White House adviser Kellyanne Conway has opened up about being sexually assaulted while defending embattled US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh amid a flurry of sexual assault allegations.

“I’m a victim of sexual assault,” Ms Conway, 51, told CNN TV hostJake Tapper.

She did not divulge any further details on the assault but added, “I don’t expect Judge Kavanaugh, or Jake Tapper, or Jeff Flake, or anybody, to be held responsible for that.”

She said she felt “very empathetic” towards victims of sexual assault, harassment and rape but added that “you have to be responsible for your own conduct”.

Tapper, who was seemingly shocked by Ms Conway’s disclosure, expressed his sympathies.

“This is the first time I’ve ever heard you talk about something personal like that, and I’m sorry,” he said.

“I’ve just had it,” Ms Conway responded.

.@KellyannePolls to @jaketapper: "I'm a victim of sexual assault." #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/ZQcmnFIicQ

— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) September 30, 2018

Her revelation came after university academic Christine Blasey Ford delivered a powerful testimony before a Senate committee on Thursday about how Mr Kavanaugh allegedly sexually assaulted her in the early 1980s.

US President Donald Trump ordered the FBI to launch an investigation into his Supreme Court pick on Friday, despite later tweeting that Mr Kavanaugh “will someday be recognised as a truly great Justice of The United States Supreme Court”.

Tapper noted that Ms Conway had continued to stand by Mr Trump despite the multiple women who have accused him of sexual assault.

“You work for a president who says all the women who accuse him are lying,” Tapper said.

Ms Conway argued that such claims should not be used to pursue a political agenda.

“Don’t conflate that with this, and certainly don’t conflate it with what happened to me,” she said.

“Don’t always bring Trump into everything that happens in this universe. That’s mistake No.1.”

She said the public tended to inappropriately judge the validity of sexual assault allegations based on the political leanings of the victims and perpetrators.

“Jake, they should all be heard, and they should be heard in courts of law,” Ms Conway said.

“But we do treat people differently who are either the victims or the perpetrators of this based on their politics now and based on their gender.

“That is a huge mistake. America, it’s a huge mistake.”