US president Donald Trump has said it is a "very scary time for young men in America", as he lauded his supreme court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, as an "outstanding judge".
Speaking as he left the White House for a rally in Philadelphia, Mr Trump criticised what he said was a culture of "guilty until proven innocent".
“My whole life I’ve heard you’re innocent until proven guilty, but now you’re guilty until proven innocent. That is a very, very difficult standard,” he said. “You can be somebody that was perfect your entire life and somebody could accuse you of something, doesn’t necessarily have to be a woman ... and you are automatically guilty.”
Mr Trump was echoing comments by his son Donald Trump jnr, who said in a television interview that the recent controversy over allegations of sexual assault have made him more worried for his sons than his daughters.
Asked if he had a message for women, the US president said that “women are doing great”. Mr Trump has himself been accused of sexual assault by more than a dozen woman, allegations he has denied.
Mr Trump said he believed that Mr Kavanaugh would be confirmed, but he added that the FBI must complete its investigation into allegations against him.
Mr Trump has nominated Mr Kavanaugh to fill the vacancy on the US supreme court but his confirmation by the Senate has been delayed following a series of allegations against him by women. Christine Blasey Ford, a California-based university professor, claims he sexually assaulted her in 1982 when they were both high-school students.
After she came forward another woman, Deborah Ramirez, who attended university with Mr Kavanaugh, claimed he thrust his exposed genitals in her face at a drunken party when they were in college. A third accuser, Julie Swetnick, said she observed Mr Kavanaugh at parties where women were verbally abused, inappropriately touched and “gang-raped”.
Senate vote
The FBI is investigating the allegations, in advance of a Senate vote on Mr Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
"I really think that Judge Kavanaugh is going to be accepted, voted on and positively voted on, but we'll have to wait and see what the FBI come back with," Mr Trump said, adding that he believed that most Republican voters were completely behind the supreme court nominee. "He's an outstanding person, he's an outstanding man, and for his sake and the sake of his family I hope he does well."
But Mr Trump suggested that his position might change if Mr Kavanaugh is found to have lied to under oath during his testimonies at the Senate judiciary committee, "I don't think you should lie to Congress. to me that would not be acceptable," he said.
Mr Trump’s comments came as Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said that Senate would hold a vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination by the end of the week.
Speaking on the Senate floor, Mr McConnell also poured scorn on a report in the New York Times about Mr Kavanaugh's drinking habits while a student at Yale, particularly a report that he was questioned by police after an altercation in a bar in 1985, when he was accused of throwing ice at another customer. "Talk about a bombshell," he said, disparagingly.
Amid indications that the FBI could wrap up its investigation earlier than Friday, Democrats are now focusing on the issue of whether Mr Kavanaugh was untruthful under oath, as well as on his temperament.
"I think there are serious questions about both his credibility and his temperament that may, to some senators, be more important than the activities that occurred in high school," Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said.
‘Orchestrated campaign’
Mr Kavanaugh’s alleged partisanship has also been raised by some Democrats, in particular his claim that he has been the victim of an orchestrated campaign driven by “pent up anger at president Trump and the 2016 election” and “revenge on behalf of the Clintons”.
Jeff Flake, the Republican senator who insisted that a limited FBI investigation be opened in exchange for his support for Mr Kavanaugh, said the nominee's "sharp and partisan" interaction with members of the judiciary committee on Thursday concerned him. He said he would await the findings of the FBI investigation.
“We’ll see what they come back with. I don’t want to prejudge it,” he said.
Republican senator Lindsey Graham, who forcefully defended Mr Kavanaugh during the Senate hearing on Thursday, said Mr Trump should re-nominate Mr Kavanaugh if for some reason his nomination stalled this week.
Asked about the suggestion, Mr Trump said it was “an interesting idea”, declining to say if he would consider it.
