Brett Kavanaugh was there when “I was drugged and gang-raped me at a high school party’ – Claims she saw him ‘lined up’ to ‘take his turn’ with drunk girls – but nominee says allegation is ‘from the Twilight Zone’
Third accuser says Brett Kavanaugh was present when she was drugged and gang-raped at a high school party, and claims she saw him ‘lined up’ to ‘take his turn’ with drunk girls
Julie Swetnick has made a sworn declaration which says she was gang-raped at a high school party attended by Brett Kavanaugh and Mark Judge
‘This is from the Twilight Zone!’ the nominee Brett Kavanaugh has denied the explosive claims he drugged and gang-raped girls at high school made by third accuser, Swetnick
‘A big fat con job perpetrated by very evil people.’ was President Trump response, accusing Democrats of trying to destroy Brett Kavanaugh
Swetnick’s statement, released by her attorney Michael Avenatti, alleges Kavanaugh and his friends would spike ‘punch’ with grain alcohol or drugs to ’cause girls to lose their inhibitions and their ability to say ‘No”
55-year-old ex-State Department worker’s detailed statement has been submitted to Senate Judiciary Committee
Claims she say Kavanaugh and friend Mark Judge display ‘physically aggressive behavior toward girls, including pressing girls against him without their consent’
Trump in a press conference on Wednesday attacked Avenatti as a ‘total low-life’ and a ‘third-rate lawyer’
Committee hears Thursday from Christine Blasey Ford, Kavanaugh’s first accuser, but has refused so far to hear from other accusers
Panel leaders have scheduled a vote on Kavanaugh for Friday morning
Attorney for the second woman to accuse him, Debbie Ramirez, says she is ready to testify and is confident it was Kavanaugh who thrust his penis in her face
Senate Judiciary Committee released a copy of Brett Kavanaugh’s calendar from high school indicating he was grounded and could not have been present at the party where the assault occurred
It shows he attended Beach Week, saw ‘Rocky III,’ went to camp, and got grounded, but does not have an entry for a party where Christine Blasey Ford claims he sexually assaulted her
Kavanaugh’s attorney Beth Wilkinson acknowledged his high school drinking but said it wasn’t indicative of ‘this type of behavior’ – denying assault allegations
Julie Swetnick’s [left], and [right], in 1979 as a high school student. Her dramatic testimony is a new blow to Brett Kavanaugh’s bid for a supreme court nomination.
High school: Julie Swetnick in 1979. She graduated in 1980 and was in college at the time of the alleged gang rape
Brett Kavanaugh was dramatically accused Wednesday of drugging a high school girl and taking part in a gang rape.
Julie Swetnick, his new accuser, released a sworn statement through her attorney Michael Avenatti saying that Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge were there as she was abused by a ‘train’ of teenage boys.
She said she was drugged ‘using Quaaludes or something similar’ which had been put in her drink – and that Kavanaugh and his friends would spike ‘punch’ at parties with grain alcohol or drugs to ’cause girls to lose inhibitions and their ability to say ‘No’.’
Swetnick, 55, who says she has worked for the State Department and other government agencies including Homeland Security, accused Kavanaugh of being part of a group of boys abusing her.
‘In approximately 1982, I became the victim of one of those ‘gang’ or ‘train’ rapes where Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh were present,’ she said in the statement.
‘During the incident, I was incapacitated without my consent and unable to fight off the boys raping me.’
Judge is the other student Christine Blasey Ford says was present when Kavanaugh jumped on top of her and tried to remove her clothes.
At the time of the allegation Swetnick would have been a student at the University of Maryland, having graduated high school in 1980.
The testimony is a fresh blow to Kavanaugh, already accused of two sexual assaults by named women – Christine Blasey Ford, who claims Kavanaugh groped her and covered her mouth at a high school party, and Debbie Ramirez, who claims he exposed himself to her at a Yale dorm party.
Kavanaugh denies the charges by all three women – and called the latest from ‘the Twilight zone’, while Donald Trump accused Avenatti of being a ‘low-life’ who brought false accusations.
“This is ridiculous and from the Twilight Zone, ‘I don’t know who this is and this never happened,” Brett Kavanaugh said in statement released by White House after the bombshell of the Swetnick complaint on Wednesday
Her statement was delivered by Avenatti 24 hours before a dramatic day of testimony Thursday at which first Ford and then the nominee will be questioned by a prosecutor hired by the all-male Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans.
Timeline of events so far
In a series of other developments Wednesday:
Ford’s attorneys published lie-detector test results which show she passed, but that she is refusing to hand over notes from her therapist.
Kavanaugh released his opening statement for the hearing in which he will admit he drank in high school and say he was ‘not perfect’ but once again say he has never committed sexual assault.
he Senate Judiciary Committee released his calendars from 1982 which he will point to as proof that he was not an attempted rapist.
Democrats on the committee demanded he step aside unless Trump agrees to order an FBI investigation.
A poll showed a plurality of Americans now believe Ford over Kavanaugh, but that 46 per cent of people are undecided.
Republicans were unable to guarantee they had the votes to get Kavanaugh confirmed amid fears two female GOP senators may not vote for him and Arizona’s Jeff Flake may also vote him down.
Trump said they should have pushed the nomination through before Ford went public and refused to answer when asked if the women were liars.
Protests hit the Capitol again, led by actress Alyssa Milano.
The veteran sex crimes prosecutor who will question Ford was named as being from Arizona’s Maricopa County, meaning she had worked to prosecute cases brought by controversial sheriff Joe Arpaio’s department.
The White House released a letter from 60 people who knew Kavanaugh in high school and never witnessed anything that ‘even approaches’ what is alleged. They also say they never recall meeting someone named Julie Swetnick.
Avenatti, who also represents Trump tormentor, porn star Stormy Daniels, at the beginning of the week had promised a new accuser on Wednesday.
He tweeted that her testimony showed why there had to be an FBI investigation.
Kavanaugh denied the new bombshell charges. ‘This is ridiculous and from the Twilight Zone,’ he said in a statement released by the White House.
‘I don’t know who this is and this never happened,’ he said.
In the wake of deflected attacks on Swetnick’s attorney by a host of Republicans, including Donald Trump, Senators like Lindsey Graham and Kavanaugh lawyer, Beth Wilkinson, Avenatti on NBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell show on Wednesday night, threw down a challenge; ‘ If Brett Kavanaugh’s attorney [Wilkinson], wants to interrogate my client for eight hours, under oath, we are willing to go through with that request, as long as [Avenatti], get the opportunity to do the same with her client.’
Earlier on Wednesday president Trump immediately entered the fray to defend his on-the-ropes nominee, attacking Avenatti on Twitter as a ‘total low-life!’
Julie Swetnick’s allegations against Brett Kavanaugh
First page of the three-page sworn statement made by Julie Swetnick accusing Brett Kavanaugh and Mark Judge of being present at her gang rape in 1982, when she was a college student
President Donald Trump immediately attacked Swetnick’s attorney, Michael Avenatti, who also represents porn star Stormy Daniels, who claims she was paid hush money after an affair with Trump
President Donald Trump at a press conference in New York on Wednesday, said the Kavanaugh nomination should have been pushed through sooner, and attacked perennial legal nemesis and Swetnick lawyer Michael Avenatti as a ‘total low-life’
‘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!’ Trump wrote.
Trump was referencing his representation of porn star Stormy Daniels, who accuses Trump of a sexual affair, and who Trump has admitted providing reimbursements for a $130,000 payment she received from his former lawyer, Michael Cohen.
Swetnick says she was a student at Gaithersburg High School, in Gaithersburg, Maryland, which is close to Bethesda, where Kavanaugh attended the elite Catholic Georgetown Preparatory School.
This is ridiculous and from the Twilight Zone,’ he said in a statement released by the White House. ‘I don’t know who this is and this never happened
Brett Kavanaugh in statement released by White House
The community is located outside the city’s beltway and about 15 miles away, and is home to many commuters who work in the District. Hers was a public high school.
The White House letter combating the charge lists 60 names from Georgetown Prep and nearby private Catholic schools.
‘We are men and women who knew Brett Kavanaugh well in high school. We have seen reports today that Julie Swetnick, who says she graduated from Gaithersburg High School, submitted a declaration to the Committee alleging that Brett participated in horrific conduct during high school, including targeting girls for gang rape. Nonsense,’ they wrote.
‘We never witnessed any behavior that even approaches what is described in this allegation. It is reprehensible,’ the letter continued.
‘In the extensive amount of time we collectively spent with Brett, we do not recall having ever met someone named Julie Swetnick. Nor did we ever observe Brett engaging in any conduct resembling that described in Ms. Swetnick’s declaration,’ the letter says. ‘Brett Kavanaugh is a good man. He has always treated women with respect and decency. He is a man of honor, integrity, and compassion. These shameful attacks must end. This process is a disgrace and is harming good people.’
First accuser Christine Blasey Ford [left] will testify to the Senate Thursday but Deborah Ramirez [right] has not been invited to the Judiciary Committee hearing, despite the request of her counsel
In three pages of evidence submitted to the committee in her statement, Swetnick says that she met him and at a Washington D.C. house party in 1980 or 1981 and that they were ‘joined at the hip’.
‘There is no question in my mind that Mark Judge has significant information concerning the conduct of Brett Kavanaugh during the 1980s, especially as it relates to his actions towards women,’ she said.
Swetnick, 55, makes detailed claims about Kavanaugh’s conduct at ‘well over ten house parties’ between 1981 and 1983.
‘On numerous occasions at these parties, I witnessed Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh drink excessively and engage in highly inappropriate conduct, including being overly aggressive with girls, and not taking ‘No’ for an answer,’ she wrote.
‘This conduct included the fondling and grabbing of girls without their consent.’
Swetnick alleges that Kavanaugh was a ‘mean drunk’ and she saw him ‘engage in abusive and physically aggressive behavior toward girls’.
That included ‘pressing girls against him without their consent, ‘grinding’ against girls, and attempting to remove or shift girls’ clothing to expose private body parts.’
He would make ‘crude sexual comments’ towards girls which she said were ‘designed to demean, humiliate and embarrass them’, Swetnick charged.
Swetnick says that she saw such conduct at a ‘Beach Week’ in Ocean City, Maryland – an event which Kavanaugh’s calendars, which the Senate Judiciary Committee released Wednesday, show he attended.
Partners in bisterious high jinks? Mark Judge ,left], is named by Swetnick, ,55, a former State Department worker, as having been ‘joined at the hip’ to Brett Kavanaugh – and says both sexually abused women.
Kavanaugh was first accused by Christine Blasey Ford who will testify to the Senate Thursday. However, the second accuser Deborah Ramirez has not been invited to the Judiciary Committee hearing, despite the requests of her counsel.
The picture painted by Julie Swetnick is at odds with that Brett Kavanaugh hopes to portray. The Senate Judiciary Committee released his 1982 calendars which show how he was grounded that May 7 and had prom the next day.
Swetnick said she wanted to challenge Kavanaugh’s version of his high school years which he put forward in a Fox News interview Monday as ‘absolutely false and a lie’.
‘I witnessed Brett Kavanaugh consistently engage in excessive drinking and inappropriate contact of a sexual nature with women during the early 1980s,’ she alleges.
Swetnick says that she became aware of attempts by Kavanaugh, Judge, and other friends, to spike drinks at parties in 1981 and 1982.
She says she would ‘purposely avoid the ‘punch” but says she saw Kavanaugh and Judge ‘target’ girls to take advantage of them.
‘It was usually a girl that was especially vulnerable because she was alone at the party or shy,’ Swetnick alleges.
Michael Avenatti is representing Brett Kavanaugh’s third accuser. He also represents Stormy Daniels, who has had a high profile legal drama with Trump and his former personal counsel, Micheal Cohen
She said that boys would get a girl ‘inebriated and disoriented so they could then be ‘gang raped’ in a side room or bedroom by a ‘train’ of numerous boys.’
‘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.
‘These boys included Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh,’ she said.
Avenatti has pushed for several days to have the Judiciary panel hear testimony from Judge, who Ford claims was present during the alleged sexual assault she says happened in high school. The committee’s GOP majority has refused to do so, and has only called Kavanaugh and Ford to testify.
The attorney representing Ramirez, who says she is willing to testify and submit to an FBI investigation, said he had not heard from the committee.
Swetnick’s testimony alleges: ‘In approximately 1982, I became the victim of one of those ‘gang’ or ‘train’ rapes where mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh were present.
‘During the incident, I was incapacitated without my consent and unable to fight off the boys raping me.
‘I believe I was drugged using Quaaludes or something similar placed in what I was drinking.’
Crucially, Swetnick says she confided in ‘at least two other people’ about what had happened and also says: ‘I am aware of other witnesses that can attest to the truthfulness of each of the statements above.’
As Avenatti had tweeted in advance, his client has extensive experience working for the federal and local governments – including at agencies that President Trump has hailed repeatedly like Customs and Border Protection.
According to her statement, she holds active security clearances for work at the Treasury Department, the U.S. Mint, and the Internal Revenue Service.
She stated that she previously has held clearances for the State Department, the Justice Department, and the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection.
Her resume includes working at the Defense Department, the Mint, the Treasury Department, the IRS, CBP, Homeland Security, State, the D.C. government, and other agencies.
Describing the area party scene at that time, she wrote: ‘These parties were a common occurrence in the area and occurred nearly every weekend during the school year.
‘On numerous occasions at these parties, I witnessed Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh drink excessively and engage in highly inappropriate conduct, including being overly aggressive with girls and not taking ‘No’ for an answer. This conduct included the fondling and grabbing of girls without their consent,’ she wrote.
It’s outrageous. Really, you witnessed gang rapes and you never said anything? You have never come forward?
Kavanaugh lawyer Beth Wilkinson.
The testimony presents a dramatically different picture of Kavanaugh’s youth to the one he advanced in the Fox New interview Monday in which he sat with is wife and spoke about going to church, working on social projects and doing homework.
Swetnick drove that point home in her own statement. ‘I have reviewed Brett Kavanaugh’s recent claim on Fox News regarding his alleged ‘innocence’ during his high school years and lack of sexual activity,’ she wrote.
‘This claim is absolutely false and a lie. I witnessed Brett Kavanaugh consistently engage in excessive drinking and inappropriate contact of a sexual nature with women during the early 1980s,’ she wrote.
Brett Kavanaugh will answer questions about his high school yearbook, his lawyer said, as he is questioned on Christine Blasey Ford’s allegation of attempted rape
The flood of new accusations, on top of the allegations by two named female accusers, come as President Trump said Republicans should have jammed the nomination through before the information came out.
‘They could have pushed it through two weeks ago and we wouldn’t be talking about this right now, which is what I would have preferred,’ the president said as he entered the United Nations Wednesday.
That time frame would have Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court before the allegations against him came to light.
Trump called Kavanaugh an ‘absolute gem’ Wednesday and trained new fire on Democrats, saying they were operating ‘very unfairly’ and charged they were running a ‘con game.’
‘I know this particular man, Judge Kavanaugh. He’s outstanding. You don’t find people like this. He’s outstanding,’ Trump told reporters at the UN, as Kavanaugh’s youth was being put under the microscope.
On Wednesday Trump praised the intergrity of USC nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, Trump said: ‘He’s a gem. He’s an absolute gem. And he’s been treated very unfairly by the Democrats who have been playing a con game.’
Kavanaugh submitted proof it’s a case of mistaken identity as heo released his high school 1982 calendar on Wednesday, His attorney, Beth Wilkinson, told CNN Kavanaugh had never met his latest accuser.
Brett Kavanaugh attorney Beth Wilkinson blasted the new allegations – ‘He’s outraged, as you might imagine, by this latest allegation. He has never met this woman, he doesn’t know Ms Swetnick, he didn’t go to parties with her’
Brett Kavanaugh attorney Beth Wilkinson blasted the new allegations. ”What’s shocking about this is the lack of detail, the outrageous allegations, and the timing of this,’ Wilkinson said. she asked
‘He’s outraged, as you might imagine, by this latest allegation. He has never met this woman, he doesn’t know Ms. Swetnick, he didn’t go to parties with her,’ she told the network’s Wolf Blitzer.
Brett Kavanaugh released his opening statement before Thursday’s testimony. This is what he will say: I spent most of my time in high school focused on academics, sports, church, and service. But I was not perfect in those days, just as I am not perfect today. I drank beer with my friends, usually on weekends. Sometimes I had too many. In retrospect, I said and did things in high school that make me cringe now. I never did anything remotely resembling what Dr. Ford describes. I categorically and unequivocally deny the allegation against me by Dr. Ford. I never had any sexual or physical encounter of any kind with Dr. Ford. I am not questioning that Dr. Ford may have been sexually assaulted by some person in some place at some time. But I have never done that to her or to anyone. I am innocent of this charge. She took on Swetnick for not bringing up the allegation sooner.
‘It’s outrageous. Really, you witnessed gang rapes and you never said anything? You have never come forward?’ she asked.
‘What’s shocking about this is the lack of detail, the outrageous allegations, and the timing of this,’ Wilkinson said.
She also blasted Avenatti for failing to take the matter to the authorities.
‘They’re absolutely serious allegations if they’re true,’ Wilkinson said. ‘But if that’s so, there’s no excuse for her lawyer not going straight to the police. There’s no one stopping any investigation, and any lawyer worth their salt would put their client’s interests first and go straight to the police or to the FBI.’
‘And it is absolutely outrageous that this is being launched the day before without having some kind of investigation,’ she said. But Wilkinson did not call for an FBI probe.
‘Ask yourself why he didn’t go to law enforcement. Why is there almost no detail in that affidavit whatsoever?’
‘Why are these people who have these serious allegations not going to law enforcement themselves and saying, “take a look at this?”‘ Wilkinson asked.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer of New York called for Kavanaugh to withdraw his nomination.
‘Republicans need to immediately suspend the proceedings related to Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination, and the president must order the FBI to reopen the background check investigation,’ Schumer said in a statement.
All 10 Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats signed a letter to Trump asking him to withdraw Kavanaugh’s nomination.
On the fence; Potential game changers
Sen Susan Collins {R-Maine]
Sen. Lisa Murkorski [R-Alaska]
Sen. Murkowski [R-Alaska]
Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona announced he would speak about Thursday’s hearing on the Senate floor. He is among the Republicans who could doom the nomination if he decides not to support Kavanaugh. Other Republican lawmakers who could delay Friday’s scheduled Kavanaugh voting include Sen. Murkowski [R-Alaska] and Susan Collins [R-Maine].
‘Joined at the hip’: Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh are named as sexual abusers by Julie Swetnick
A 1982 calendar reveals future Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s social and academic life. His defense says it will help rebut allegations of sexual assault
‘There are now multiple, corroborated allegations against Judge Kavanaugh, made under the penalty of perjury, all of which deserve a thorough investigation,’ he said
‘I strongly believe Judge Kavanaugh should withdraw from consideration,’ Schumer concluded.
One Wednesday Kavanaugh produced a 1982 calendar containing entries for parties, football games, and a plan to see ‘Rocky III’ – but does not appear to contain information about a party where a woman claims he assaulted her.
Kavanaugh’s calendar, from Northwestern Mutual Audubon Society and running from May through August, contains some scribbles and details of the social life of the Circuit Court Judge and Supreme Court nominee.
He produced it in advance of a blockbuster hearing as evidence that he did not sexually assault Christine Blasey Ford at a high school house party as she has claimed and will testify Thursday.
A May 1 entry says ‘Go to Holy Child Party,’ a reference to a Catholic school in Potomac, Maryland. It says Kavanaugh will drive.
A week later, it says he was ‘grounded.’ During an intervening day, an entry says ‘cut our lawn.’
Various other entries reference a ‘father son dinner,’ a haircut, ‘BEACH WEEK’ written in block letters, beach weekends, and trips to St. Michael’s on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
It also lists interviews at Brown and Yale.
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