Allegations are part of calculated 'political hit'

Fighting to salvage his US Supreme Court nomination, Brett Kavanaugh angrily denied on Thursday a university professor's accusation that he sexually assaulted her 36 years ago in a day of dramatic testimony that gripped the country.

Christine Blasey Ford, her voice sometimes cracking with emotion, appeared in public for the first time to detail her allegation against Kavanaugh, a conservative federal appeals court judge chosen by President Donald Trump for a lifetime job on the top US court.

Ford told the Senate Judiciary Committee she feared Kavanaugh would rape and accidentally kill her during the alleged assault in 1982, when both were high school students in Maryland.

She said she was "100 percent certain" it was Kavanaugh who assaulted her. Trump whole-heartedly backed his pick for the nation's top bench after the gripping day-long hearing opened.

Kavanaugh testified after Ford finished her appearance, claiming he was the victim of "grotesque and obvious character assassination" orchestrated by Senate Democrats. He said he "unequivocally and categorically" denied Ford's allegation and vowed he would not back down.

"I will not be intimidated into withdrawing from this process," Kavanaugh added.

Kavanaugh at times choked back tears, especially when he mentioned that his daughter suggested they pray for Ford, when he spoke of his father and when he mentioned women friends who had rallied to support him.

Kavanaugh sharply attacked Democratic senators, calling himself the victim of "a calculated and orchestrated political hit" fueled by anger on the left at Trump's 2016 election win over Democrat Hillary Clinton.