US President Donald Trump has said it would be "unfortunate" if the woman who has accused his Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault did not testify before a US Senate committee, as he stepped up his defense of the conservative federal appeals court judge.
Mr Trump answered questions about Mr Kavanaugh, whose nomination is now in jeopardy in the Senate, as he left the White House to visit hurricane-stricken areas in North and South Carolina.
Christine Blasey Ford, a university professor in California, has accused Mr Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her in 1982 when both were high school students in suburban Maryland.
Mr Kavanaugh has denied the allegation.
The Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees Supreme Courtnominations, has scheduled a hearing for Monday and invited both Ms Ford and Mr Kavanaugh to testify.
Ms Ford's lawyers said yesterday she would not appear before the Senate until after the FBI investigates the allegations.
Officials have said the FBI is not looking into the matter.
"Look, if she shows up and makes a credible showing, that will be very interesting and we'll have to make a decision. But I can only say this: he's such an outstanding man - very hard for me to imagine that anything happened," Mr Trump told reporters.
"I really want to see her," Mr Trump said.
The Republican president said he wanted the Senate confirmation process to play out.
"I think he's an extraordinary man. I think he's a man of great intellect, as I've been telling you, and he had this unblemished record. This is a very tough thing for him and his family. And we want to get it over with," Mr Trump said.
"If she shows up, that would be wonderful. If she doesn't show up, that would be unfortunate," he added.
Democrats, already opposed to Mr Kavanaugh, have sought an FBI investigation into Ms Ford’s claims, a request Republicans rebuffed.
The confirmation fight comes just weeks before November congressional elections in which Democrats seek to win control of Congress from Mr Trump's fellow Republicans.
Meanwhile Mr Trump has said he is not worried about what his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who is co-operating with the US special counsel's probe into Russian election meddling, will tell prosecutors, as long as he is truthful.
"No, I'm not," Mr Trump said when asked if he was concerned what Manafort might say.
"As long as he tells the truth, it's 100%," Mr Trump said. "If he tells the truth, no problem."
Manafort pleaded guilty last week to criminal charges stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's inquiry into Russian interference in the US 2016 presidential election and possible co-ordination between the Trump campaign and Moscow.
Russia has said it did not interfere in the election, and Mr Trump has denied any collusion.
