Trump calls allegations against his high court nominee a 'con game'

FILE PHOTO: Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh testifies during the third day of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 6, 2018. REUTERS/Alex Wroblewski/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump, fighting to shore up his nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court in a divided Senate, on Tuesday called sexual misconduct allegations against the judge "a con game being played by the Democrats."

Trump's escalation in his rhetoric defending Kavanaugh came as the Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee announced the hiring of a woman lawyer who is "an expert sex crimes prosecutor" to question one of the nominee's accusers, Christine Blasey Ford, at a high-stakes hearing scheduled on Thursday.