Grassley Refers Avenatti for Second Time to DOJ, ‘Outright Fraud’
Dear Attorney General Sessions and Director Wray:
Yesterday, I wrote to you referring Mr. Michael Avenatti and Ms. Julie Swetnick for investigation of potential violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1001, and 1505, for materially false statements they made to the Senate Judiciary Committee during the course of the Committee’s investigation into allegations against Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh.
I write today because of important additional information regarding Mr. Avenatti that has since come to the Committee’s attention.
In light of this new information, I am now referring Mr. Avenatti for investigation of additional potential violations of those same laws, stemming from a second declaration he submitted to the Committee that also appears to contain materially false statements.
As explained below, according to NBC News, the purported declarant of that sworn statement has disavowed its key allegations and claimed that Mr. Avenatti “twisted (her) words.”
On October 2, 2018, Mr. Avenatti emailed Committee staff, stating:
Attached please find another declaration from another witness who supports a number of allegations of Ms. Swetnick. She knows both Ms. Swetnick and Dr. Ford. The identity (sic) of this witness will be released to the FBI once they contact me to arrange an interview as she does not want her name publicly disclosed at this time.
The anonymous sworn statement attached to that email contained two key allegations against Judge Kavanaugh, ostensibly based on the “personal knowledge” of the declarant and made “under penalty of perjury.”
According to the sworn statement, the declarant, whose name was redacted, claimed knowledge of Judge Kavanaugh being “overly aggressive and verbally abusive towards girls … includ[ing] inappropriate physical contact with girls of a sexual nature” while at house parties in the early 1980s. The sworn statement also said:
During the years 1981-82, I witnessed firsthand Brett Kavanaugh, together with others, “spike” the “punch” at house parties I attended with Quaaludes and/or grain alcohol. I understood this was being done for the purpose of making girls more likely to engage in sexual acts and less likely to say “No.”
In my previous referral, I noted the existence of this anonymous declaration and that Mr. Avenatti neither provided the identity of the declarant to the Committee nor made her available for an interview with Committee staff. I also noted that, as of then, it did not appear that any media outlet had been able to report any interview with the purported declarant or validate anything in the anonymous declaration.
However, after I sent you my referral, NBC News revealed yesterday evening that its reporters in fact had a series of contacts with the purported declarant between September 30, 2018, and October 5, 2018.
According to that report, the declarant denied the key allegations contained in the sworn statement, both before and after the statement was publicly released. Despite the fact the sworn statement Mr. Avenatti sent to the Committee stated she “witnessed firsthand” Judge Kavanaugh spiking the punch, she expressly denied this. As noted in the report:
Less than 48 hours before Avenatti released her sworn statement on Twitter, the same woman told NBC News a different story.
Referring to Kavanaugh spiking the punch, “I didn’t ever think it was Brett,” the woman said to reporters in a phone interview arranged by Avenatti on Sept. 30 after repeated requests to speak with other witnesses who might corroborate Swetnick’s claims.
According to the NBC News report, after Mr. Avenatti tweeted the sworn statement on October 2 with the name of the declarant redacted, “Avenatti confirmed to NBC News that it was the same woman interviewed by phone on Sept. 30.” The woman reportedly denied the allegation yet again after the release of the sworn statement:
Reached by phone independently from Avenatti on Oct. 3, the woman said she only “skimmed” the declaration. After reviewing the statement, she wrote in a text on Oct. 4 to NBC News: “It is incorrect that I saw Brett spike the punch. I didn’t see anyone spike the punch…I was very clear with Michael Avenatti from day one.
The declarant similarly disavowed the other allegation that Judge Kavanaugh was aggressive and abusive towards girls, once again both before and after the statement attributed to her was released. As reported by NBC News, “(w)hen asked in the (September 30) phone interview if she ever witnessed Kavanaugh act inappropriately towards girls, the woman replied ‘no.’” After the sworn statement was released, “(w)hen pressed about abusive behavior towards girls, she wrote in a text: ‘I would not ever allow anyone to be abusive in my presence. Male or female.’”
https://www.westernjournal.com/grassley-refer...ve-tribune
Dear Attorney General Sessions and Director Wray:
Yesterday, I wrote to you referring Mr. Michael Avenatti and Ms. Julie Swetnick for investigation of potential violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1001, and 1505, for materially false statements they made to the Senate Judiciary Committee during the course of the Committee’s investigation into allegations against Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh.
I write today because of important additional information regarding Mr. Avenatti that has since come to the Committee’s attention.
In light of this new information, I am now referring Mr. Avenatti for investigation of additional potential violations of those same laws, stemming from a second declaration he submitted to the Committee that also appears to contain materially false statements.
As explained below, according to NBC News, the purported declarant of that sworn statement has disavowed its key allegations and claimed that Mr. Avenatti “twisted (her) words.”
On October 2, 2018, Mr. Avenatti emailed Committee staff, stating:
Attached please find another declaration from another witness who supports a number of allegations of Ms. Swetnick. She knows both Ms. Swetnick and Dr. Ford. The identity (sic) of this witness will be released to the FBI once they contact me to arrange an interview as she does not want her name publicly disclosed at this time.
The anonymous sworn statement attached to that email contained two key allegations against Judge Kavanaugh, ostensibly based on the “personal knowledge” of the declarant and made “under penalty of perjury.”
According to the sworn statement, the declarant, whose name was redacted, claimed knowledge of Judge Kavanaugh being “overly aggressive and verbally abusive towards girls … includ[ing] inappropriate physical contact with girls of a sexual nature” while at house parties in the early 1980s. The sworn statement also said:
During the years 1981-82, I witnessed firsthand Brett Kavanaugh, together with others, “spike” the “punch” at house parties I attended with Quaaludes and/or grain alcohol. I understood this was being done for the purpose of making girls more likely to engage in sexual acts and less likely to say “No.”
In my previous referral, I noted the existence of this anonymous declaration and that Mr. Avenatti neither provided the identity of the declarant to the Committee nor made her available for an interview with Committee staff. I also noted that, as of then, it did not appear that any media outlet had been able to report any interview with the purported declarant or validate anything in the anonymous declaration.
However, after I sent you my referral, NBC News revealed yesterday evening that its reporters in fact had a series of contacts with the purported declarant between September 30, 2018, and October 5, 2018.
According to that report, the declarant denied the key allegations contained in the sworn statement, both before and after the statement was publicly released. Despite the fact the sworn statement Mr. Avenatti sent to the Committee stated she “witnessed firsthand” Judge Kavanaugh spiking the punch, she expressly denied this. As noted in the report:
Less than 48 hours before Avenatti released her sworn statement on Twitter, the same woman told NBC News a different story.
Referring to Kavanaugh spiking the punch, “I didn’t ever think it was Brett,” the woman said to reporters in a phone interview arranged by Avenatti on Sept. 30 after repeated requests to speak with other witnesses who might corroborate Swetnick’s claims.
According to the NBC News report, after Mr. Avenatti tweeted the sworn statement on October 2 with the name of the declarant redacted, “Avenatti confirmed to NBC News that it was the same woman interviewed by phone on Sept. 30.” The woman reportedly denied the allegation yet again after the release of the sworn statement:
Reached by phone independently from Avenatti on Oct. 3, the woman said she only “skimmed” the declaration. After reviewing the statement, she wrote in a text on Oct. 4 to NBC News: “It is incorrect that I saw Brett spike the punch. I didn’t see anyone spike the punch…I was very clear with Michael Avenatti from day one.
The declarant similarly disavowed the other allegation that Judge Kavanaugh was aggressive and abusive towards girls, once again both before and after the statement attributed to her was released. As reported by NBC News, “(w)hen asked in the (September 30) phone interview if she ever witnessed Kavanaugh act inappropriately towards girls, the woman replied ‘no.’” After the sworn statement was released, “(w)hen pressed about abusive behavior towards girls, she wrote in a text: ‘I would not ever allow anyone to be abusive in my presence. Male or female.’”
https://www.westernjournal.com/grassley-refer...ve-tribune
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