President Donald Trump on Monday defended Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in the wake of an accusation of sexual misconduct as a teen-ager, although he appeared to give Republicans in the Senate the OK to hold hearings on the matter. Speaking to reporters in the White House, Trump said that Kavanaugh has been vetted repeatedly and refused to answer a question about whether he should withdraw, calling it “ridiculous.” “He is one of the great intellects and one of the finest people that anybody has known.