Judiciary Committee reviewing Avenatti claim against Kavanaugh
By Jordain Carney - 09/26/18 11:56 AM EDT
The Senate Judiciary Committee is reviewing allegations that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was present at a “gang rape†in the early 1980s.
“This morning Michael Avenatti provided a declaration to the Judiciary Committee. Committee lawyers are in the process of reviewing it now,†Taylor Foy, a spokesman for Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), said on Wednesday.
Avenatti on Wednesday released the identity of his client who is accusing Kavanaugh of being present for a “gang rape†where she was a victim.
Avenatti, who also represents adult film star Stormy Daniels in her lawsuits against President Trump, tweeted out a sworn testimony from Julie Swetnick in which she declares she met Kavanaugh in “approximately 1980-1981†and attended several house parties for which Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge were also present.
“I also witnessed efforts by Mark Judge, Brett Kavanaugh and others to cause girls to become inebriated and disoriented so they could then be ‘gang raped’ in a side room or bedroom by a ‘train’ of numerous boys ... These boys included Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh ... In approximately 1982, I became the victim of one of these ‘gang’ or ‘train’ rapes where Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh were present,†Swetnick said.
Along with the sworn testimony, Avenatti, who has not ruled out making a 2020 White House run, released related screenshots of several emails asking why a GOP staffer had not responded to his information.
Swetnick is the third woman to make sexual misconduct allegations against Kavanaugh, Trump’s pick to replace former Justice Anthony Kennedy.
The acknowledgement from the committee that they are reviewing the allegation comes a day before Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford are set to testify publicly.
Ford has accused Kavanaugh of sexually assuaging her at a party in the early 1980s, when they were both in high school.
A second woman, Deborah Ramirez, says Kavanaugh exposed himself to her when they were students at Yale.
Kavanaugh has denied any wrongdoing.
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/408513-judiciary-committee-reviewing-avenatti-claim-against-kavanaugh
