A woman who has accused US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault has agreed to testify before a Senate panel next week but details of her appearance have not been finalised.
US Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley had set a Saturday afternoon deadline for Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who has accused Kavanaugh of sexual assaulting her at a high school party 36 years ago, to decide whether and how she will testify.
"Dr Ford accepts the committee's request to provide her first-hand knowledge of Brett Kavanaugh's sexual misconduct next week," Debra Katz and Lisa Banks, Ford's lawyers, said in a statement on Saturday. "We are hopeful that we can reach agreement on details."
The news site Politico cited a source as saying representatives of Ford and the committee would talk on Sunday to work out the specifics of her testimony.
A White House official said it appeared that Ford's lawyers were trying to prolong negotiations.
"We look at this statement as a delay tactic," the official said. "The White House sees this as not an acceptance.
"Senate Republicans went from looking accommodating and generous to looking like they are getting played unless they see this as stalling and a delay tactic."
White House spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said the statement from Ford's team did not appear to move them closer to a fair hearing and that Kavanaugh was eager to testify as soon as possible.
The committee had delayed a vote on Kavanaugh's confirmation after Ford's allegations emerged last week and her lawyers were negotiating with committee staff the conditions of her testimony.
Kavanaugh has denied the allegation and pledged to testify.
Confirming Kavanaugh's nomination would cement conservative control of the Supreme Court and advance a White House effort to tilt the American judiciary further to the right.
Australian Associated Press
