As shocking new allegations have been launched against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, Senate Democrats are calling for Republicans to suspend his confirmation proceedings.
According to the Washington Post, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer called for a thorough investigation, and also suggested that Kavanaugh should withdraw from the process.
“There are now multiple, corroborated allegations against Judge Kavanaugh, made under the penalty of perjury, all of which deserve a thorough investigation,” Schumer said in a statement.
“I strongly believe Judge Kavanaugh should withdraw from consideration,” Schumer added. “If he will not, at the very least, the hearing and vote should be postponed while the FBI investigates all of these allegations. If our Republican colleagues proceed without an investigation, it would be a travesty for the honor of the Supreme Court and our country.”
Meanwhile, Kavanaugh is once again on the defensive, dismissing the allegations made by the third accuser, Julie Swetnick, as “ridiculous and from the Twilight Zone.”
“I don’t know who this is and this never happened,” Kavanaugh insisted.
In an affidavit, Swetnick claimed that Kavanaugh was abusive and aggressive toward girls in high school, and was present during the gang rape of several girls, including herself, back in 1982.
Kavanaugh acknowledged earlier on Wednesday that he was “not perfect” in high school and drank a lot of beer, but denies all allegations of sexual assault. Kavanaugh claimed that he is the victim of “grotesque and obvious character assassination.”
“There has been a frenzy to come up with something — anything, no matter how far-fetched or odious — that will block a vote on my nomination,” Kavanaugh said, in the testimony released by the Senate Judiciary Committee. “These are last minute smears, pure and simple.”
Earlier today, lawyer Michael Avenatti identified his latest client and new Kavanaugh accuser, Swetnick.
Avenatti released an affidavit of Swetnick’s claims against Kavanaugh, including several references to parties where the drinks were spiked, and where girls, including Swetnick herself, were gang raped.
In the affidavit, Swetnick detailed that she met both Brett Kavanaugh and his best friend (and alleged accomplice) Mark Judge between 1980 and 1981 at a house party in D.C.
“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 toward women,” Swetnick’s affidavit read.
Swetnick said that she attended over ten house parties between 1981 and 1983, where both Judge and Kavanaugh were present.
“These parties were a common occurrence in the area and occurred nearly every weekend during the school year,” Swetnick wrote. “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.”
Swetnick described Kavanaugh as a “mean drunk” who would be overly aggressive toward girls, “grinding” against girls without their consent and “attempting to remove or shift girls’ clothing to expose private body parts.”
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
Then, there were the claims that Judge, Kavanaugh and others decided to “spike” the “punch” at house parties to “cause girls to lose their inhibitions and their ability to say ‘no.'”
Swetnick said this revelation, which she learned about between 1981 and 1982, caused her to purposely avoid the “punch” at these parties. Swetnick aslo reportedly witnessed Judge, Kavanaugh and others get girls drunk or drugged so that they could be “gang raped” 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,” Swetnick wrote.
“In approximately 1982, I became the victim of one of these “gang” or “train” rapes where Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh were present. Shortly after the incident, I shared what had transpired with at least two other people,” she added. “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.”
“I am aware of other witnesses that can attest to the truthfulness of each of the statements above,” she added.
Swetnick also called out Kavanaugh on his recent Fox News interview, where he painted himself as a virgin who could not have possibly sexually assaulted anyone.
“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,” Swetnick 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.”
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
Swetnick is the third woman to step forward with accusations against Kavanaugh. Kavanaugh’s Yale classmate, Deborah Ramirez has accused the embattled judge of exposing himself to her while at a party at their alma mater.
Meanwhile, Christine Blasey Ford, another accuser of Kavanaugh’s, the first one to step forward, has sent the Senate Judiciary Committee sworn and signed declarations from four people who attest to her claims of being assaulted, as she prepared to testify on Thursday, according to USA Today.
The declarations, signed by Ford’s husband, Russell and three other friends corroborated Ford’s claim that Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed and groped her when they were both high school students more than 30 years ago.