'Start Here': Sexual misconduct allegation against Kavanaugh and Trump and Congress weigh gun control options

It's Monday, Sept. 16, 2019. Let's start here.

1. Kavanaugh allegation

Nearly a year after Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court, another decades-old allegation of sexual misconduct against the justice has emerged in the New York Times.

Max Stier, a former Yale classmate of Kavanaugh's, reportedly notified senators and the FBI about a story involving Kavanaugh exposing himself at a party and said Kavanaugh's friends pushed him into a female student's hand, according to the Times. Stier told ABC News he is not speaking publicly about the account.

During Kavanaugh's confirmation fight, the FBI launched a background investigation limited in scope to examine multiple accusations of sexual misconduct, all of which Kavanaugh categorically denied, but Stier's previously unreported claim was never investigated, the Times said.

"The FBI is being adamant about no comment," ABC News' Kyra Phillips tells the "Start Here" podcast. "I can tell you though this is not going to go away. I think we're going to see a lot more attention put on these new questions raised by this new report."

Kavanaugh declined to comment to ABC News about the Times story, adapted from the new book "The Education of Brett Kavanaugh: An Investigation," but defenders have raised concerns about the Times not including friends of the woman saying she doesn't recall the incident.

President Donald Trump came to Kavanaugh's defense on Sunday, tweeting that the justice is an "innocent man who has been treated HORRIBLY" and suggested that "Kavanaugh should start suing people for libel."

2. Congress and gun control

As the president weighs which gun control legislation to throw his support behind, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer urged Trump over the phone on Sunday to back a bipartisan background checks bill already passed by the Democratic-led House.

The pair also noted in a joint statement a promise to stand by Trump for a "historic signing ceremony at the Rose Garden" if he supported the legislation and got Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on board.

McConnell has repeatedly said he would not bring up gun control legislation without the president's backing.

"They are appealing to what this president likes," ABC News' Trish Turner, who covers Capitol Hill, says. "He likes being the first to do anything...so the speaker and the minority leader in the Senate are trying to say, Mr. President, you have a unique opportunity, you can do what no other president's done."

3. Saudi refinery attack

The White House is blaming Iran for a coordinated drone strike that hit the world’s largest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, knocking out about half of the country’s oil supply.

Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed responsibility for the attack, but Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Twitter there was no evidence to support that. A senior administration official told ABC News more than 20 drones were used in the strike, as well as cruise missiles, and that Iran definitely was behind it.

In an apparent move to stem market anxiety on Sunday, the president tweeted his intention to authorize the release of oil from the strategic petroleum reserve, if needed.

"Both the Saudis and the Americans have said that they will both tap into reserve stocks if needed... but traders will be looking at an increased geopolitical risk with oil coming from Saudi Arabia," ABC News Foreign Correspondent Julia Macfarlane says.

"Start Here," ABC News' flagship podcast, offers a straightforward look at the day's top stories in 20 minutes. Listen for free every weekday on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn or the ABC News app. Follow @StartHereABC on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for exclusive content and show updates.