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Kavanaugh nomination: Trump claims Supreme Court pick had drinking problems as a young man

The FBI is expected to speak to Charles Ludington, who said in a statement that Brett Kavanaugh was a "belligerent and aggressive" drunk while the two were friends at Yale.

President Trump told reporters that when he heard Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh testify last week, he "watched a man saying that he did have difficulty as a young man with drink."
President Trump told reporters that when he heard Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh testify last week, he "watched a man saying that he did have difficulty as a young man with drink."Read moreAP Photos

The Supreme Court opened its new term Monday one justice short, as Judge Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation has been delayed while the FBI conducts an investigation into sexual assault allegations from his past.

The New York Times reported that the White House had authorized the FBI to expand its investigation to allow agents to interview anyone of interest, a shift from earlier reports that limits were placed on the bureau's ability to investigate claims made by three woman — Christine Blasey Ford, Deborah Ramirez and Julie Swetnick. The new directive still reportedly stipulates the investigation needs to be completed by the end of the week.

"The FBI should interview anybody that they want within reason, but you have to say within reason," President Trump told reporters at a press conference at the White House on Monday. "I want it to be comprehensive. I think it's actually a good thing for Judge Kavanaugh."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, meanwhile, said Monday that the Senate would hold a vote this week on Kavanaugh's nomination.

"The time for endless delay and obstruction has come to a close," the Kentucky Republican said.

Trump also told reporters that when he heard Kavanaugh testify last week, he "watched a man saying that he did have difficulty as a young man with drink."

"I watched him. I was surprised at how vocal he was about the fact that he likes beer and he's had a little bit of difficulty. He talked about things that happened when he drank," Trump said. "This is not a man that said that… he was perfect with respect to alcohol."

But in contrast to Trump's description of his testimony, Kavanaugh downplayed his drinking in high school and college before the Judiciary Committee, repeatedly denying claims he "blacked out" due to drinking and didn't remember events.

"Sometimes I had too many beers. Sometimes others did. I liked beer. I still like beer. But I did not drink beer to the point of blacking out, and I never sexually assaulted anyone," Kavanaugh said during his fiery opening statement.

Another former Yale classmate speaks out

One person the FBI is expected to speak to is Charles Ludington, a Yale classmate of Kavanaugh and a former varsity basketball player. Ludington, a professor at North Carolina State University, released a statement that called Kavanaugh a "belligerent and aggressive" drunk" during college and said the nominee wasn't truthful about his past during his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

"When Brett got drunk, he was often belligerent and aggressive," Ludington said in his statement. "On one of the last occasions I purposely socialized with Brett, I witnessed him respond to a semi-hostile remark, not by defusing the situation, but by throwing his beer in the man's face and starting a fight that ended with one of our mutual friends in jail."

Kavanaugh, who has vehemently denied all allegations of sexual misconduct, told senators last week that while he enjoyed drinking beer, he never drank so much that he blacked out and didn't remember what happened the next morning.

>> READ MORE: Philadelphia-area experts react to Kavanaugh's defiant defense

Several former classmates of Kavanaugh, including his Yale roommate James Roche, have come forward in recent days, contending that the Supreme Court nominee mischaracterized his drinking habits under oath during the hearing.

"There's no problem in drinking beer in college. The problem is lying about it," Liz Swisher, another Yale classmate, told CNN. "He drank heavily, he was a partier, he liked to do beer bongs, he played drinking games, he was a sloppy drunk."

Some former classmates, however, have backed up Kavanaugh's characterizations of his drinking habits. Chris Dudley, a former NBA player and a former Republican gubernatorial nominee in Oregon, told BuzzFeed News that he drank regularly with Kavanaugh while both were at Yale and never saw him black out. "Brett would drink, but he'd also be the guy who never missed a class," Dudley said. "There's a reason he was top of his class."

Trump doesn’t want to consider a “plan B” for Kavanaugh

Trump told reporters Monday he's not considering a back-up plan if his controversial Supreme Court nominee doesn't end up being confirmed by the Senate.

"I don't want to talk about plan B," Trump said. "I hope he gets approved."

Trump also said he had an "open mind" about the results of the FBI's investigation, and told reporters he wouldn't mind if agents spoke to all three of Kavanaugh's accusers. But he wants the investigation to go quickly due to the "trauma" he said Kavanaugh and his family have been forced to endure.

'This is our seventh investigation of a man who has really — you look at his life, until this happened, what a change he's gone through. The trauma for a man who has never had any accusations," Trump said. "So I want the FBI, this is now the seventh investigation. It's not like they are just starting. I want them to do a very comprehensive investigation."

Trump mentions Cory Booker’s past groping admission during press conference

During the Monday press conference at the White House, Trump suggested that Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J.), was wrong to question Kavanaugh due to Booker's own admission of "groping" a friend after a kiss while in high school.

"And he made statements that when he was in college… what he was doing. He actually made the statements, Trump said. "And now he's talking about Judge Kavanaugh?

In a 1992 column in  Stanford University's student newspaper, Booker admitted he had once groped a classmate and admitted the incident underscored his changing views on gender and sexual respect. He also called for respect and sensitivity.

>> READ MORE: 11 cartoons that show America's complicated feelings about  Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford | Opinion

"Senator Booker's Stanford Daily column has been the focus of disingenuous right-wing attacks that have circulated online and in partisan outlets for the past five years," spokesperson Kristin Lynch said in a statement. "These attacks ring hollow to anyone who reads the entirety of the column, which is in fact a direct criticism of a culture that encourages young men to take advantage of women — written at a time when so candidly discussing these issues was rare — and speaks to the impact Senator Booker's experience working to help rape and sexual assault survivors as a college peer counselor had on him."

Third accuser interviewed by NBC News

Julie Swetnick, the third woman to accuse Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, sat down for a new interview with NBC News anchor Kate Snow, Swetnick's attorney Michael Avenatti confirmed Monday morning. CNN's Brian Stelter was first to report that Swetnick was interviewed by NBC News, noting that the network is "reporting it out" to vet her explosive claims and decide what to air.

Swetnick claimed she was drugged and raped by a "gang" of boys at a high school party where Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was present, though she did not say that Kavanaugh participated in the alleged rape.

So far, Swetnick's only TV appearance was a brief interview with John Heilemann for Showtime's The Circus, which aired Sunday night.

It's unclear if the FBI will interview Swetnick about her allegations. Avenatti said Monday morning the FBI had not contacted Swetnick, and that agency officials refused to take a statement from her. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Republican Senator: If FBI finds that Kavanaugh lied, his nomination is over

Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, who made his Judiciary Committee vote in favor of advancing Kavanaugh's nomination incumbent on an FBI investigation, told 60 Minutes he would not support Kavanaugh's nomination if evidence shows he lied during his testimony.

"If Kavanaugh is shown to have lied to the committee, nomination's over?"60 Minutes host Scott Pelley asked Flake during an interview that aired Sunday night.

"Oh yes," Flake responded, nodding.

>> READ MORE: Have young men's attitudes toward sexual violence changed since Kavanaugh's youth?

Flake also admitted that the only reason he pressed for an FBI investigation against the wishes of his Republican colleagues was that he's not running for re-election.

"Not a chance," Flake said. "There's no value to reaching across the aisle. There's no currency for that anymore. There's no incentive."

Prosecutor: No reasonable prosecutor would bring case against Kavanaugh

Arizona prosecutor Rachel Mitchell — who was hired by Republicans to question Ford and Kavanaugh during last week's hearing — released a memo to Republican senators claiming no "reasonable prosecutor would bring this case based on the evidence before the Committee."

But Mitchell also noted that a "Senate confirmation hearing is not a trial, especially not a prosecution."

>> READ MORE: Christine Blasey Ford, Brett Kavanaugh, and the day the laughter stopped for America's privileged | Will Bunch

 >> READ MORE: Kavanaugh creates #MeToo moment for accused men | Christine Flowers