President Donald Trump has ordered the FBI to reopen the investigation into Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Photo: AFP / Getty
The decision follows testimony from university professor Christine Blasey Ford that Mr Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her 36 years ago.
Mr Kavanaugh denied the accusation at the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday, saying he was a victim of "grotesque and obvious character assassination".
The US Senate Judiciary Committee voted 11 - 10 to approve Mr Kavanaugh's nomination to the US Supreme Court but the full Senate vote will be delayed while the FBI investigate allegations of sexual assault against him.
Republican senator Jeff Flake changed his mind at the last minute to support Mr Kavanaugh but only if there was a full investigation into the allegations of sexual misconduct.
Republican leaders in the Senate agreed to support the request for an FBI inquiry which was backed by President Trump.
"I've ordered the FBI to conduct a supplemental investigation to update Judge Kavanaugh's file," he said in a statement.
"As the Senate has requested, this update must be limited in scope and completed in less than one week."
- ABC