Senator Chuck Grassley sets Friday deadline for Trump top court pick Kavanaugh's accuser

A woman who has accused Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s U.S. Supreme Court nominee, of sexually assaulting her decades ago has until Friday morning to provide prepared testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, the panel’s chairman said on Wednesday.

The committee has invited Ford and Kavanaugh to testify on Monday about the allegation. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, in a letter to the lawyers for university professor Christine Blasey Ford, also said the committee would be willing to hold the hearing behind closed doors rather than in a public session, adding that he was disturbed to hear that Ford has been subjected to personal threats.

Kavanaugh has denied the assault allegation.

Reporting by Susan Heavey and Tim Ahmann; Editing by Will Dunham