GOP senators question new Kavanaugh allegations by going after ‘lawyer to porn stars’ Avenatti

At least two GOP senators on Wednesday raised doubts about the latest sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh by going after Michael Avenatti, the lawyer representing the third accuser.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said during an interview on Fox News on Wednesday afternoon that “the source is being considered,” explaining, “not the accuser, per se, but Avenatti. Avenatti, who, you know, lawyer to porn stars.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) similarly went after Avenatti, issuing a statement arguing that “the lawyer to porn stars has just taken this debacle to an even lower level.”

“I hope people will be highly suspicious of this allegation presented by Michael Avenatti,” Graham added.

{mosads}Avenatti, who has conducted scores of cable news interviews while representing adult-film actress Stormy Daniels in her lawsuits against President Trump, defended his involvement in the latest allegations against Kavanaugh after the president lashed out at the lawyer in a tweet.

“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!” Trump tweeted.

“Trump doesn’t even know anything about my background. Knows nothing about my history of over $1 Billion in verdicts and settlements. I have represented Republicans and Democrats. I have represented hard working people throughout this nation,” Avenatti responded on Twitter.

The fiery exchanges came Wednesday after Avenatti shared on Twitter a sworn declaration from Julie Swetnick, a woman who has accused Kavanaugh of being present at a high school party in the early 1980s in which she says she was drugged and raped.

Swetnick has not accused Kavanaugh of attacking her, but claims he was present at a party where she was drugged with “Quaaludes or something similar” and attacked.

Kavanaugh has denied the allegation, calling the latest claim “from the Twilight Zone” and saying he doesn’t know Swetnick. 

Cassidy argued later on Fox News that the woman’s allegations don’t “seem right to me.”

“We’re being told that a woman went to 10 different parties where women were being gang raped, and never reported it until, again, two days before this hearing,” the Louisiana Republican said. “That just doesn’t seem right to me. Why would she continue to go to parties where this would occur?”

Cassidy claimed that allegation was part of a “tactic” to delay a confirmation vote for Kavanaugh, before accusing Avenatti of simply being focused on gaining publicity and weaponizing the #MeToo movement.

The allegation came only days after the New Yorker published a report in which a woman, Deborah Ramirez, accused Kavanaugh of exposing himself in front of her during a party in their freshman year at Yale University in the early 1980s.

Christine Blasey Ford was the first woman to come forward publicly to accuse Kavanaugh of sexual assault earlier this month. She and Kavanaugh are scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. 

Avenatti, who is considering a 2020 presidential bid as a Democrat, called on the FBI to investigate the latest claims against Kavanaugh.