A second allegation of sexual misconduct has emerged against Judge Brett Kavanaugh, a development that has further imperilled his nomination to the Supreme Court. It has also forced the White House and Senate Republicans onto the defensive and fuelled calls from Democrats to postpone further action on his confirmation.

The new accusation landed late Sunday in a report from The New Yorker, just a few hours after negotiators had reached an agreement to hold an extraordinary public hearing Thursday for Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, who accuses him of sexually assaulting her at a party when they were teenagers. Kavanaugh denies the claim.

The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing room. AP

In the second claim, Deborah Ramirez told The New Yorker magazine that Kavanaugh exposed himself at a drunken dormitory party in the 1983-84 school year.