Lawmakers contend with new sexual misconduct allegation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh

A woman who knew Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh when he was in high school has alleged that Kavanaugh attempted to sexually assault her in the early 1980s, a report from The New Yorker found Friday.

The woman, who has asked to remain anonymous, came forward when President Trump nominated Kavanaugh back in July, providing Democratic lawmakers with information that led to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) referring the matter to the FBI on Thursday. The allegation describes an incident during a party; the woman accuses Kavanaugh of holding her down and attempting to force himself on her. She says that he, along with a classmate of his, had been drinking, and turned up music to muffle her protests before she escaped the room.

"I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation," Kavanaugh told The New Yorker in a statement. "I did not do this back in high school or at any time." Kavanaugh's former classmate said, "I have no recollection of that."

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Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) released a letter Friday signed by 65 women who knew Kavanaugh when he attended Georgetown Prep, an all-boys school in Maryland. The women signed to support a statement that says Kavanaugh "has always treated women with decency and respect."

A White House representative called the allegations an "11th hour attempt to delay" Kavanaugh's confirmation, while critics raised the question of how the GOP gathered 65 signatures from Kavanaugh's distant acquaintances so quickly without prior knowledge of the allegations. The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on Kavanaugh's nomination next week. Read more at The New Yorker.