Avenatti's New Client: Third Woman To Accuse Kavanaugh Of Sexual Misconduct
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Adult film actress Stormy Daniels took a back seat to her attorney Michael Avenatti's newest high-profile client, a yet unnamed woman who is accusing embattled Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct. She is the third woman to do so in recent weeks.
"She is 100 percent credible, and when the American people hear from her, they will determine, as I have, that she is to be believed," Avenatti told reporters outside a downtown L.A. courthouse Monday.
Avenatti said his client is a "contemporary" of Kavanaugh's who went to the same public school in the Washington D.C. area. The allegation comes on the heels a new disclosure by Deborah Ramirez, who claims Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a party while both were students at Yale University in the 1980s. Professor Christine Blasey Ford was the first to publicly accuse Kavanaugh as his confirmation hearing was coming to a close more than a week ago. She alleges Kavanaugh pinned her down at a high school party and attempted to sexually assault her.
On Monday, Avenatti tweeted a screenshot of an email he sent to the chief counsel of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the body overseeing Kavanaugh's confirmation hearings.
In it, Avenatti said his client is willing to talk to the Federal Bureau of Investigation to detail "how she was victimized and what she observed" during parties where Kavanaugh and his friends would allegedly get girls intoxicated on drugs and alcohol in order to "gang rape them."
He has also "warned" that his client is a credible person who has worked for the federal government and has undergone several background checks.
"The facts and circumstances about what she experienced and what she witnessed, I'm confident that people are going to find those credible. I'm confident that those facts and circumstances are going to be disqualifying for Brett Kavanaugh, and I will also say this: This is a woman passed multiple security clearances administered by the U.S. government." He said she has worked for the U.S. Mint and the Dept. of Justice.
"To the individuals on the committee, like Mr. Grassley, to Donald Trump, and to his surrogates, I say this: You better be very, very careful before you come after my client and call her a liar or engage in some of the other despicable conduct that you've engaged in relating to Dr. Ford over the last four to five days.
"I do not traffic in rumor and nonsense," Avenatti added.
CBS News reports Avenatti's client has not gone public with her allegations because "we have to make sure security precautions are taken before we publicly release her identity[...] we have to make sure she's in a safe place."
Ford reportedly went into hiding last week after receiving death threats once her identity was made public.
For his part, Kavanaugh has maintained his innocence from the start, telling Fox News Monday he "never sexually assaulted anyone." Appearing with his wife, he affirmed his intention to get through the confirmation process and fill the seat recently vacated by Justice Anthony Kennedy. President Donald Trump called Kavanaugh Monday offering his support, saying he stands with Kavanaugh "all the way."
Kavanaugh went on to say he was a virgin in high school and for "many years after."
Christine Blasey Ford, a professor and research psychologist at Palo Alto University, agreed to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee later this week. She had initially requested the FBI investigate her allegation but negotiated the details of her appearance with the committee over the weekend.
Avenatti was in Los Angeles representing Stephanie Clifford, known by her stage name Stormy Daniels, in her defamation lawsuit against Trump.
The judge suggested he would throw out her case, saying a tweet Trump sent calling Clifford a liar appears to be free speech. The 2018 tweet was in reference to Clifford's claim she was approached and threatened by a man seeking her silence over her alleged affair with Trump before he became president.
