FOX NEWS FIRST: Ex-boyfriend of 1 Kavanaugh accuser speaks out; McConnell vows final Kavanaugh vote this week

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Developing now, Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018

• In an exclusive interview with FOX News' Laura Ingraham, the ex-boyfriend of one Brett Kavanaugh accuser, Julie Swetnick, cast doubt on her stability and allegations against the Supreme Court nominee
• President Trump approved the expansion of the FBI's investigation into Kavanaugh's background as Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed to have a final Senate vote on the nominee's confirmation this week
• Trump slammed top Democrats as hypocrites in a rally supporting Kavanaugh and GOP Senate candidate, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Monday night
• If Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation fails in the Senate, Sen. Lindsey Graham says Trump should re-nominate him ahead of the midterms and let voters decide
• North Korea suggests lifting sanctions, warns that the end of the Korean War should not be used as a bargaining tool in negotiations to denuclearize
• Authorities in North Carolina have confirmed that a body found in a creek last week is missing 6-year-old autistic boy Maddox Ritch

THE LEAD STORY -  FOX NEWS EXCLUSIVE - A QUESTION OF CREDIBILITY: The ex-boyfriend of Julie Swetnick, the third woman to make uncorroborated, lurid allegations of sexual misconduct against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, told FOX News that she had threatened to kill his unborn child and at times even bizarrely asked him to hit her ... "Right after I broke up with her, she basically called me many times and at one point she basically said, 'You will never, ever see your unborn child alive,'" Richard Vinneccy said on "The Ingraham Angle." According to Vinneccy, Swetnick told him at the time, 'I'm just going to go over there and kill you guys.'" Vinneccy, who said he dated Swetnick off-and-on for seven years, maintained that she never once mentioned to him her extraordinary claims, apparently made for the first time last month, that Kavanaugh had engaged in systemic gang rapes decades ago.

Swetnick is represented by anti-Trump lawyer Michael Avenatti. He did not immediately respond to FOX News' request for comment on Vinneccy's allegation. However, in an interview on CNN Monday night, he cast doubt on Vinneccy's credibility and characterized him as an estranged ex-boyfriend.

• Far-left cartoonist accused of targeting Kavanaugh's 10-year-old daughter in vicious cartoon
• Critics: Kavanaugh sex assault talk moves to alcohol in media's attempt to follow left's lead

FBI BACKGROUND CHECK OF KAVANAUGH EXPANDED: President Trump has instructed White House Counsel Don McGahn to allow the FBI to speak with anyone the bureau deems appropriate in connection with the supplemental background investigation into Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, a source familiar with the probe told FOX News ... The source said Trump made the decision after a conversation with McGahn over the weekend. The source added that the president's only stipulation was that the investigation wrap up by Friday. The expansion of the FBI's background check on Kavanaugh came as it was revealed that Mark Judge, a high school friend of Kavanaugh accused of witnessing the alleged sexual assault of Christine Blasey Ford, was being interviewed by the FBI.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed there would be a final vote on Kavanaugh's confirmation in the Senate this week, saying "the time for endless delay and obstruction has come to a close." He accused Democrats of wanting "totally unbounded fishing expedition of indefinite duration" into the accusations against Kavanaugh so that they could delay his confirmation past the November midterm elections.

• Domestic abuse allegations against Keith Ellison cannot be substantiated, Dems' lawyer says
• Howard Kurtz: Journalists, celebs reveal past sexual assaults and why they stayed quiet

TRUMP CALLS OUT 'HYPOCRITICAL' DEMOCRATS: In an wide-ranging rally Monday night in Tennessee, President Trump, in no uncertain personal terms, derided Democrats as shameless hypocrites for questioning the integrity of Kavanaugh .... Just hours after he cryptically said in the Rose Garden that he had "somewhat compromising" information about a certain "aggressive" Democratic senator in some "very bad situations," Trump took aim at some members of the Judiciary Committee who grilled Kavanaugh at last week's nationally televised hearing, particularly Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D- Conn. and Cory Booker, D-N.J. and a potential 2020 presidential candidate.

• Alan Dershowitz: We now live in an age that borders on sexual McCarthyism
• White House slams 'ridiculous' NYT report on Kavanaugh's college ice-throwing incident

A TRUMP CARD, IN CASE KAVANAUGH FALLS: Even if the nomination of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh ultimately fails in the Senate, President Trump should re-nominate the judge ahead of the midterm elections and let the voters decide if they want him on the court, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told FOX News on Monday night ... “Here’s what I would tell the president: I would appeal the verdict of the Senate to the ballot box,” Graham said on “Hannity.” “This good man should not be destroyed. If you legitimize this process by one vote short, we’ll be on to the next person. I’d hate to be the next person nominated. I would feel horrible that we destroyed Kavanaugh. “So what would I do? I would re-nominate him and I would take this case to the American people and I’d ask voters in Indiana, in Missouri, in North Dakota and other places where Trump won - saying who he would nominate if he got to be president – and see if the voters want to appeal the verdict of their senator.”

• Liz Peek: Kavanaugh's fate: Does the Senate still believe in innocent until proven guilty?

NORTH KOREA'S 'SUBTLE' NEGOTIATION: North Korea warned Washington through its state media Tuesday that a declaration ending the Korean War shouldn't be seen as a bargaining chip in denuclearization talks — but suggested lifting sanctions might be ... According to the Associated Press, the North's official news agency issued a commentary claiming Pyongyang has taken significant measures to end hostile relations between the two countries but said the U.S. is "trying to subdue" it through sanctions, a not-so-subtle call for Washington to lift sanctions if it wants further progress in their stalled nuclear negotiations.

• Russia, North Korea use U.N. General Assembly to blast U.S.

A SAD ENDING IN MISSING BOY SEARCH: The body found in a North Carolina creek last week believed to be that of Maddox Ritch was confirmed on Monday to be the missing 6-year-old autistic boy, police said ... "Sadly, the body found in Long Creek on Thursday has been confirmed to be little Maddox Ritch," the Gastonia Police Department tweeted. "The investigation is ongoing." Ritch's father reported him missing on Sept. 22 after he ran away from him at Rankin Lank Park, roughly 30 miles west of Charlotte. The child, who had nonverbal autism, ran ahead of him and disappeared. The dad, Ian Ritch, was with a unidentified friend at the time of the incident.

AS SEEN ON FOX NEWS

NEGOTIATIONS IN BAD FAITH: "If [Sen. Jeff] Flake thought he was trying to build a bridge with the Democrats, it was built on sand because they never were going to be satisfied."  – New York Post columnist Michael Goodwin, on "Your World with Neil Cavuto," sounding off on retiring Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., predicating his "yes" vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination on an FBI investigation. WATCH

FUMING OVER KAVANAUGH: "This entire thing makes me want to heave. If you think this is about searching for the truth, you ought to put down the bong." – Sen. John N. Kennedy, R-La., on "The Story with Martha MacCallum" on those who think the investigations on Brett Kavanaugh are aimed at truth-seeking. WATCH

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#OnThisDay
 
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1950: The comic strip "Peanuts," by Charles M. Schultz, makes its first appearance in newspapers.

FOX News First is compiled by FOX News' Bryan Robinson. Thank you for joining us! Enjoy your day! We'll see you in your inbox first thing Wednesday morning.