Brett Kavanaugh questioned over fourth sexual assault claim

Brett Kavanaugh has rejected a fourth claim of sexual assault which allegedly happened while he was a young lawyer in 1998.

Julie Swetnick, left, has accused Brett Kavanaugh, right, of sexual misconduct.

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has been questioned by the Senate Judiciary Committee over a fourth sexual assault claim.

Mr Kavanaugh will tonight testify to the Senate Judiciary Committee after the first of his three named accusers, Christine Blasey Ford.

But Republican Senate investigators reportedly interviewed Mr Kavanaugh by phone earlier this week about an anonymous complaint alleging he physically assaulted a woman in 1998.

At the time of the alleged assault, Mr Kavanaugh was a young lawyer working with then independent counsel Ken Starr on his investigation of Bill Clinton, which ultimately led to Mr Clinton’s impeachment on charges of lying about his affair with Monica Lewinsky.

According to The Hill, Mr Kavanaugh was questioned after an anonymous complaint was sent to Republican Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado.

The complainant alleged that her daughter witnessed Mr Kavanaugh assault her friend, whom he was dating at the time.

“[My daughter’s] friend was dating him, and they left the bar under the influence of alcohol,” the complaint reads. “They were all shocked when Brett Kavanaugh shoved her friend up against the wall very aggressively and sexually,” the complaint’s author wrote. “There were at least four witnesses, including my daughter,” it continues. “Her friend, still traumatised, called my daughter yesterday, September 21, 2018, wondering what to do about it. They decided to remain anonymous.”

Mr Kavanaugh denied the allegations, telling investigators: “We’re dealing with an anonymous letter about an anonymous person and an anonymous friend.

“It’s ridiculous. Total twilight zone. And no, I’ve never done anything like that.”

Donald Trump said earlier today he would open to withdrawing Mr Kavanaugh’s nomination if he finds sexual assault allegations against him to be credible.

“I can always be convinced,” Mr Trump said on the eve of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing featuring one of Mr Kavanaugh’s accusers tomorrow morning Australian time.

“If I thought he was guilty of something like this, yes, sure,” Mr Trump said at a press conference on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. “It’s possible I’ll hear that, and I’ll say, ‘Hey, I’m changing my mind.

“I want to watch,” Mr Trump said ahead of the hearing featuring Christine Blasey Ford, a university professor who has accused Mr Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers.

“I look forward to what she has to say,” Mr Trump said. “I also look forward to what Judge Kavanaugh has to say. I think it’s going to be a very important day in the history of our country.”

In prepared testimony, 51-year-old Blasey Ford said she feared Mr Kavanaugh would rape her during the attack, which she said occurred in the summer of 1982. Ms Blasey Ford said the incident left her “drastically altered,” but it was her “civic duty” to tell what happened.

Mr Trump’s comments came as Mr Kavanaugh dismissed explosive new allegations by a third woman as being from “the Twilight Zone’’ after a woman alleged he was present while she was gang raped at a college party.

Julie Swetnick has become the third woman to accuse Mr Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct in the early 1980s, releasing a sworn declaration claiming that he spiked drinks to make it harder for women to resist his sexual advances.

“I observed Brett Kavanaugh drink excessively at many of these parties and engage in abusive and physically aggressive behaviour towards girls, including pressing girls against him without their consent, ‘grinding’ against girls, and attempting to remove or shift girl’s clothing to expose private body parts,” she wrote.

The claims, which came on the eve of a Senate hearing at midnight tonight (AEST) on previous allegations against the 53-year-old judge, triggered a quick response from both Mr Kavanaugh and Mr Trump.

“This is ridiculous and from the Twilight Zone. I don’t know who this is and this never happened” Mr Kavanaugh said in a statement.

Mr Trump took aim at Ms Swetnick’s lawyer, Michael Avenatti, who also represents porn star Stormy Daniels, describing him as a “third rate lawyer’’ and a “total low life’’.

“Avenatti is a third rate lawyer who is good at making false accusations like he did on me and like he is now doing on Judge Brett Kavanaugh,” Mr Trump tweeted.

Avenatti is a third rate lawyer who is good at making false accusations, like he did on me and like he is now doing on Judge Brett Kavanaugh. He is just looking for attention and doesn’t want people to look at his past record and relationships - a total low-life!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 26, 2018

In his rare press conference in New York, Mr Trump acknowledged that past accusations of sexual misconduct against him have influenced the way he views similar charges against other men, including his Supreme Court nominee.

Wading into the #MeToo movement, Mr Trump said he views such accusations “differently” because he’s “had a lot of false charges made against me.”

“It’s happened to me many times,” Mr Trump said, claiming he’d been accused — falsely — by “four or five women.” In fact, more than a dozen women came forward during the 2016 campaign, claiming they were assaulted, groped or kissed without consent by Mr Trump. He was also caught on tape in 2005 boasting of grabbing women by their genitals and kissing them without permission.

During the freewheeling news conference, Mr Trump continued to lash out at Democrats and label the allegations against Mr Kavanaugh politically motivated. He also expressed frustrations with the delays in the process guided by Republicans.

Ms Swetnick, a government worker from Washington who attended a high school in Maryland, said she attended at least 10 parties with Mr Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge during the early 1980s and witnessed a range of inappropriate behaviour.

“Doing the years 1981-82, I became aware of efforts by Mark Judge, Brett Kavanaugh and others to ‘spike’ the ‘punch’ at house parties I attended with drugs and/or grain alcohol so as to cause girls to lose their inhibitions and their ability to say ‘No’.’’

She says she witnessed Mr Kavanaugh “target’’ vulnerable girls who were either alone at parties or shy.

“I also witnessed efforts by Mark Judge, Brett Kavanaugh and others to cause girls to become inebriated and disoriented so they could then be ‘gang raped’ in a side-room or bedroom by a ‘train’ of numerous boys.’

“I have a firm recollection of seeing boys lined up outside rooms at many of these parties waiting for their ‘turn’ with a girl inside the room. These boys included Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh.’’

She says that at one of these parties she became the victim of a “gang or train rape where Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh were present’’.

Ms Swetnick does not accuse Mr Kavanaugh of taking part in her rape and does not state whether being “present’’ meant inside the same room or elsewhere at the party.

Below is my correspondence to Mr. Davis of moments ago, together with a sworn declaration from my client. We demand an immediate FBI investigation into the allegations. Under no circumstances should Brett Kavanaugh be confirmed absent a full and complete investigation. pic.twitter.com/QHbHBbbfbE

— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) September 26, 2018

Mr Kavanaugh’s lawyer, Beth Wilkinson said the new allegations were “outrageous’’ and lacked credibility, evidence or other witnesses.

She said despite the fact there were numerous girls and boys at these parties, no-one had ever come forward before to make such accusations.

“Really?’ She said. “You witnessed gang rapes and you never said anything?” She said.

Mr Judge, who has denied previous allegations against Mr Kavanaugh “vehemently’’ denied the latest allegations by Ms Swetnick, his lawyer said.

The hearing tonight will hear testimony from Mr Kavanaugh and also the first woman to accuse him of misconduct, Christine Blasey Ford.

Professor Ford accuses Mr Kavanaugh of corralling her into a room where he put his hand over her mouth and tried to take her clothes off before Mr Judge jumped on top of them and she ran away. Mr Kavanaugh and Mr Judge deny the allegation with Mr Kavanaugh saying her did not attend the party.

Early this week a second woman Deborah Ramirez claimed that in the early 1980s claims she attended a college party with a then 18 year old Mr Kavanaugh and that he exposed himself to her and thrust his penis in her face, causing her to push it away.

Yet Ramirez admits that her memories contained gaps because she had been so drinking heavily that she was slurring her words and that she was initially reluctant to say with certainty that the accuser was Mr Kavanaugh.

Here is a picture of my client Julie Swetnick. She is courageous, brave and honest. We ask that her privacy and that of her family be respected. pic.twitter.com/auuSeHm5s0

— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) September 26, 2018

Mr Kavanaugh said the claims against him were “smears, pure and simple. And they debase our public discourse”.

Democrats used the new allegations to renew their call to suspend the nomination proceedings.

“I strongly believe Judge Kavanaugh should withdraw from consideration,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said.

“If he will not, at the very least, the hearing and vote should be postponed while the FBI investigates all of these allegations. If our Republican colleagues proceed without an investigation, it would be a travesty for the honour of the Supreme Court and our country.”

But the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Charles Grassley was adamant that the hearing would go ahead and that the committee would take a vote on the nomination early Saturday (AEST).

The full Senate would then take a final vote on Mr Kavanaugh’s confirmation within days. With Republicans holding a bare 51-49 majority in the Senate it would only take two defections for Democrats to defeat his nomination.

There were no plans for either Ms Ramirez or Ms Swetnick to testify at the hearing.

(Cameron Stewart is also US Contributor for Sky News Australia)

A third woman has accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct. Picture; AP.