Julie Swetnick Accuses Brett Kavanaugh Of Sexual Misconduct, Alleges He Was Present During 'Gang Rape'
Michael Avenatti said Wednesday that Julie Swetnick is his client accusing Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, marking the third woman to come forward with claims against the Supreme Court nominee in just over a week.
Below is my correspondence to Mr. Davis of moments ago, together with a sworn declaration from my client. We demand an immediate FBI investigation into the allegations. Under no circumstances should Brett Kavanaugh be confirmed absent a full and complete investigation. pic.twitter.com/QHbHBbbfbE
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) September 26, 2018
Here is a picture of my client Julie Swetnick. She is courageous, brave and honest. We ask that her privacy and that of her family be respected. pic.twitter.com/auuSeHm5s0
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) September 26, 2018
In a sworn declaration, Swetnick — a Washington, D.C., resident — said she was a “victim of one of these ‘gang’ or ‘train’ rapes where Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh were present” at a party in D.C. in approximately 1982.
“During the incident, I was incapacitated without my consent and unable to fight off the boys raping me,” she wrote, noting that she shared what happened with “at least two other people” shortly after the incident. “I believe I was drugged using Quaaludes or something similar placed in what I was drinking.”
Swetnick said she first met Kavanaugh and Judge, a classmate of Kavanaugh’s who came to the nominee’s defense, around 1980 or 1981. She described the two as “extremely close friends” who were “joined at the hip.”
She said she attended “well over ten house parties” from 1981 to 1983. Between 1981 and 1982, she said at these parties she began to notice Judge, Kavanaugh and others would attempt to “‘spike’ the ‘punch’ at house parties I attended with drugs and/or grain alcohol so as to cause girls to lose their inhibitions and their ability to say ‘No.’”
Kavanaugh and Judge, she said, would “‘target’ particular girls … it was usually a girl that was especially vulnerable because she was alone at the party or shy.” She said she has a “firm recollection” of seeing boys ― including Judge and Kavanaugh ― “lined up outside rooms at many of these parties waiting for their ‘turn’ with a girl inside the room.”
HuffPost has not independently corroborated these claims.
The White House released a statement from Kavanaugh in response to the claims.
“This is ridiculous and from the Twilight Zone,” the statement said. “I don’t know who this is and this never happened.”
Trump also responded to the claims Wednesday, calling Avenatti a “total low-life” who is “just looking for attention.”
Avenatti is a third rate lawyer who is good at making false accusations, like he did on me and like he is now doing on Judge Brett Kavanaugh. He is just looking for attention and doesn’t want people to look at his past record and relationships - a total low-life!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 26, 2018
Avenatti, who also represents the adult film star Stormy Daniels, first said in a tweet Sunday that he had a new client with “credible information” regarding Kavanaugh and Judge.
The newest allegation comes days after Deborah Ramirez, in an interview with The New Yorker that was published Sunday, claimed Kavanaugh exposed himself to her and thrust his penis in her face during a party when they were both students at Yale University in the 1980s. Kavanaugh has vehemently denied the claims.
In an interview with Fox News’ Martha MacCallum on Monday, Kavanaugh denied the sexual assault allegations against him and said he was not going “to let false accusations drive us out of this process.”
“We’re talking about allegations of sexual assault. I have never sexually assaulted anyone,” Kavanaugh told Fox News. “I did not have sexual intercourse, or anything close to sexual intercourse, in high school or many years thereafter.”
.@marthamaccallum joined #TheFive to discuss her exclusive interview with Judge Brett Kavanaugh and his wife, airing tonight at 7p ET on Fox News Channel. https://t.co/QFmLfIwW4R pic.twitter.com/QzymMZa2KV
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 24, 2018
Avenatti has repeatedly called for Kavanaugh’s nomination to be withdrawn.
“We don’t need to be putting someone like that on Supreme Court for life,” he said during remarks at a launch party for newly formed political action committee “OMG WTF” last week in Los Angeles.
The lawyer also told Chris Cuomo earlier this month that there are “other individuals that are more qualified than this judge to sit on the Supreme Court and his [Kavanaugh’s] nomination should be pulled.”
Avenatti has made a name for himself as Daniels’ lawyer. He has not ruled out a potential presidential run in 2020, making appearances at the Iowa State Fair and a Democratic Party picnic in New Hampshire earlier this year.
The White House has remained steadfast in its support of Kavanaugh, and on Sunday, officials said the latest allegations were part of a “coordinated smear campaign.”
Hayley Miller contributed to this report.
This article has been updated with Kavanaugh’s statement and Trump’s response.
Clarification: A previous version of this article and an alert sent out referred to a sworn affidavit. It is a sworn declaration.
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.