by WorldTribune Staff, November 7, 2018
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley said he has sent criminal referrals to the Justice Department accusing Julie Swetnick and her lawyer Michael Avenatti of breaking federal law by submitting false statements in Swetnick’s rape allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Among the findings regarding Swetnick in the committee’s 400-page report:
- “She has a lengthy history of litigation, including as a plaintiff in a sexual harassment suit in which she was represented by Debra Katz’s firm. (Katz was one of Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford’s attorneys.)”
- “Swetnick was sued for defamation for making apparent false statements and retaliatory allegations against an Oregon company. The company also alleged she engaged in unwelcome sexual innuendo and inappropriate conduct at work.”
- Three former male friends deemed her “not credible” and described her as an “opportunistic.” One of them, Richard Vinneccy, an ex-boyfriend, submitted a sworn statement. He said she threatened to kill him and his unborn child. She accused him of rape and threatened to have him deported. A fourth former friend called her a “gold digger.”
- “Committee investigators determined that Swetnick was in significant debt.”
- A neighbor who grew up with Swetnick in Montgomery County described her as “the least credible person you can ever imagine.” This source said her mother “spoke frequently about problems Swetnick was causing for her family.” The source said Swetnick was “always a problem” for her family and was “bleeding them dry financially.” The source quoted the mother as using the term “elder abuse” and said, “Julie’s going to be the death of me.”
- A former employer said Swetnick was “beyond crazy” and a “serial manipulator” and was often drunk at after-work bar visits.
Avenatti, after submitting an affidavit containing Swetnick’s allegations against Kavanaugh, released an anonymous declaration from a woman who supposedly backed up Swetnick’s charges.
But in an interview with NBC News, the woman denied she had witnessed any such behavior by Kavanaugh, that she did not know Swetnick in the early 1980s and that Avenatti “twisted” her words.
“The article thus suggests that Avenatti likely committed a fraud with a second sworn declaration,” the committee’s report said.
The report said the committee “found no verifiable evidence to support Swetnick’s allegations. Indeed, the evidence appears to support the position that Julie Swetnick and Avenatti criminally conspired to make materially false statements to the committee and obstruct the committee’s investigation.”
Grassley sent a second criminal referral to the DOJ aimed at Avenatti after his witness said he “twisted” her words.
On the Ford allegation, the committee said neither it nor the FBI could find a witness to corroborate her claim that a 17-year-old Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a party. Her best friend at the time, Leland Keyser, was a Ford-recommended witness. But Keyser said she knew of no such party and has never met Kavanaugh.
A long time Ford friend, former FBI agent Monica McLean, contacted Keyser to see if she would “clarify” her account. “Committee investigators continue to pursue this lead to determine whether McLean or others tampered with a critical witness,” the report said.
The report said no one could corroborate the story of a third accuser, Deborah Ramirez. She said Kavanaugh exposed himself during a party at Yale in 1983.
In a memo to all Senate Republicans, Grassley said, “Committee investigators found no witness who could provide any verifiable evidence to support any of the allegations brought against Justice Kavanaugh. In other words, following the separate and extensive investigations by both the Committee and the FBI, there was no evidence to substantiate any of the claims of sexual assault made against Justice Kavanaugh.”
On Twitter, Avenatti called Grassley “incompetent” and his report “ridiculous.”
“I will agree to appear with you on any TV network you choose to discuss your garbage report and your bogus criminal referral. Let’s debate the issues and let America decide who is telling the truth and who is clueless,” Avenatti tweeted.
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