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.
Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor and CNN legal analyst, tweeted Ms Mitchell's assessment is indeed "a political statement, not a prosecutorial statement" as she asserted in the memo.
As the investigation is carried out, Mr Trump is not happy with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
About a week before the drama unfolded in the hearing room on Friday when Senator Jeff Flake - and later other Republicans like Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski - supported the investigation and week-long delay in the vote, Mr Trump "unleashed an expletive-filled tirade" on Mr McConnell.
According to the New York Times, the president felt - in the wake of Dr Ford coming forward about her allegations - the Senate leader had let the confirmation process get out of control.
Mr Trump, according to the newspaper, also said Senate Republicans should have immediately held a vote on Mr Kavanaugh's nomination after the committee had voted along party lines to send it to the Senate floor for a full chamber vote.
He estimated Mr Flake, Ms Collins, Ms Murkowski, and the few "red state" Democratic Senators like Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, would have been forced to vote to put Mr Kavanaugh on the court.
Publicly, Mr Trump had initially responded in an uncharacteristically somber tone when he heard about the delayed vote while in the Oval office.
On Friday, the president had said he would go along with what the Senate decided.
He called Dr Ford "a very credible witness" and a "very fine woman," just days after saying she was running a "con game".
He also tweeted the same of Mr Kavanaugh, calling his testimony “powerful, honest, and riveting." Mr Trump added he thought Democrats were simply trying to "delay, obstruct, and resist.”
He then tweeted similar sentiments on Sunday.
Part of the president and Republicans' opposition to an FBI investigation may have stemmed from the recent contentious relationship after the sacking of former agency director James Comey.
Mr Comey weighed in on the confirmation hearings as well, criticising the "flawed" limiting of the bureau's investigation into Dr Ford's allegations.
Read more about the ousted director's thoughts here:
Mr Trump is currently giving a press conference on the new US-Mexico-Canada trade deal, a replacement to the North American Trade Agreement (Nafta), and refusing to answer questions about his Supreme Court nominee.
For more information on what is going on with the trade deal, check our coverage here:
"All right let's go," he says, "people are falling asleep talking about trade."
"Whatever [the Senate] wants to do is ok with me...same with the FBI," he said curtly.
He said though, "this is seventh" FBI background investigation of Mr Kavanaugh, given his previous federal government and White House employment.
Republicans have repeatedly argued though many believe Dr Ford may have been assaulted, the results of his previous background investigations mean he is not guilty of the allegation.
"It's not fair," Mr Trump said about what Mr Kavanaugh's family is going through.
He said it was “fair for me” to go through “this crap” of media scrutiny, since he was president.
"I feel badly for everybody, I feel badly for our country," he said.
"I know [the Democratic Senators on the committee]...and they are not angels, Mr Trump said in another line of attack used by Mr Kavanaugh and Republicans to say the investigation is simply a political move to obstruct his appointment.
"I'll do whatever the Senate wants...the Senate is making the judgement, I'm not making the judgement," Mr Trump reiterated.
"I'm instructing [the FBI] as per what the Senate wants," he said.
He gets in a dig on the media, as usual, calling journalists "misleading" and said "we don't want to go on a witch hunt, do we?"
But he said "it wouldn't bother me at all" for the FBI to interview all of Mr Kavanaugh's accusers - Dr Ford, Julie Swetnick, and Deborah Ramirez.
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