The Senate Judiciary Committee pushed back against Michael Avenatti’s claims that they are silencing his client Julie Swetnick ahead of Thursday’s hearing into Christine Blasey Ford’s allegations of sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
Just before the hearing was set to begin, the official Twitter account for the Senate Judiciary tweeted out a “Myth vs. Fact” specifically addressing the arguments Mr. Avenatti made about the investigation process.
My client Julie Swetnick is demanding an immediate FBI investigation and the opportunity to testify under oath before the Committee. Why is Brett Kavanaugh and @ChuckGrassley refusing to allow this? Why are they trying to muzzle women and prevent the truth from being known?
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) September 27, 2018
An hour before the Judiciary Committee’s tweet came out, Mr. Avenatti posted another message he sent requesting that his client testifies about her allegations.
My client Julie Swetnick is again demanding the opportunity to testify before the Committee and that an FBI investigation be launched immediately. Here is my detailed email to the Committee moments ago. This must be a search for the truth. pic.twitter.com/XBh5gUjl7P
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) September 27, 2018
The committee claimed that Mr. Avenatti is incorrect in saying that they did not respond to his allegations until Wednesday and argued they contacted him “within ten minutes” after his first tweet of new allegations. They said they made “six separate attempts” to get information from Mr. Avenatti, but they have rejected an interview with the committee.
They also pushed back against Mr. Avenatti’s demands for an FBI investigation, by citing a clip of former Vice President Joe Biden arguing during Justice Thomas Clarence’s hearing that such probes are inconclusive.
“The Senate Judiciary Committee’s investigators are more than capable of investigating the claims presented by Mr. Avenatti,” they wrote. “Even if the FBI were to engage in a new background check to take into account these allegations, the FBI would simply report their interviews with the relevant witnesses. This is no more than the Senate Judiciary Committee has done and continues to do.”
The committee also flatly rejected Mr. Avenatti’s demands that Mark Judge, who was connected to the allegations against Judge Kavanaugh by both Ms. Swetnick and Christine Blasey Ford, testify They noted that Mr. Judge already sent a statement to the committee denying the allegations.
“Demanding a subpoena of Mr. Judge prior to presenting any evidence to the Committee reflects a partisan stunt uninterested in finding the truth efficiently and effectively,” they wrote.
Mr. Avenatti came forward Wednesday with Ms. Swetnick’s allegations that Judge Kavanaugh acted aggressively and inappropriately towards girls at parties.
She also claims that Judge Kavanaugh was involved in getting girls drunk so that multiple boys could “gang rape” them. Ms. Swetnick said Judge Kavanaugh and Mr. Judge “were present” when she was a victim of such an assault.
Judge Kavanaugh denied the allegation and said it was “from the Twilight Zone.”
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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