As the United States remains divided over the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, President Donald Trump says he wants the FBI to conduct a “comprehensive” investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct by the judge.

But while the president’s apparent backdown from what he initially said would be a ‘limited’ inquiry, he remains committed to his Supreme Court nominee “all the way”.

Mr Trump said during a press conference on Monday that he still wants the probe to wrap up quickly because the accusations have been “so unfair” to Kavanaugh and his family.

The president said it’s fine with him if the FBI wants to pursue accusations made by three women who have publicly come forward, even as he has left the scope of the investigation to Senate Republicans.

“My White House will do whatever the senators want,” Trump said. “The one thing I want is speed.”

The president added: “We don’t want to go on a witch hunt, do we?”

FBI agents interviewed one of the three women who have accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, as Republicans and Democrats quarrelled over whether there was enough time and freedom for a thorough investigation before a vote on his Supreme Court nomination.

The White House insisted it was not “micromanaging” the new one-week review of Kavanaugh’s background, but some Democratic lawmakers claimed the White House was keeping investigators from interviewing certain witnesses.

Yale classmate speaks out on ‘belligerent’ Kavanaugh

As the FBI explored the past allegations that have surfaced against Kavanaugh, another Yale University classmate came forward to accuse the federal appellate judge of being untruthful in his testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee about the extent of his drinking in college.

In a statement released on Sunday, Charles “Chad” Ludington said he is “deeply troubled by what has been a blatant mischaracterisation by Brett himself of his drinking at Yale”.

Ludington, who now teaches at North Carolina State University, said Kavanaugh was “a frequent drinker, and a heavy drinker” and when drunk was “often belligerent and aggressive”.

While saying that youthful drinking should not condemn a person for life, Ludington said he was concerned about Kavanaugh’s statements under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“It is truth that is at stake, and I believe that the ability to speak the truth, even when it does not reflect well upon oneself, is a paramount quality we seek in our nation’s most powerful judges,” Ludington said.

I can unequivocally say that in denying the possibility that he ever blacked out from drinking, and in downplaying the degree and frequency of his drinking, Brett has not told the truth.”

In speaking to FBI agents, Deborah Ramirez detailed her allegation that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a party in the early 1980s when they were students at Yale University, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Kavanaugh has denied Ramirez’s allegation.

The person familiar with Ramirez’s questioning, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said she also provided investigators with the names of others who she said could corroborate her account.

But Ford, who says Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers, has not been contacted by the FBI since Trump on Friday ordered the agency to take another look at the nominee’s background, according to a member of Ford’s team.

Kavanaugh has denied assaulting Ford.

Meanwhile the prosecutor who questioned Ford at last week’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Rachel Mitchell, wrote in a memo to Senate Republicans that she does not believe a reasonable prosecutor would bring the case based on the evidence before the committee.

Earlier, Mr Trump joked he’d be a “mess” if he indulged in alcoholic beverages.

The New York Times says Mr Trump’s comments on Monday came as he spoke about Mr Kavanaugh’s statements on drinking beer in high school and college.

The president noted that he is not a drinker, saying “I can honestly say I’ve never had a beer in my life” and “it’s one of my only good traits.”

“Can you imagine if I had, what a mess I’d be? I’d be the world’s worst.”

-with AAP