Kavanaugh accuser: ‘I am disgusted and appalled by the way that I have been re-victimized’
By Megan Keller
The Hill
October 7, 2018
Julie Swetnick, the third woman to accuse Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, said Sunday that she is outraged by the way her allegations against Kavanaugh have been handled.
"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 her lawyer, possible 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful Michael Avenatti.
"These attacks have included certain media 'pundits' (i.e. Chuck Todd) and politicians (i.e. senators Coons and Kennedy) claiming I should have 'shut up' and continued to stay silent about what happened to me," she explained.
"They claim my allegations were 'not helpful to the process,' " she said. "This is outrageous and shows a lack of empathy for survivors."
She added that she "literally placed [her] life in jeopardy" to come forward with her allegation that Kavanaugh was a part of a scheme to gang rape girls at house parties while in high school.
In her sworn affidavit, Swetnick said she "witnessed efforts by ... 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."
She also alleged that Kavanaugh was present at the party where she was a victim of a gang rape.
Kavanaugh vehemently denied the allegations, calling them "a complete farce" in his testimony two weeks ago.
Last Monday, Swetnick appeared to walk back her first claim during an interview with NBC News's Kate Snow, saying Kavanaugh stood by the punch bowl at the house parties in question and gave drinks to many girls, but added, "I don't know what he did, but I saw him by them [the punch bowls]."
Swetnick also provided the network with the names of four people she said could corroborate her general description of the house parties at that time.
Of the four, NBC reported that one was dead, two did not respond, and one said they did not recall Swetnick.
No other witnesses have come forward to corroborate Swetnick's story and The Wall Street Journal reported last Sunday that it could not locate anyone who could do so, after interviewing dozens of Swetnick's former classmates and colleagues.
In her statement this Sunday, Swetnick reiterated her commitment to her original statements saying, "I stated the truth in my sworn declaration and I stand by everything in it."
"My allegations should have been investigated," she said. "I know of multiple corroborating witnesses and we were all prepared to speak with the FBI as we made known for weeks."
She also went after Republican senators and President Trump, saying they "never really wanted to get to the truth."
"They purposely prevented inquiry into my claims and those of other sexual assault victims in the interest of politics," she said. "They then had the audacity to claim our claims were not credible even though they never allowed any investigation to determine their credibility."
Swetnick took particular aim at Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who said her claims were not credible during her speech on the Senate floor Saturday, explaining her vote in favor of Kavanaugh's confirmation.
"Senator Susan Collins' actions on Friday were especially shameful and an attack on all sexual assault victims," Swetnick said. "She attacked me on the Senate floor, lied about my claims, land labeled them not credible. How would she now? She never did anything to find out."
"Susan Collins does not deserve to represent women in the United States Senate," Swetnick said.
EDITOR’S NOTE: On the contrary, Senator Collins represents all the citizens of Maine, both women and men.
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