10/25/2018 / By JD Heyes
It’s not been a good month for attorney Michael Avenatti.
First, a judge threw out his porn star client Stormy Daniels’ defamation lawsuit against POTUS Donald Trump. Then a California judge entered a $4.85 million judgment against him for being arrears of an obligation to pay a debt. Then his law firm was booted out of its offices in southern California for nonpayment of rent (four months’ worth, or $154,000).
Now, he’s being referred to the Justice Department for a potential criminal investigation.
The National Sentinel reported:
It’s not clear yet what impact it will have if any at all, but Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has asked the Justice Department to launch an investigation into creepy porn lawyer Michael Avenatti and his client, Julie Swetnick because they likely provided his panel with “materially false” information when they accused Justice Brett Kavanaugh of participating in gang rapes.
According to a statement from the committee, the criminal referral relates to “a potential conspiracy” to provide “materially false” information to the Senate panel while obstructing a congressional committee investigation, which in sum constituted three criminal acts while Kavanaugh’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court was under consideration by the upper chamber.
The statement noted that Swetnick’s allegations surfaced “late” in Kavanaugh’s confirmation process, the timing of which was “suspicious,” and were followed by “subsequent contradictions” in her story, which together “necessitate a criminal investigation” by the Justice Department.
“When a well-meaning citizen comes forward with information relevant to the committee’s work, I take it seriously. It takes courage to come forward, especially with allegations of sexual misconduct or personal trauma. I’m grateful for those who find that courage,” Grassley said.
“But in the heat of partisan moments, some do try to knowingly mislead the committee. That’s unfair to my colleagues, the nominees and others providing information who are seeking the truth. It stifles our ability to work on legitimate lines of inquiry. It also wastes time and resources for destructive reasons,” he continued.
“Thankfully, the law prohibits such false statements to Congress and obstruction of congressional committee investigations. For the law to work, we can’t just brush aside potential violations. I don’t take lightly making a referral of this nature, but ignoring this behavior will just invite more of it in the future,” the chairman added further. (Related: Porn star lawyer Michael Avanetti has a shady past that brings up more questions than answers.)
The referral letter cites potential criminal violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1001 and 1505. Respectively, the statutes define what constitutes a criminal conspiracy, false statements, and obstruction of Congress.
Grassley’s referral provides details regarding Swetnick’s allegations that were passed along by Avenatti. Also, it discusses how committee resources were immediately diverted in order to probe the allegations, as well as contradictions later made by both Avenatti and Swetnick in public forums.
The referral also notes that neither Avenatti or Swetnick provided the Judiciary Committee with any corroborating evidence while detailing “serious credibility problems” associated with the allegations.
On Sept. 26, Swetnick provided a sworn statement to the committee but on Oct. 1 provided a different account of events during an interview with NBC News. In the interview Swetnick “specifically and explicitly back-tracked or contradicted key parts of her sworn statement” over her initial allegations and others.
As for Avenatti, he cast a pall over the credibility of Swetnick as well by casting doubt on her allegations as he claimed he vetted her story very thoroughly.
At one point her allegations against Kavanaugh and a friend, Mark Judge, were posted on Twitter by Avenatti. He claimed that Kavanaugh and Judge undertook efforts to ensure girls became “inebriated and disoriented” so they could be “gang raped” in a separate room or bedroom by a “train” of “numerous boys.”
It’s about time these people were held accountable for slandering Justice Kavanaugh’s good name. If they are found to be guilty, they should see the inside of a prison cell. For years.
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Tagged Under: Brett Kavanaugh, Charles Grassley, criminal referral, False Allegations, FBI, investigation, Julie Swetnick, Justice Department, lying to Congress, Michael Avenatti, Senate Judiciary Committee