Republican Women on Kavanaugh Assault Claims: 'What Boy Hasn't Done This in High School?'

A panel of Republican women have defended Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh following allegations of attempted sexual assault – with one posing the question "What 17-year-old boy hasn't done this in high school?"

The panel, hosted by CNN, saw the women offer various defenses for Kavanaugh, who is accused by Christine Blasey Ford of an attack at a house party, from questioning the veracity of the allegations to suggesting his actions, if true, were representative of the behavior of most teenagers.

"How can we believe the word of a woman of something that happened 36 years ago. This guy has an impeccable reputation. There is nobody that has spoken ill will about him," said one of the women, Lourdes Castillo de la Peña, who later added that she would back Kavanaugh even if the allegations proved true.

"As long as that's an isolated incident, yes … If the person made a mistake and they've moved on and they have been a good human being, who are we to judge?" she said.

Another panelist, Gina Sosa, said of the allegations by Ford: "I mean, we're talking about a 15-year-old girl, which I respect. I'm a woman. I respect. But we're talking about a 17-year-old boy in high school with testosterone running high. Tell me, what boy hasn't done this in high school?"

Ford claims Kavanaugh and one of his friends pushed her into a bedroom at a house party in the early 1980s, claiming they played loud music to prevent anyone from hearing her yell for help and that Kavanaugh attempted to take her clothes off.

"Kavanaugh physically pushed me into a bedroom as I was headed for a bathroom up a short stair well from the living room. They locked the door and played loud music precluding any successful attempt to yell for help," Blasey wrote in the letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein seen by CNN.

"Kavanaugh was on top of me while laughing with REDACTED, who periodically jumped onto Kavanaugh. They both laughed as Kavanaugh tried to disrobe me in their highly inebriated state. With Kavanaugh's hand over my mouth I feared he may inadvertently kill me," the letter added.

Ford has said that she is prepared to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee, while Kavanaugh has denied the claims and also says that he is prepared to offer testimony on the accusations.

In a statement last week, Kavanaugh said: "Kavanaugh said: "Because this never happened, I had no idea who was making this accusation until she identified herself yesterday. I am willing to talk to the Senate Judiciary Committee in any way the Committee deems appropriate to refute this false allegation, from 36 years ago, and defend my integrity."