing for both Dr Ford and Mr Kavanaugh on Wednesday – two days later than they originally desired.