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Avenatti Client Levels New Allegations Against Kavanaugh

Attorney Michael Avenatti on Wednesday released the identity of his client accusing Brett Kavanaugh of being present for a gang rape and saying she later became a victim herself.

(CN) - Attorney Michael Avenatti on Wednesday released the identity of his client accusing Brett Kavanaugh of being present for a gang rape and saying she later became a victim herself.

Kavanaugh responded in a statement released by the White House, saying "This is ridiculous and from the Twilight Zone.

"I don’t know who this is and this never happened,” the judge said.

President Donald Trump later tweeted, "Avenatti is a third rate lawyer who is good at making false accusations, like he did on me and like he is now doing on Judge Brett Kavanaugh. He is just looking for attention and doesn’t want people to look at his past record and relationships - a total low-life!"

On Wednesday evening, the Senate Judiciary Committee reportedly interviewed Kavanaugh about Swetnick's accusations.

All of this stems from a tweet by Avenatti Wednesday morning, revealing what he says is sworn testimony from Julie Swetnick, who says she met Kavanaugh in “approximately 1980-1981” and attended several house parties at which Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge were also present.

“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,” Swetnick says.

“I also witnessed efforts by Mark Judge, Brett Kavanaugh and others to cause girls to become inebriated and disoriented so they could then be ‘gang raped’ in a side room or bedroom by a ‘train’ of numerous boys ... These boys included Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh," she added.

Swetnick goes on to say that "in approximately 1982, I became the victim of one of these ‘gang’ or ‘train’ rapes where Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh were present.”

"Shortly after the incident, I shared what had transpired with at least two other people," she says. "During the incident, I was incapacitated without my consent and unable to fight off the boys raping me. I believe I was drugged using Quaaludes or something similar placed in what I was drinking," she says.

In a separate tweet, Avenatti, who has made no secret of his desire to run for president in 2020, released Swetnick's photograph with a note that said, "We ask that her privacy and that of her family be respected."

Avenatti declined to expand on the allegation in an interview Wednesday on ABC's "The View," saying he would not add detail beyond what was in the statement.

A spokesman for the Senate Judiciary Committee said Avenatti provided Swetnick's declaration to the Judiciary Committee on Wednesday morning and that the committee's lawyers are still reviewing the document.

Meanwhile all 10 Democratic members of the committee issued  a statement urging President Trump to immediately withdraw the nomination or order an FBI investigation into all allegations.

Avenatti hinted at the bombshell he was about to drop in the days before they became public and Kavanaugh denied them during an interview on Fox News on Monday night.

"That's totally false and outrageous," Kavanaugh said Monday when asked about Avenatti's claims. "I've never done any such thing, known about any such thing."

The new allegations come one day before Kavanaugh and his first accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, are scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Wednesday repeated calls for an FBI investigation in light of the most recent allegations against Kavanaugh, saying Republicans should "immediately suspend" his nomination.

"I strongly believe Judge Kavanaugh should withdraw from consideration," Schumer said in a statement. "If he will not, at the very least, the hearing and vote should be postponed while the FBI investigates all of these allegations. If our Republican colleagues proceed without an investigation, it would be a travesty for the honor of the Supreme Court and our country."

Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Arizona, revealed Wednesday his family has received death threats over his refusal to announce how he will vote on Kavanaugh.

Flake's revelation came as he warned other senators that they have "lit a match" with the "unseemly" confirmation process.

After he pressed for Thursday's committee hearing with Ford, Flake said a caller told him to quit getting in the way of President Donald Trump's court choice. Flake says the caller warned he would take Flake and his family "out."

Tim Ryan contributed to this report.

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