Kavanaugh accuser, attorney referred for FBI investigation

WASHINGTON—Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, asked for a federal investigation Thursday into whether attorney Michael Avenatti and his client, Julie Swetnick, made false accusations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during the confirmation process. In a statement addressed to the Department of Justice and the FBI, Grassley said Avenatti and Swetnick may have conspired together, provided false statements to Congress, and obstructed the Senate’s investigation.

“When charlatans make false claims to the Committee—claims that may earn them short-term media exposure and financial gain, but which hinder the Committee’s ability to do its job—there should be consequences,” Grassley wrote. Avenatti also represents Stephanie Clifford, aka Stormy Daniels, who claims an attorney for President Donald Trump paid her ahead of the 2016 presidential election not to talk about an alleged affair she had with Trump in 2006.

Swetnick, the third woman to accuse Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, claimed that he and his friend Mark Judge attended high school parties where she and other women were gang raped. Kavanaugh denied all of the accusations and was confirmed as a Supreme Court associate justice earlier this month after a supplementary FBI investigation.

Avenatti responded to Grassley’s statement in a tweet, saying, “It is ironic that Senator Grassley now is interested in investigations. He didn’t care when it came to putting a man on the SCOTUS for life. We welcome the investigation as now we can finally get to the bottom of Judge Kavanaugh’s lies and conduct.”