Testimony from Kavanaugh’s friend will certify fair hearing: Doug Jones
Alabama Senator Doug Jones argues the Senate should demand a testimony from Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s friend Mark Judge .
The high school friend of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, whose name has been drawn into the allegations leveled against the Supreme Court nominee by several women, said Friday he would cooperate with any law enforcement investigation that will “confidentially” probe the allegations, which he “categorically” denies.
In a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Friday, Mark Judge, denied the latest round of accusations brought against him and Kavanaugh by Julie Swetnick—the client of Stormy Daniels’ attorney Michael Avenatti.
Swetnick accused Kavanaugh and Judge of making unwanted sexual advances at women while at parties in high school in the early 1980s, drugging the “punch” at parties, and participating in “gang rapes” and “train rapes.” Swetnick claims she is a victim of gang rape, and said that both Judge and Kavanaugh were there to watch the incident.
“In response to the Committee’s request for information, I, MARK JUDGE, declare: The allegations in the Swetnick affidavit are so bizarre that, even while suffering from my addiction, I would remember actions so outlandish. I categorically deny them,” Judge, a recovering alcoholic, said in the letter.
“I do not know Julie Swetnick,” he continued. “I do not recall attending parties during 1981-1983 when I fondled or grabbed women in an aggressive or unwanted manner.”
Judge went on to say that he has “never spiked punch to get anyone drunk or disoriented.”
“Nor have I witnessed Brett Kavanaugh spike punch,” Judge wrote. “I have never engaged in any gang rape of any woman, including Ms. Swetnick.”
Judge said he would “cooperate with any law enforcement agency that is assigned to confidentially investigate these allegations,” and signed the statement “under penalty of felony.”
Another Kavanaugh accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, testified on Capitol Hill before the committee Thursday, and claimed that Kavanaugh, while at a high school party 36 years ago, pinned her down and tried to remove her clothing. Ford claimed that Judge was in the room, and jumped on top of them on the bed.
Judge, as recently as Thursday, denied Ford’s allegations, while sharing personal information to support his desire to remain out of the public eye.
“We have told the Committee that I do not want to comment about these events publicly. As a recovering alcoholic and a cancer survivor, I have struggled with depression and anxiety,” Judge wrote in a letter to the committee Thursday. “As a result, I avoid public speaking.”
He added: “I do not recall the events described by Dr. Ford in her testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee today. I never saw Brett act in the manner Dr. Ford describes.”
Kavanaugh vehemently denied the allegations leveled against him by Ford and Swetnick on Thursday before the committee. Another woman, Deborah Ramirez, claimed that while they were freshmen at Yale University, Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a dorm party. Kavanaugh has also denied this allegation.
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday, following a vote in the affirmative to recommend Kavanaugh’s nomination to the full Senate for a vote, has requested a delay in order for a week-long FBI investigation into the allegations.
“The Senate Judiciary Committee will request that the administration instruct the FBI to conduct a supplemental background investigation with respect to the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to be an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court,” the committee statement read. “The supplemental FBI background investigation would be limited to current credible allegations against the nominee and must be completed no later than one week from today.”
If the committee request is fulfilled, the FBI supplemental probe will be complete next Friday, Oct. 5
Friday afternoon, President Trump said that he would “rely” on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Fox News’ Mike Emanuel contributed to this report.
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