Senators from the Democratic Party in the United States were on Sunday looking into the allegations of sexual misconduct that a second woman made against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. The alleged incident took place during the 1983-’84 academic year at Yale University.

The 53-year-old complainant said she had attended Yale University with Kavanaugh, The New Yorker reported on Sunday. The complainant said she wants the Federal Bureau of Investigation to conduct inquiries.

“This is another serious, credible, and disturbing allegation against Brett Kavanaugh,” said Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono. “It should be fully investigated.”

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However, Kavanaugh denied that the incident took place, calling it a “last minute allegation” before he becomes a judge of the Supreme Court. “This alleged event from 35 years ago did not happen,” he said. “The people who knew me then know that this did not happen, and have said so. This is a smear, plain and simple.”

The judge said he was looking forward to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday against allegations that he had sexually assaulted a woman when she was a teenager.

The White House backed Kavanaugh, with spokesperson Kerri Kupec calling the latest allegation a “smear campaign by Democrats to tear down a good man”. “This claim is denied by all who were said to be present and is wholly inconsistent with what many women and men who knew Judge Kavanaugh at the time in college say,” she added.

Kavanaugh is a District of Columbia appeals court judge and served as an advisor to former President George W Bush. In order to be appointed to the Supreme Court, Kavanaugh’s nomination must be confirmed by the US Senate, which the Republican Party narrowly controls 51-49. A nominee needs a simple majority of 51 votes to be confirmed. The Democratic Party has called for the vote to be postponed till the allegations of assault are investigated.