The Latest: Kavanaugh accuser willing to talk to Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh (all times local):

7:30 a.m.

A lawyer for a woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were in high school is willing to tell her story publicly to the Senate panel considering his nomination. She says the woman considers Kavanaugh’s actions “attempted rape.”

Deborah Katz represents Christine Blasey Ford, who alleges a drunken Kavanaugh groped her and tried to take off her clothes at a party when they were teenagers in the 1980s.

Katz told NBC’s “Today” show she “clearly considers this an attempted rape.”

Kavanaugh has “categorically” denied those allegations, a denial repeated Monday by the White House.

Katz says told ABC’s “Good Morning America” the accuser is “willing to cooperate” with investigators and the Senate Judiciary Committee. She says Ford, a Democrat, isn’t politically motivated.

The Republican-controlled Senate panel appears committed to a vote on Kavanaugh later this week.

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12:30 a.m.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation for the Supreme Court is taking an uncertain turn. Republican senators are expressing concern over a woman’s private-turned-public allegation that a drunken Kavanaugh groped her and tried to take off her clothes at a party when they were teenagers.

The White House and other Kavanaugh supporters had dismissed the allegation of sexual misconduct when it was initially conveyed in a private letter. With a name and disturbing details, the accusation raised the prospect of congressional Republicans defending President Donald Trump’s nominee ahead of midterm elections featuring an unprecedented number of female candidates and informed in part by the #MeToo movement.

The GOP-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee appears nonetheless committed to a vote later this week despite calls by Democrats to postpone the vote.