KAVANAUGH HEARING | GOP wants to speak to latest Kavanaugh accuser

Published September 26, 2018 at 9:03 a.m.
Updated September 26, 2018 at 12:02 p.m.

3:30 p.m.

Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee say they want to speak to the latest woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct.

Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana says the committee will be extending an invitation to Julie Swetnick to provide a sworn statement, and South Carolina's Lindsey Graham says he wants the committee to talk to her "today."

Swetnick — in a sworn statement Wednesday — is accusing Kavanaugh of excessive drinking and inappropriate treatment of women, among other things. The Associated Press hasn't been able to corroborate the claims and continues to investigate.

Kavanaugh has denied the allegations and calls them "ridiculous." He says he didn't know Swetnick.

The committee chairman, Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa, says in a tweet that committee investigators are tracking down all allegations against Kavanaugh, talking to witnesses and gathering evidence.

3 p.m.

Lawyers for Christine Blasey Ford have provided the Senate Judiciary Committee with the results of a polygraph test on her accusation that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were teens.

The documents indicate the Ford took the test on Aug. 7 at a Hilton Hotel in Maryland.

Ford has told The Washington Post she hired a former FBI agent to conduct the test as she considered whether to come forward with her accusation, and she's said she passed it.

The newly released documents seem to support her claim, but there's no independent expert verification.

She says Kavanaugh held her down, tried to remove her clothes and covered her mouth at a drunken high school party in the 1980s. Kavanaugh denies the allegation and says he's never assaulted anyone.

In addition to the polygraph, Ford's lawyers have given the Senate committee four affidavits from people who say Ford told them about the assault.

2:30 p.m.

President Donald Trump says what's happening to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is a "disgrace" that will be reflected in the November election.

Trump blames Senate Democrats and is suggesting that how they handled sexual misconduct allegations against Kavanaugh will help Republicans at the polls. Kavanaugh denies the allegations.

Republicans are fighting to maintain their grip on both houses of Congress in the face of strong enthusiasm by Democratic voters who oppose Trump and his policies.

Here's how Trump is assessing the Kavanaugh confirmation process: "It's disgraceful. It's a disgrace to the country. And I think you're going to see it in the midterms."

Trump also says "these Democratic senators" are a "disgrace."

He adds that the "good news is the public is very smart and they get it."

2:20 p.m.

A high school friend of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is denying a woman's allegation of sexual misconduct.

Mark Judge is the friend, and his lawyer, Biz Van Gelder, says her client vehemently denies the new allegations.

In a sworn statement, Julie Swetnick has accused Judge and Kavanaugh of excessive drinking and inappropriate treatment of women, among other things.

The Associated Press hasn't been able to corroborate the claims, and continues to investigate.

Kavanaugh has denied the allegations and calls them "ridiculous." He says he didn't know Swetnick and "this never happened."

Swetnick's lawyer says he expects to release additional information in "the coming weeks."

2 p.m.

A Republican senator says his family has received death threats since he asked the Senate Judiciary Committee to hear testimony from Christine Blasey Ford, the woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault. Kavanaugh denies the allegation.

Jeff Flake of Arizona is warning other senators that they have "lit a match" with the "unseemly" confirmation process.

Flake is a key Republican who has yet to announce how he will vote on Kavanaugh.

After he pressed for Thursday's committee hearing with Ford, Flake said a caller told him to quit getting in the way of President Donald Trump's court choice. Flake says the caller warned he would take Flake and his family "out."

Republicans are pushing to confirm Kavanaugh by next week.

Flake says the only certainty about the vote is that the outcome "will forever be steeped in doubt."

1:50 p.m.

A Democratic senator is suing to block the Senate from voting on the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

Jeff Merkley of Oregon contends the Trump administration has interfered with the Senate's ability to provide advice and consent by withholding documents from Kavanaugh's tenure working in White House under President George W. Bush.

Merkley wants a federal judge in the nation's capital to intervene and prevent the confirmation vote until Kavanaugh's full record is available for public scrutiny. The Senate could vote early next week.

The Trump administration cited executive privilege in withholding about 100,000 pages of documents from Kavanaugh's time as legal counsel. The administration, saying that disclosure of deliberations and advice would jeopardize a president's ability to carry out their core constitutional duties.

The Senate could vote on Kavanaugh's confirmation early next week.

1:35 p.m.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is urging Brett Kavanaugh to withdraw as a nominee for the Supreme Court because of the sexual misconduct allegations against him.

Schumer has spoken in the Senate after a third woman publicly accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct in the early 1980s. Kavanaugh denies the allegation, saying it's from the "Twilight Zone."

Schumer says there are multiple credible misconduct allegations against Kavanaugh. The New York senator says that if President Donald Trump won't withdraw Kavanaugh's nomination, Trump should at least order the FBI to investigate the claims.

The Senate Judiciary Committee says it's reviewing the new allegations being provided a statement from the new accuser.

1:25 p.m.

The lawyer for a woman making new allegations of sexual misconduct against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh isn't providing any additional details.

Michael Avenatti says he and his client would like to see an FBI investigation.

The Senate Judiciary Committee says it's reviewing new allegations after Avenatti provided a statement from his client to the committee.

According to a document Avenatti posted on Twitter, the woman alleges she witnessed Kavanaugh "consistently engage in excessive drinking and inappropriate contact of a sexual nature with women in the early 1980s."

The woman also made other accusations in her statement. The Associated Press hasn't been able to corroborate them, and continues to investigate.

Avenatti says they expect to release information in "the coming weeks."

1 p.m.

President Donald Trump is firing back at Michael Avenatti, the lawyer who's representing a third woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct.

Trump tweets that Avenatti "is a third rate lawyer who is good at making false accusations."

Avenatti also represents Stormy Daniels, a porn actress who says she had sex with Trump years before Trump became president.

The lawyer, tweeting back, calls Trump a "habitual liar and complete narcissist" who's "an embarrassment to our nation."

Trump claims Avenatti "is just looking for attention and doesn't want people to look at his past record and relationships - a total low-life!"

Avenatti's client alleges in a document that Avenatti posted on Twitter that she witnessed Kavanaugh "engage in excessive drinking and inappropriate contact of a sexual nature with women in the early 1980s."

Kavanaugh denies the allegation.

12:42 p.m.

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is denying new allegations of sexual misconduct, saying they're from the "Twilight Zone."

In a statement Wednesday, Kavanaugh said: "This is ridiculous and from the Twilight Zone. I don't know who this is and this never happened."

The Senate Judiciary Committee said Wednesday it is reviewing new allegations after attorney Michael Avenatti provided a statement from his client to the committee.

The woman also made other accusations in her statement. The AP has not been able to corroborate them, and continues to investigate.

11:59 a.m.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Judiciary Committee says it is reviewing new allegations of sexual misconduct against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Attorney Michael Avenatti provided a statement from his client to the committee.

According to a document Avenatti posted on Twitter, the woman alleges she witnessed Kavanaugh “consistently engage in excessive drinking and inappropriate contact of a sexual nature with women in the early 1980s.”

The woman also made other accusations in her statement. The AP has not been able to corroborate them, and continues to investigate.

Kavanaugh has been accused of sexual misconduct by two other women, putting his nomination for the high court at risk. He and one of the accusers, Christine Blasey Ford, will testify publicly Thursday before the Judiciary Committee.

Avenatti declined to expand on the allegation in an interview Wednesday on ABC’s “The View,” saying he would not add detail beyond what was in the statement. Avenatti also represents Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress who alleges she was paid to keep a sexual relationship with President Donald Trump quiet.

8:05 a.m.

Lawyers for Christine Blasey Ford say they have submitted sworn affidavits to the Senate Judiciary Committee from four people who say she told them that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh had assaulted her in high school.

Kavanaugh has denied the accusation.

The four sworn affidavits are among the information the committee is considering on the eve of Ford and Kavanaugh's testimony Thursday.

All four documents say that Ford revealed the information well before President Donald Trump nominated Kavanaugh to the high court in July. They come from Ford's husband and three family friends, who say Ford mentioned the incident in 2012, 2013, 2016 and 2017.

Two affidavits, from Ford's husband Russell Ford and from the coach of their son's baseball team, say Ford named Kavanaugh as the alleged assailant. In the other two, Ford did not name Kavanaugh but said she was assaulted by a federal judge.

8 a.m.

The attorney for one of the women accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct says the Senate Judiciary Committee has not invited her to tell her story. John Clune, who is representing Deborah Ramirez, says the committee is "refusing even to talk to us."

Clune says that Republicans did not participate in a pre-arranged Tuesday night conference call to talk about Ramirez' allegations. He told ABC's "Good Morning America" that the "only way to get at the truth of what happened" is to interview his client. He said she'd be willing to testify before the committee if asked, but he wasn't sure whether she would do it without an FBI investigation first.

There was no immediate response by the committee to the AP's request for comment.

Ramirez told The New Yorker that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her while they were both students at Yale. She has acknowledged consuming alcohol at the time, which clouded some of her memories.

The Senate panel is scheduled to hear from Kavanaugh's chief accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, on Thursday. She says he assaulted her at a party in high school in the 1980s.

Kavanaugh denies both allegations.

7:50 a.m.

A lawyer for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh says the woman who is to testify Thursday about her claim he sexually assaulted her in high school has not turned over key information related to her accusation.

Beth Wilkinson said Wednesday on CBS "This Morning" that the results of Christine Blasey Ford's polygraph test and her therapist's notes are not among the materials turned over to the Senate Judiciary Committee on the eve of her testimony.

Wilkinson said: "They announced that there were notes and that there had been a lie detector test" but that those materials were not turned over "even though they were requested."

Ford is expected to testify Thursday about her allegations that Kavanaugh held her down, tried to remove her clothes and covered her mouth at a drunken high school party in the 1980s.

Kavanaugh denies the allegations. He and Ford are scheduled to testify on Thursday.

12:26 a.m.

Senate Republicans are beginning to schedule votes aimed at putting Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court.

GOP leaders set a Senate Judiciary Committee vote for Friday and hoped to confirm Kavanaugh early next week. That's even as Thursday's showdown hearing approaches.

Senate Republicans are bringing in a veteran Arizona prosecutor, Rachel Mitchell, to handle questioning about allegations that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted a fellow teenager in the 1980s.

Mitchell comes from the Maricopa County Attorney's Office in Phoenix. She is the chief of the Special Victims Division, which covers sex crimes and family violence.

A handful of undeclared GOP moderates leave Kavanaugh's fate uncertain because the party runs the Senate with just a 51-49 advantage. There's no telling how Kavanaugh and his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, will perform at the hearing.