Julie Swetnick unloads on media, GOP: 'I am disgusted and appalled by the way that I have been re-victimized'
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Julie Swetnick on Sunday wrote that she was "disgusted and appalled" by the reaction to her uncorroborated claims last month that then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh engaged in systemic gang rapes decades ago.
Swetnick's allegations -- which key swing-vote senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, called "outlandish" on Friday -- have been cited by top Democrats and observers as so unbelievable that they might have undermined the credibility of other accusers, like California professor Christine Blasey Ford. Kavanaugh was confirmed by a 50-48 vote to the Supreme Court on Saturday.
"As a sexual assault victim, I am disgusted and appalled by the way that I have been re-victimized over the last 2 weeks after I had the courage to come forward," Swetnick said in a statement released by Michael Avenatti, an anti-Trump attorney who represents her. "I had every right to come forward and I literally placed my life in jeopardy to do so."
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In an interview with NBC last week, Swetnick could not say whether she ever saw Kavanaugh or his friend Mark Judge spike the punch at Maryland house parties with drugs -- seemingly contradicting her prior sworn statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee, in which she definitively said that she "became aware" of efforts by Kavanaugh and Judge to do so in the early 1980s.
SWETNICK'S EX-BOYFRIEND SAYS SHE 'EXAGGERATED EVERYTHING,' THREATENED TO KILL HIS UNBORN CHILD
But on Sunday, Swetnick stuck with her original statement, and took a shot at Collins for "caring more about politics than women and victims."
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"I stated the truth in my sworn declaration and I stand by everything in it," Swetnick wrote, noting that she has previously passed "six security clearance investigations" and knows of "multiple corroborating witnesses."
ANOTHER SWETNICK EX-BOYFRIEND COMPARED HER TO 'HIGH-END' PROSTITUTE, SAYS HE DOES NOT BELIEVE HER
Swetnick gave NBC News the names of four friends she said could corroborate her story. The network said two of those people had not responded to requests for comment, a third was deceased and a fourth said he could not recall knowing Swetnick. Kavanaugh has called Swetnick's accusations a "joke."
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Swetnick was not interviewed as part of the FBI's recently supplemental background check into Kavanaugh, and the White House has said it did not find her claims believable. In her letter, Swetnick charged that Republican senators had "purposely prevented any inquiry into my claims and those of other sexual assault victims in the interest of politics."
Swetnick's credibility has taken a beating in recent days, with one ex-boyfriend telling Fox News she "exaggerated everything" and had threatened to kill his unborn child. Another ex-boyfriend similarly cast doubt on her credibility, as reports surfaced that she had previously been sued by a previous employer for allegedly concocting false sexual harassment claims.
CHRISTINE FORD EX-BOYFRIEND DIRECTLY CONTRADICTS HER TESTIMONY ON POLYGRAPHS, PTSD, FEAR OF FLYING
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That lawsuit, which Avenatti called "bogus," was filed by Portland-based Webtrends before the company voluntarily dismissed its complaint.
In a telling sign that perhaps Swetnick had lost the confidence of even top Democrats, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., on Friday didn't mention Swetnick or her accusations in her remarks from the Senate floor at all, choosing instead to focus on uncorroborated claims of sexual misconduct by Ford and another accuser, Deborah Ramirez.
For his part, Avenatti has lashed out on Twitter in recent days against the suggestion that his decision to promote Swetnick's claims had ultimately helped Republicans secure Kavanaugh's confirmation by discrediting other attacks against the then-nominee.
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"When they go low, we hit harder."
"This argument is complete nonsense," Avenatti unapologetically wrote late Saturday. (President Trump has repeatedly called Avenatti, who has 2020 presidential ambitions and represents a porn star suing him, a complete "low-life.")
Avenatti then appeared to endorse a scorched-earth approach going forward, drawing a contrast with former First Lady Michelle Obama, who urged supporters to "go high" when political opponents take the low road.
"When they go low, we hit harder," Avenatti wrote on Twitter. "There is far too much at stake for any other approach."