Attorney Michael Avenatti would not say if his client Julie Swetnick is accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of rape, just that she alleges he was present during the alleged incident.
“This is not my declaration. These are statements by my client. These are her statements about what happened,” he said in an interview with CNN.
Swetnick, in a sworn affidavit released Wednesday, alleged that Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge drank excessively, fondled and grabbed girls without their consent, and helped ply girls with alcohol so that they could then be gang-raped. She claims she was the victim of such an assault at which Judge and Kavanaugh were present in high school in the early 1980s.
But regardless of whether Kavanaugh participated in the alleged attack or was merely present, Avenatti said, the balance of Swetnick’s allegation should preclude his confirmation to the highest court in the land.
“The conduct that is littered throughout this declaration is outrageous. There are plenty of men and women in the United States that serve as attorneys and judges that don’t have this kind of conduct in their background,” he said.
Avenatti, who also represents porn star Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit against President Trump, also said there are witnesses who can corroborate Swetnick’s allegations.
“There’s a number of men and women that can attest to the facts and circumstances in this and we’re going to provide those witnesses to the FBI as soon as we’re contacted,” he said.
Swetnick is the third woman to come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct by Brett Kavanaugh. Christine Blasey Ford first came forward alleging she was sexually assaulted by Kavanaugh at a party when the two were in college. Deborah Ramirez, who attended Yale University with Kavanaugh, alleges he exposed himself to her and forced her to inadvertently touch his penis during an alcohol-soaked college party.
Ford is expected to testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee about her accusation Thursday.
Kavanaugh has denied all the allegations.
