Michael Avenatti reveals client who is 3rd woman to accuse Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct
- Attorney Michael Avenatti revealed the identity of his client, the third woman to accuse President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct.
- She is Julie Swetnick, a Washington, DC, resident.
- Swetnick alleges that Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge were present when she was "gang raped" during the early 1980s.
Attorney Michael Avenatti on Wednesday revealed the identity of his client, the third woman to accuse President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, as Julie Swetnick, a Washington, DC, resident.
Swetnick signed a sworn declaration in which she alleged, among other things, that Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge were present when she was "gang raped" at a party in 1982. She said she shared details of the incident with two additional people shortly after the sexual assault took place.
According to Swetnick's sworn declaration, tweeted by Avenatti minutes before he posted a photo of Swetnick, the accuser said she first met Kavanaugh and Judge at a Washington, DC-area house party some time between 1980 and 1981.
Between 1981 and 1983, Swetnick said she attended "well over 10 house parties" where Kavanaugh and Judge were present. She said she witnessed both men "drink excessively and engage in highly inappropriate conduct, including being overly aggressive with girls and not taking 'no' for an answer."
- Swetnick's allegations included claims that Kavanaugh and Judge tried to "spike" drinks with drugs or liquor that was particularly high in alcohol content to "cause girls to lose their inhibitions and their ability to say 'no.'"
- She claimed she witnessed Kavanaugh and Judge do this so women could be "gang raped" by a "train" of boys that, she says, included Kavanaugh and Judge.
- "I have a firm recollection of seeing boys lined up outside rooms at many of these parties waiting for their 'turn' with a girl inside the room," she said.
Swetnick said she is aware of other witnesses who can attest to the truthfulness of her entire declaration.
Swetnick said she witnessed Kavanaugh engage in "abusive and physically aggressive behavior toward girls, including pressing girls against him without their consent, 'grinding' against girls, and attempting to remove or shift girls' clothing to expose private body parts."
Pointing to Kavanaugh's comment from a Fox News interview earlier this week where he said he was a virgin for "many years after" high school, Swetnick said the claim was "absolutely false and a lie," adding that she witnessed the judge "consistently engage in excessive drinking and inappropriate contact of a sexual nature with women during the early 1980s."
Though there was little information on Swetnick available online prior to Avenatti's tweet, her declaration, which Avenatti said he provided to the Senate Judiciary Committee, was sworn under penalty of perjury. Swetnick said she holds multiple active US government security clearances. Experts said that making false statements on such a document would be a "career-ender" for her.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Kavanaugh had not responded to the latest allegations as of Wednesday morning, but he has strongly denied any past allegation of sexual misconduct that has been brought before him in recent weeks.
Swetnick becomes the third woman to publicly accuse Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct
The first was Christine Blasey Ford, a professor who alleged that, while in high school, Kavanaugh pinned her down and put his hand over her mouth, groping her while his friend watched.
Ford is testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday morning.
On Sunday, The New Yorker published the account of a second accuser, Deborah Ramirez, a former Yale University classmate of Kavanaugh's. She alleged that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a dorm-room party during the 1983-84 school year when he was a freshman at the university. Ramirez was initially reluctant to come forward because she said there were gaps in her memory.
Regarding Ford's allegation, Kavanaugh said it is "completely false." Responding to Ramirez, Kavanaugh said the "alleged event from 35 years ago did not happen."
Avenatti first revealed that he had a client making such claims after The New Yorker published its story on Ramirez Sunday night. The attorney, who also represents porn star Stormy Daniels in her battle with Trump over a non-disclosure agreement, was faced with skepticism initially. On Tuesday, Avenatti disputed an online rumor that he had been "scammed."
Democrats, meanwhile, were cautious in discussing Avenatti's client prior to his Wednesday revelation.