President Donald Trump has mocked the testimony of Christine Blasey Ford against his Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh at a rally in Mississippi.
“What neighbourhood was it in? I don’t know,” Mr Trump said. “But I had one beer. That’s the only thing I remember. And a man’s life is in tatters.”
Days earlier he had said Prof Ford was a “credible” and “compelling” witness.
Prof Ford told a Senate committee that Mr Kavanaugh assaulted her as a teenager, an allegation he denies.
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Mr Trump ordered the FBI to examine the claims following the Senate testimony.
However, Prof Ford’s lawyers say the FBI has not yet spoken to her and say it is “inconceivable” that the agency could conduct a thorough investigation without interviewing her.
The FBI investigation is due to be completed by Friday.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said the Senate must vote on confirming Mr Kavanaugh this week.
What did Mr Trump say?
He told supporters in the town of Southhaven that his political opponents had been “trying to destroy Judge Kavanaugh since the very first second he was announced”.
He then launched into his mockery of Prof Ford’s testimony, saying that she appeared not to remember basic details about the evening the alleged assault took place.
The audience laughed as the president said: “Thirty-six years ago this happened: I had one beer! Well, you think it was…? Nope! It was one beer.
“Oh, good. How’d you get home? I don’t remember. How’d you get there? I don’t remember. Where was the place? I don’t remember.
“How many years ago was it? I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know! I don’t know! What neighbourhood was it in? I don’t know.
“Where’s the house? I don’t know! Upstairs, downstairs, where was it? I don’t know! But I had one beer. That’s the only thing I remember. And a man’s life is in tatters.”
Prof Ford’s lawyer, Michael Bromwich, described Mr Trump’s words as “a vicious, vile and soulless attack” on her.
“Is it any wonder that she was terrified to come forward, and that other sexual assault survivors are as well?” he added.
Mr Trump’s latest stance contrasts with the reaction he gave shortly after Prof Ford’s dramatic testimony to the Senate committee last week, when he said her testimony was “very compelling” and described her as a “very fine woman”.
Experts have said it is not unusual for victims of trauma to remember certain details vividly but have little recollection of other things that the brain may have accorded less significance to.
Earlier on Tuesday Mr Trump reiterated his support for Mr Kavanaugh, saying he believed the Senate would approve the judge. He told reporters that it was a “very scary time for young men in America when you can be guilty of something that you may not be guilty of”.
Who has the FBI spoken to?
Investigators have spoken to the key witness to the alleged assault on Prof Ford, Mr Kavanaugh’s friend Mark Judge. Prof Ford alleges that Mr Judge also took part in the assault at a high school party in 1982.
Mr Judge has denied any memory of the incident.
The agency has also spoken to the Judge Kavanaugh’s Yale classmate Deborah Ramirez, who alleges that he exposed his genitals to her during a drinking game at Yale university.
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Reuters reported that investigators spoke to Ms Ramirez for more than two hours on Sunday and she provided a list of more than 20 possible witnesses.
However, Prof Ford’s lawyers say they have had no contact from the FBI despite having tried to get in touch with them.
They said the agency had not responded to the offer to interview Prof Ford, or “a series of emails and letters in which we identified witnesses and evidence that would likely assist the FBI”.
At least three other people who knew Mr Kavanaugh from his time at Yale have tried unsuccessfully to contact the FBI about the claims against him, Reuters reported.
A lawyer for a third woman, Julie Swetnick – who alleges Judge Kavanaugh was involved in the drugging and sexual assault of girls at house parties in the 1980s – has questioned why she has not been contacted by the FBI.
The judge has said he did not know Ms Swetnick and that her allegations “never happened”.
On Sunday, the Senate Republican Communications Center said Ms Swetnick was “not credible at all”.
Some reports have suggested that the FBI could wind up its investigation well before the deadline of this Friday.
Citing unnamed Republican aides, the Wall Street Journal reported that the bureau could finish “as soon as” Wednesday.
What will happen to the FBI report?
The FBI will pass its findings to the White House, which will give them to the Senate. The contents are not expected to be made public.
Senators will then vote on whether to confirm Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
Mr McConnell accused Democrats of trying to derail the nomination on Monday, declaring: “The time for endless delay and obstruction has come to a close.”
He did not specify when exactly the vote would be held, but it is expected to be on Friday or Saturday.
Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, has said Friday would be too soon. She argued that senators needed more time to evaluate the FBI’s findings.
What’s likely to happen at the Senate vote?
The Republican Party’s narrow 51-49 majority means that if all Democratic senators vote against the nominee, Republicans can only afford one defection.
In that instance, Vice-President Mike Pence has the casting vote, which would go in Judge Kavanaugh’s favour.
The FBI investigation was launched at the urging of Republican Senators Jeff Flake, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski.
Trump mocks Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony