Grassley refers porn lawyer Avenatti and client Julie Swetnick to DOJ for criminal charges over Kavanaugh accusations

Christina Laila
The Gateway Pundit
Thu, 25 Oct 2018 00:00 UTC

On Thursday, Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) criminally referred creepy porn lawyer Michael Avenatti and his client Julie Swetnick to the DOJ.

Last month, Michael Avenatti revealed Brett Kavanaugh's 3rd accuser shortly before the confirmation vote-A woman named Julie Swetnick who brought forth allegations of gang rape.

Ms. Swetnick, in a sworn statement says she was a victim of one of these "gang" or "train" rapes where Brett Kavanaugh and Mark Judge were present. Swetnick also claims she was drugged with Qualuudes or "something similar."

Now Grassley is calling for a criminal investigation into Avenatti and Swetnick, specifically for false statements and deliberate obstruction of a congressional investigation (violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1001 and 1505)

Via Sean Davis of the Federalist:

In a 12-page letter containing 7 different exhibits, Sen. Chuck Grassley just formally referred Michael Avenatti and Julie Swetnick to DOJ for criminal charges, specifically false statements and deliberate obstruction of a congressional investigation.

Grassley's criminal referral of Avenatti and Swetnick also contains new evidence that Swetnick has a history of making false rape charges. Under penalty of perjury, an ex-boyfriend says she explicitly threatened to falsely accuse him of rape and have him deported.

Chuck Grassley had this to say about his criminal referral of Avenatti and Swetnick to the Department of Justice:

"When a well-meaning citizen comes forward with information relevant to the committee's work, I take it seriously. It takes courage to come forward, especially with allegations of sexual misconduct or personal trauma. I'm grateful for those who find that courage."

"But in the heat of partisan moments, some do try to knowingly mislead the committee. That's unfair to my colleagues, the nominees and others providing information who are seeking the truth. It stifles our ability to work on legitimate lines of inquiry."

"It also wastes time and resources for destructive reasons. Thankfully, the law prohibits such false statements to Congress and obstruction of congressional committee investigations. For the law to work, we can't just brush aside potential violations."

"I don't take lightly making a referral of this nature, but ignoring this behavior will just invite more of it in the future."

Julie Swetnick's sexual assault allegations against Brett Kavanaugh began to fall apart immediately after she came forward with her outrageous claims.

Swetnick graduated high school in 1980, which was three years before Brett Kavanaugh. This means she would have been a college-aged woman attending parties with minor teenage boys in 1982-83.

Furthermore, in an appearance on NBC News, Swetnick walked back some of her previously sworn statements.

The Senate Judiciary Chairman noted this in his criminal referral.

"Swetnick made her allegations in a sworn statement to the committee on September 26. In an October 1 interview with NBC News, however, Swetnick specifically and explicitly back-tracked or contradicted key parts of her sworn statement on these and other allegations."

"In subsequent interviews, Avenatti likewise cast serious doubt on or contradicted the allegations while insisting that he had thoroughly vetted his client."

Comment: RT adds:

As Grassley's letter notes, all of the Democrats on the committee demanded a "reopening of the FBI investigation to examine all of the allegations against Kavanaugh or withdrawal of his nomination" in the light of "shocking new allegations detailed by Julie Swetnick."

Committee staff expended a large amount of time and effort investigating Avenatti and Swetnick's claims, Grassley wrote, "diverting significant resources to the effort." They tried interviewing Swetnick, but Avenatti refused.

They did, however, speak to "ten associates of Ms. Swetnick who knew her at various times in her life ranging from junior high to the present day," and found no information to corroborate her statements. "On the contrary, they received substantial information calling into question her credibility," Grassley wrote, adding that it appears Swetnick "has a history of making false legal claims and false accusations of sexual misconduct."

Avenatti "also apparently has a history of claiming to have anonymous clients who never materialize in any verifiable form," Grassley noted, adding that after examining numerous press reports questioning Avenatti's credibility, committee investigators "determined that delving into additional ones would be beating a dead horse."

"When charlatans make false claims to the Committee - claims that may earn them short-term media exposure and financial gain, but which hinder the Committee's ability to do its job - there should be consequences. These laws exist to ensure there are," he concluded in the letter to the FBI and the DOJ.