Angry Brett Kavanaugh denies Christine Blasey Ford accusation, sees ‘disgrace’

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Brett Kavanaugh, Ashley Estes Kavanaugh
Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, and his wife Ashley Estes Kavanaugh, hold hands as they arrive for a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018. [Photo Credit: AP Photo | Carolyn Kaster]

Emotionally battling to rescue his Supreme Court nomination, a beleaguered Brett Kavanaugh fought back Thursday against allegations that he’d sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford when both were high school students, telling Congress that allegations by her and others have “totally and permanently destroyed” his family and his reputation.

In a loud voice, the conservative jurist told the Senate Judiciary Committee that his confirmation process had become “a national disgrace.”

“You have replaced ‘advice and consent’ with ‘search and destroy,'” he said.

Kavanaugh denied Ford’s allegation that he’d trapped her on a bed in a locked room during a gathering of friends when they were teenagers, saying, “I have never done this to her or to anyone.”

With his support among Senate Republicans in question, he also said he would not step side.

“You may defeat me in the final vote, but you’ll never get me to quit, never.”

Behind him in the audience, his wife, Ashley, sat looking stricken. He himself was close to tears when he mentioned his mother and daughter and, later, his father.

Republished with permission from the Associated Press.