Lawyer Michael Avenatti and Sen. Susan Collins
Collins' speech was a dramatic cap to Kavanaugh's nomination process, and made it clear he was on the way to being confirmed by the Senate. It was also a slap to Democrats who many Republicans say used highly questionable information to smear the nominee.
But Avenatti accused her while she was speaking of channeling President Trump.
"Senator Collins is channeling Donald Trump," he said on Twitter. "Entirely disingenuous and shameful. Where was she when Judge Garland could not even get an up or down vote?"
Collins met with Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, in 2016 and called for a hearing on the nominee at a time when Republican leaders were refusing to move him along in the process.
"This is all about her post-office job opportunities on K street," he added. "We shall never forget. Not in Nov. Not in 2020. Not ever."
In her floor speech, she said claims by Avenatti's client, Julie Swetnick, "outlandish," and said they are a "stark reminder about why the presumption of innocence is so ingrained."
In a second tweet, Avenatti said she should be "ashamed of herself" for attacking his client.
"How did she make a credibility determination as to my client?" he asked. "How is she qualified to do that without ANY investigation? She did ZERO to determine whether my client and her witnesses were credible."
Pete Kasperowicz is news editor at the Washington Examiner. He has reported on Congress and the White House for The Blaze and The Hill, and covered the 2007-2008 financial crisis from the Treasury Department for Thomson Reuters. Prior to that, he spent a decade covering international trade at Inside U.S. Trade as a reporter and editor. He has written no books, and has won no awards.
Comment: Contemplating a presidential run, Avenatti seems desperate to keep his face in the news. Unfortunately, most of his news makes him look bad.