US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has drawn a line in the sand on the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh, saying if the judge lied to Congress then he would have issues with him as well.

“I don’t think you should lie to Congress and there are a lot of people over the past year who have lied to Congress,” he said. “For me, that would not be acceptable.”

Mr Trump said it was “a scary time for young men” who could become subject of false accusations. He suggested it was troubling that people were found “automatically guilty” and had to prove their innocence.

NBC News reported that one of the classmates, Kerry Berchem, told the FBI that the texts showed Mr Kavanaugh “and/or” his friends “may have initiated an anticipatory narrative” to “conceal or discredit” Deborah Ramirez as early as July — two months before the New Yorker story was published.

The other classmate, Karen Yarasavage reportedly told Ms Berchem in a text message that Mr Kavanaugh asked her to go on the record to refute Ms Ramirez’s claims.

Last week, Mr Kavanaugh emphatically denied Christine Blasey Ford’s allegation that he sexually assaulted her at a gathering when they were teens.

He has also denied an accusation from Ms Ramirez, who said he exposed himself to her at a dorm party more than 25 years ago.

A third claim — from Julie Swetnick, who is represented by Stormy Daniels’ lawyer Michael Avenatti — accuses Mr Kavanaugh of excessive drinking and inappropriate treatment of women at parties in the early 1980s. Mr Kavanaugh denies that as well.

Former classmates have stepped forward to challenge Mr Kavanaugh’s testimony about his drinking.

Charles “Chad” Ludington, who said he was a friend of Mr Kavanaugh’s at Yale University and now teaches at North Carolina State University, called Mr Kavanaugh “a frequent drinker, and a heavy drinker.”

Lynne Brookes, who said she moved in “the exact same social circles” as Mr Kavanaugh, said “when he would drink, he would get obnoxious.”

Ms Brookes said she remembered the night he was pledging to a fraternity.

“Brett was getting tapped in and he was incredibly drunk, in a ridiculous outfit and had to come up to me and sing a silly song,” she said. “He was so incredibly drunk. I find it not plausible at all that he remembers everything he did that night.”

But the White House released statements from two other Yale classmates who said they never saw Kavanaugh black out or treat women with disrespect.

It came as the FBI finished interviewing Mark Judge, the friend of Mr Kavanaugh’s who Dr Ford says was present when the Supreme Court nominee sexually assaulted her.

Mark Judge, who has denied any wrongdoing, completed his interview with FBI agents as part of the reopened background investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh, said his lawyer, Barbara “Biz” Van Gelder.

She declined to say exactly when it ended or what Mr Judge was asked. She had said Monday night that the interview was not completed.

Mr Kavanaugh’s confirmation hinges on a handful of key Republican and Democratic senators who have not yet fully tipped their votes.

One of them is Republican Jeff Flake of Arizona, who was greeted by hundreds of liberal protesters, victims of sexual assault among them, during an appearance on Monday in Boston. Sen. Flake and Senators. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska were instrumental last week in holding up Mr Kavanaugh’s confirmation vote.

The votes of the three Republicans and those of red-state Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota will largely determine whether Mr Kavanaugh is confirmed.