GOP Ready to "Plow Through" Kavanaugh Nom, Women Ready to Testify About Sexual Assault Allegations Under Oath

Julie Swetnick

A third woman, Julie Swetnick, has come forward alleging sexual assault by Brett Kavanaugh and his best friend in high school, Mark Judge. (Link to the affidavit. Allegations are disturbing so warning in advance.)

Mark Judge—now a conservative writer with a long history of making misogynistic, homophobic, and transphobic statements—is also a witness and accomplice to the attempted rape alleged by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.

Swetnick has stated her allegations in an affidavit under oath and is calling for an FBI investigation. Her allegations align with those made by Ford, Deborah Ramirez, and Mark Judge's high school girlfriend.

Two quick asides: 1- Swetnick is represented by Michael Avenatti, Stormy Daniels lawyer, and Republicans are trying to make him the story, instead of responding to what Swetnick has said under oath.

2- After Ramirez came forward in the New Yorker, the New York Times ran an absolute shit hit piece on Ramirez's claims because she was talking to the New Yorker instead of to them. Jane Mayer and Ronan Farrow nicely dismantled NYT claims on Twitter.

Over the last 24 hours, Republicans have been releasing a flurry of anonymous allegations in order to discredit the real allegations.  

Don't let whatever new unsubstantiated claims are popping up distract from the fact that three named women have come forward, including in sworn affidavits under oath, subjected their claims to public scrutiny, and are calling for an FBI investigation.

This onslaught of likely fake claims is all the more reason why it's time for the professionals at the FBI to step in, not a reason to rush through a vote on a sexual predator.

Right now, Donald Trump and Senate Republicans are:

1- Refusing to let the FBI investigate as part of Kavanaugh's background check, even though an FBI investigation is standard procedure in these circumstances.

(American Progress released a great video of Orrin Hatch praising the FBI investigation during the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas hearings.)

2- Refusing to call Mark Judge to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee, even though he is a witness and alleged accomplice in TWO allegations. Republicans have no good answer to why they aren't calling Mark Judge to testify. Susan Collins and others are particularly vulnerable on this point. Meanwhile, Judge has taken down all of his social media posts (which were as toxic as you'd expect) and has gone into hiding to avoid questions about his past writing and conduct.

3- Refusing to let either Ramirez or Swetnick testify before the committee, forcing them instead to talk to partisan Judiciary staff behind the scenes. Committee staff hadn't even responded to Ramirez's counsel as of last night.

4- Refusing to let any witnesses testify on Dr. Ford's behalf even though four people have sworn under oath that she told them about the Kavanaugh attack years beforehand. The hearing is going to be limited to just Ford and Kavanaugh, with only five minutes per senator to question Kavanaugh. Even during the Hill/Thomas hearings, there were three days of testimony and 22 witnesses—although notably, once again key witnesses who could have supported Professor Hill's claims were not allowed to testify.

5- Pledging to move forward with a committee vote on Kavanaugh this Friday and "plow right through" with his confirmation (in Mitch McConnell's words) by a vote in the full Senate on Tuesday.

In case a like this, the circumstantial evidence matters a lot. Here's what we know:

1- Brett Kavanaugh lied or misled the Senate Judiciary Committee under oath on multiple occasions on a range of topics; his denials here come after his credibility is already deeply tarnished. At the same time, his accusers appear to have little reason to lie and face significant reputational harm and threats to their physical safety in coming forward. Swetnick, in particular, will lose her security clearance if she's found to be lying.

2- Brett Kavanaugh lied about his high school and college behavior in an interview with Fox News even though numerous primary documents (including Kavanaugh's own speeches, emails, and yearbook page) show a hard-partying boy turned man engaging in both blackout drinking and cruel jokes predicated on sexually humiliating women; at Yale, Kavanaugh joined both a fraternity (DKE) and an all-male social club (referred to by students as "Tit and Clit") known for their drinking and misogyny.

3- Mark Judge has written extensively about his and "Bart O'Kavanaugh's" drunken exploits with women in high school.

4- Contemporaries of both Kavanaugh and Judge have asserted their belief in the women's accounts. Kavanaugh's freshman year roommate at Yale said:

"Based on my time with Debbie, I believe her to be unusually honest and straightforward and I cannot imagine her making this up. Based on my time with Brett, I believe that he and his social circle were capable of the actions that Debbie described."

5- Notably, several of the people who initially supported Kavanaugh have since withdrawn their support, including Louisa Garry, the woman featured prominently in a pro-Kavanaugh TV ad.

None of this would be enough to convict Kavanaugh on criminal charges. But he's not on trial. He's interviewing for a promotion to serve on the United States Supreme Court, a position of incredible power and public trust.

Republicans should want a full investigation of these allegations every bit as much as Democrats do. Kavanaugh himself should be calling for an FBI investigation to clear his name.

The message to senators is simple: Kavanaugh must withdraw or the vote must be delayed until a full investigation has cleared his name.