President Trump attacked one of the women who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct in harsh and stark language Tuesday, as senators escalated their partisan warfare over his confirmation ahead of a highly anticipated hearing. 
 
 After his speech at the United Nations, Trump took aim at Deborah Ramirez, a classmate of Kavanaugh’s at Yale University and the second woman to accuse the nominee. She told the New Yorker magazine that he exposed himself to her at a party when they were both first-year students. Dismissing Ramirez’s account because she was “totally inebriated and all messed up,” Trump also accused Democrats of playing a “con game” in an attempt to derail his Supreme Court choice. 
 
 “The second accuser has nothing,” Trump told reporters. “The second accuser thinks maybe it could have been him, maybe not. She admits she was drunk. She admits time lapses.” 
 
 The president dismissed the notion that the allegation could be disqualifying, saying sarcastically: “Oh, gee, let’s not make him a Supreme Court judge because of that.” 
 
 Trump’s charged rhetoric against his nominee’s accusers came as Republicans quickly closed ranks around Kavanaugh, even as a handful of pivotal swing votes remained quiet on whether they would ultimately support his confirmation in the coming days. 
 
 The high court begins its new term Monday, and Republicans are under intense political pressure from conservatives to confirm Kavanaugh amid warnings that failure could cost the GOP in November’s midterm elections. 
 
 
 
 Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh has strongly denied accusations from two women of sexual misconduct. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images) 
 
 Late Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee sent out a notice scheduling a 9:30 a.m. committee vote Friday in the case “that a majority of the members are prepared” to vote then. The full Senate could vote next Tuesday. 
 
 Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was defiant, speaking confidently about Kavanaugh’s prospects, assailing Democrats and casting the nominee as a victim of “the weaponization of unsubstantiated smears.” 
 
 “We’re going to be moving forward. I’m confident we’re going to win,” McConnell told reporters Tuesday afternoon. “He will be confirmed in the very near future.” 
 
 And asked Tuesday whether he could envision any scenario in which the White House withdraws Kavanaugh’s nomination, principal deputy press secretary Raj Shah said on MSNBC: “Absolutely not.” 
 
 Looking ahead to Thursday’s hearing, Republicans hired a female lawyer from outside the panel to lead the questioning as the GOP faced the politically tough optics of the all-male Republican lineup questioning an accuser. 
 
 “We have hired a female assistant to go on staff and to ask these questions in a respectful and professional way,” said McConnell. 
 
 The committee’s chairman, Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), confirmed in a statement late Tuesday that it had hired Arizona prosecutor Rachel Mitchell to do the questioning, shortly after The Post first reported the decision. A registered Republican, Mitchell is the sex crimes bureau chief for the Maricopa County attorney’s office in Phoenix, where she has worked for 26 years. 
 
 “I’m very appreciative that Rachel Mitchell has stepped forward to serve in this important and serious role,” Grassley said. “Ms. Mitchell has been recognized in the legal community for her experience and objectivity.” 
 
 Kavanaugh has vehemently denied the allegation from Ramirez, as well as the accusation from Christine Blasey Ford, who told The Washington Post that he sexually assaulted her when they were high school students in Maryland. Top panel staffers held a call with Kavanaugh earlier Tuesday to interview him about the allegation outlined in the New Yorker. As he has done publicly, he again denied the allegation in the staff interview, a panel spokesman said. 
 
 Unlike a previous staff interview, Democratic aides listened in on the Tuesday afternoon call, another person briefed on the conversation said. But the Democrats — who have called for the FBI to reopen its background investigation of Kavanaugh — made their objections to the process clear and subsequently refused to ask the judge questions, the person said. 
 
 One of the biggest points of contention remained the outside counsel who would question Ford and Kavanaugh. Republicans sought to avoid a repeat of 1991, when an all-male panel’s questioning of Anita Hill about her allegations of sexual impropriety against Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas angered female voters, who elected dozens of women in November 1992. Thomas was confirmed to the court. 
 
 All 11 Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee are men (as are six of the 10 Democrats). 
 
 “We’ve done it because we want to depoliticize the whole process, like the Democrats politicized the Anita Hill thing,” said Grassley, who was on the panel in 1991. “The whole point is to create an environment where it’s what Dr. Ford has asked for, to be professional and to not be a circus.” 
 
 Senate Democrats plan to ask questions of Kavanaugh and Ford, and the Democratic panel members met midday Tuesday to strategize about the hearing. 
 
 “It’s up to them,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), the top Democrat on the committee, said of Republicans’ plan to use an outside lawyer. “It’s certainly their right to do that, and we’ll see how it goes. I’ve been on the committee for 24 years, and I’ve never seen it before. But we’ll see.” 
 
 Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) pushed back at McConnell and Senate Republicans in unusually personal terms, criticizing him for a promise last week to “plow right through” the proceedings despite the drama over the accusers. “Does that sound like someone who’s treating these allegations with respect and fairness and evenhandedness?” Schumer asked. “Does that sound like someone who wants to get the real facts no matter where they fall? Certainly not to me. Not to the American people.” 
 
 Ford has alleged that Kavanaugh drunkenly pinned her to a bed, groped her and put his hand over her mouth to stifle her screams as he tried to take off her clothes at a house party in the early 1980s. Kavanaugh has denied being at the party. 
 
 Meanwhile, the committee continued its outreach to Ramirez. Sen. John Neely Kennedy (R-La.) said Republicans had been rebuffed after trying to contact her lawyer, and a committee spokesman said it has not received a statement or additional evidence from her legal team after requesting them. 
 
 White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday that while the White House is open to testimony from Ramirez, she stressed that the confirmation process needs to come to a close. 
 
 The New Yorker reported Sunday that in Ramirez’s initial conversations with the publication, “she was reluctant to characterize Kavanaugh’s role in the alleged incident with certainty.” 
 
 But “after six days of carefully assessing her memories and consulting with her attorney, Ramirez said that she felt confident enough of her recollections to say that she remembers Kavanaugh had exposed himself at a drunken dormitory party, thrust his penis in her face, and caused her to touch it without her consent as she pushed him away,” the magazine said. 
 
 Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) remained quiet about her intentions but stressed that the Thursday hearing should continue — even while the senator called for Ramirez to speak to the Judiciary Committee under oath. 
 
 Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), another potential swing vote, said it was hard to assess Ramirez’s credibility at this point. 
 
 “If there are allegations out there, then Ms. Ramirez needs to be willing to come forward with them, just as Dr. Ford has been willing to come forward, albeit reluctantly and understandably so,” Murkowski said. “And so in order for us to take them under consideration, she needs to take the next steps.” 
 
 Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said Ramirez’s accusations seem “pretty thinly sourced.” As to whether they should be explored, he said he will leave that to the Judiciary Committee. “Whatever they decide is fine with me,” Corker said. 
 
 By the time the panel holds its hearing Thursday, there could be a third Kavanaugh accuser. 
 
 Lawyer Michael Avenatti has said he is representing a woman who has accusations about Kavanaugh’s behavior in high school. In a Tuesday tweet, Avenatti said the woman would come forward only when she is ready but said he expects that to be within 36 hours. 
 
 At their regular Tuesday party lunch, Republicans were told to be prepared to be in Washington this weekend to process Kavanaugh’s nomination, senators said. 
 
 Meanwhile, another misconduct allegation threatened to play out Thursday on the other side of Capitol Hill. The House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday invited a woman who has accused Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt, a former Democratic congressman, of sexual harassment and retaliation. 
 
 Gabriel Pogrund, Josh Dawsey, Rosalind S. Helderman, Karoun Demirjian and Mike DeBonis contributed to this report. ||||| In this image from Senate Television, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., speaks about Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh on the floor of the Senate Monday, Sept. 24, 2018, on Capitol Hill... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this image from Senate Television, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., speaks about Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh on the floor of the Senate Monday, Sept. 24, 2018, on Capitol Hill in Washington. McConnell is condemning allegations of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh as a "shameful,... (Associated Press) 
 
 WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh (all times local): 
 
 12:10 p.m. 
 
 President Donald Trump says Democrats are playing a "con game" against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. 
 
 Trump is seeking to cast doubt on sexual misconduct allegations lodged against Kavanaugh by a Yale classmate, Deborah Ramirez, who made her claims in an article published in The New Yorker magazine. 
 
 Trump says Ramirez says it might not have been Kavanaugh and there were gaps in her memory. He says she says "she was totally inebriated and all messed up." 
 
 Trump says: "This is a con game being played by the Democrats." 
 
 Kavanaugh is set to testify Thursday at a public hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers, is also expected to testify. 
 
 ___ 
 
 11:18 a.m. 
 
 A key Republican senator is indicating she believes there should be a new FBI investigation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh after allegations of sexual misconduct. 
 
 Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski is one of a handful of Senate Republicans undecided on Kavanaugh's confirmation. When asked Tuesday if there should be a full FBI investigation about the claims, she said: "Well, it would sure clear up all the questions, wouldn't it?" 
 
 President Donald Trump and most Senate Republicans have said an FBI investigation isn't needed. Kavanaugh and his initial accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, will testify Thursday before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Ford says he sexually assaulted her when both were teenagers. 
 
 A second woman told the New Yorker magazine that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her in college. Kavanaugh denies both claims. 
 
 ____ 
 
 11 a.m. 
 
 The Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, says Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell owes Christine Blasey Ford an apology for calling her allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh a smear job. 
 
 Schumer says "he should apologize to her immediately." 
 
 Two women have accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct decades ago. He has denied sexually assaulting anyone. 
 
 Schumer, the minority leader, also says it is galling that McConnell is making charges of partisanship by Democrats. He says McConnell has done more than maybe anyone else to politicize the Supreme Court nomination process. 
 
 Schumer says that if McConnell truly believed the allegations were a partisan attack, he would join Democrats in calling for a background investigation. 
 
 Schumer says "I think they're afraid of the facts." 
 
 __ 
 
 10:35 a.m. 
 
 The Senate's top Republican says unconfirmed, decades-old allegations of sexual misconduct by Brett Kavanaugh are no reason to block his Supreme Court nomination. 
 
 Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says such charges are "nowhere near" a reason to "nullify someone's career." He says in the United States, accused people are supposed to be treated with fairness and a presumption of innocence. 
 
 McConnell's emphasis on fairness comes as Republican leaders have ramped up efforts to solidify support for Kavanaugh among GOP senators. 
 
 Christine Blasey Ford has accused Kavanaugh of molesting her during an early 1980s high school party. Deborah Ramirez has said Kavanaugh forced her to touch his penis during a Yale dormitory party when both were freshmen. Kavanaugh has denied both allegations. 
 
 McConnell says the Senate will vote on Kavanaugh's confirmation soon. 
 
 __ 
 
 7:25 a.m. 
 
 White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says "we would be open" to Deborah Ramirez, a second woman accusing Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, testify before the Senate Judiciary panel this week. 
 
 Sanders says that "process could take place on Thursday," when Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, who has separately accused him of assaulting her in high school, are scheduled to testify. 
 
 She says President Donald Trump "has said a number of times these individuals should be heard." At the same time, she noted that Kavanaugh has been "unequivocal in his denial" of sexual assault allegations. She adds, "This is a country where you're innocent until proven guilty except when you're a conservative Republican." 
 
 Republicans have accused Democrats of a smear campaign by using the women's accusations of misconduct by Kavanaugh in high school and college to try to defeat his nomination. 
 
 __ 
 
 12:40 a.m. 
 
 Brett Kavanaugh says he won't let "false accusations" drive him from his quest to win Senate confirmation to the Supreme Court. That's part of an aggressive drive by President Donald Trump and top Republicans to rally the public and GOP senators behind Kavanaugh's teetering nomination. 
 
 Trump and Republican leaders are accusing Democrats of a smear campaign by using accusations by two women of sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh in the 1980s to try scuttling his Senate confirmation. 
 
 There were no immediate indications that the emergence of a second accuser had fatally wounded Kavanaugh's prospects. But Republicans tried projecting unflinching support for Kavanaugh that included the nominee taking the unusual step of defending himself in a television interview. 
 
 Kavanaugh said Monday on Fox News Channel, "I've never sexually assaulted anyone." ||||| Sitting beside the President of Colombia, Iván Duque Márquez, President Donald Trump said the two on-record accusations of sexual assault and misconduct made against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh were “a con game being played by the Democrats.” 
 
 “As the President of a great country, Colombia, you must say, ‘How is this possible?’” Trump asked the Colombian president. 
 
 “Thirty-six years ago and nobody ever knew about it, nobody ever heard about it?” Trump continued. “And now a new charge comes up and she said, well, it might not be him, and there were gaps, and she said she was totally inebriated and she was all messed up and she doesn’t know it was him, but it might have been him? Oh gee, let’s not make him a Supreme Court judge because of that?” 
 
 “This is a con game being played by the Democrats.” 
 
 Watch below: ||||| CLOSE President Donald Trump says Democrats are playing a "con game" against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. (Sept. 25) AP 
 
 President Donald Trump arrives with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, right, and National Security Advisor John Bolton, left, at the United Nations on Sept. 24, 2018. (Photo: JUSTIN LANE, EPA-EFE) 
 
 NEW YORK – President Donald Trump unloaded on congressional Democrats Tuesday for playing a "con game" over his Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, and he used his strongest language yet to criticize those accusing him of sexual assault. 
 
 “The second accuser has nothing,” Trump said of Deborah Ramirez, who has accused Kavanaugh of exposing himself to her at a party when they were freshmen at Yale University. “She admits that she was drunk. She admits time lapses." 
 
 Trump made the remarks to reporters during a bilateral meeting with the president of Colombia, Iván Duque Márquez, at the United Nations General Assembly. He focused most of his ire on Democrats, who have urged a delay in the face of accusations from Ramirez and Christine Blasey Ford. 
 
 “They’re really con artists,” Trump said of Democrats. “They don’t believe it themselves. They’re playing a con game, and they play it very well.” 
 
 The Democrats are playing a high level CON GAME in their vicious effort to destroy a fine person. It is called the politics of destruction. Behind the scene the Dems are laughing. Pray for Brett Kavanaugh and his family! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 26, 2018 
 
 In a late-night tweet, Trump again blasted Democrats for what he called a "vicious effort to destroy a fine person" and asked for prayers for Kavanaugh and his family. 
 
 "The Democrats are playing a high level CON GAME in their vicious effort to destroy a fine person. It is called the politics of destruction. Behind the scene the Dems are laughing. Pray for Brett Kavanaugh and his family!" Trump wrote. 
 
 But Trump, who initially took a more cautious approach to Kavanaugh's accusers, has increasingly ramped up his criticism of them. Last week he questioned why Ford had not reported the allegations to authorities at the time. 
 
 On Tuesday, he took a more direct approach in questioning Ramirez's story. 
 
 "Now a new charge comes up and she says it may not be him and there are gaps. And she was totally inebriated and all messed up, and she doesn’t know," Trump said. "It might have been him, or it might have been him. 
 
 "Gee, let’s not make him a Supreme Court judge," Trump continued. "This is a con game being played by the Democrats." 
 
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– President Trump amped up the rhetoric Tuesday by calling Democrats "con artists" and saying Brett Kavanaugh's second accuser "has nothing" on the Supreme Court nominee, USA Today reports. "She admits that she was drunk," says Trump of Deborah Ramirez, who accuses Kavanaugh of exposing himself to her at a drunken dormitory party years ago. "She admits time lapses." Talking Points Memo notes that Trump was at UN headquarters in New York with the president of Colombia, Ivan Marquez, when he said, "As the president of a great country, Colombia, you must say, 'How is this possible?' Thirty-six years ago and nobody ever knew about it, nobody ever heard about it?” "And now a new charge comes up and she said, well, it might not be him, and there were gaps, and she said she was totally inebriated and she was all messed up and she doesn’t know it was him, but it might have been him?" adds Trump. "Oh gee, let’s not make him a Supreme Court judge because of that?" Of the Democrats, he says: "They’re really con artists. They don’t believe it themselves. They're playing a con game, and they play it very well." Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports that Sarah Huckabee Sanders says Ramirez could testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday—the same day Christine Ford plans to speak—and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican who remains undecided on Kavanaugh, suggests she supports a full FBI investigation, per the AP.