US President Donald Trump has ordered a fresh FBI investigation into sexual assault allegations against his Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
The investigation is being carried out at the request of Senate Republicans, a move that will delay the contentious confirmation process by a week.
In a statement Mr Trump said: "I've ordered the FBI to conduct a supplemental investigation to update Judge Kavanaugh's file.
"As the Senate has requested, this update must be limited in scope and completed in less than one week."
It follows two days of confirmation hearings for the right-leaning judge.
The key player in a day of dramatic and unexpected developments was Senator Jeff Flake, a moderate Republican who provided the decisive vote to approve Mr Kavanaugh's nomination in the Judiciary Committee and send the matter to the full Senate.
But Mr Flake, after urgent consultations with colleagues including Democratic Senator Chris Coons, cast the vote only after asking the Republican-led panel to request that the Trump administration pursue an FBI probe lasting up to seven days of the explosive allegations against Mr Kavanaugh.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Mr Trump, who had previously rebuffed Democratic demands for an FBI probe, granted the request, ordering the "supplemental investigation" to be "limited in scope and completed in less than one week."
"Just started, tonight, our 7th FBI investigation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh. He will someday be recognised as a truly great Justice of The United States Supreme Court!," he said in a Twitter post.
Just started, tonight, our 7th FBI investigation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh. He will someday be recognized as a truly great Justice of The United States Supreme Court!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 29, 2018
Mr Flake's move came a day after an extraordinary hearing in which university professor Dr Christine Blasey Ford detailed her sexual assault allegation against Mr Kavanaugh.
Mr Flake's action also came only hours after two protesters who said they were sexual assault survivors, cornered him in an elevator and castigated him for announcing he would vote for Mr Kavanaugh in the committee.
"That's what you're telling all women in America - that they don't matter, they should just keep it to themselves," one of the protesters shouted at the Senator, a frequent Trump critic who looked shaken by the encounter.
'You're telling all women that they don't matter': Protesters confront Republican US Senator Jeff Flake pic.twitter.com/0ABnLZ0MLG
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) September 28, 2018
Mr Flake, who had a pained expression when he made his request for an FBI probe in the committee after forcing a brief delay in the scheduled vote, was supported by two other Republican moderates, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, both of whom have not announced whether they would support Mr Kavanaugh.
The allegations against the Supreme Court nominee, with the backdrop of the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and assault that has toppled a succession of powerful men, have riveted the country even as they have imperiled his confirmation chances.
Read: Americans transfixed by Kavanaugh hearing
Mr Trump's nomination of Mr Kavanaugh for a lifetime job on the top US court had appeared to be going along smoothly until Ms Ford's allegation surfaced last week.
He has denied her allegation and accusations of sexual misconduct made by two other women.
The committee vote followed a jarring and emotional hearing on Thursday in which Ms Ford accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her in 1982 when both were high school students in Maryland.
Mr Kavanaugh denied the accusation and accused Democrats- who have opposed his nomination from the outset - of a "calculated and orchestrated political hit."
In a statement issued by the White House, Mr Kavanaugh said he would cooperate with the FBI investigation.
If confirmed, Mr Kavanaugh would consolidate conservative control of the nation's highest court and advance Mr Trump's broad effort to shift the American judiciary to the right.
The controversy has unfolded just weeks ahead of the November congressional elections in which Democrats are trying to seize control of Congress from the Republicans.
