New accuser says Brett Kavanaugh was there 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 - but Kavanaugh says allegation is 'from the Twilight Zone.'
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. Swetnick has had security clearences and also worked for Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, the Defense Dept., and other agencies.She has accused Kavanaugh of being part of the 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.' The testimony is a fresh blow to Kavanaugh, already accused of two sexual assaults by named women. |
In other developments:
- 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;
- The Senate Judiciary Committee released his calendars from 1982 which he will point to as proof that he was not an attempted rapist. It shows he attended Beach Week - where Swetnick says she saw him misbehave sexually
- 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.'
- 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.
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. 'It's outrageous. Really, you witnessed gang rapes and you never said anything? You have never come forward?' she asked |
- 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;
- 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.
- Wilkinson also spoke to CNN about whether or not Kavanaugh ever blacked out – something which could be relevant to whether he recalls incidents being alleged about his past. Again, we are talking about 36 years ago. The question was did he blackout drink at that time, and he said no,' she said.