Penn grad Michael Avenatti enters Kavanaugh controversy while representing new accuser

Penn alumnus and firebrand lawyer Michael Avenatti has emerged as an unlikely figure involved in the debate raging over allegations of sexual assault involving Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

On Wednesday, Avenatti, announced he was representing Julie Swetnick, a woman who alleged that Kavanaugh and his friend Mike Judge would spike drinks at high school house parties in order to subsequently gang rape women.

Avenatti, a 1996 College graduate and lawyer for Stormy Daniels in her fight against the White House, officially confirmed the identity of his client in a series of tweets with pictures of the sworn affidavit Swetnick wrote. 

In the document, she said she attended Gaithersburg High School in Montgomery County, Md. during the 1980s, and went to "well over ten" house parties where she met Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh. 

At a house party in around 1982, she said she was a victim of a "gang rape" when Kavanaugh and Judge where present. In addition, she said she witnessed Kavanaugh and Judge sexually and verbally assaulting women at these events, while both were drunk.

In the document, Swetnick also defended her credibility, claiming she presently holds active clearances from the Department of Treasury, United States Mint, and the Internal Revenue Service. She also acknowledged that her statement was "true and correct," and that lying carried the penalty of perjury.

Two women have already publicly accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault: Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez. 

Ford alleged that Kavanaugh and Judge assaulted her while at a house party in suburban Maryland during her high school years. Ramirez's claims, which were reported in the New Yorker, refer to her time as an undergraduate at Yale University, when Kavanaugh allegedly assaulted her at a party in a college dorm.

After Avenatti publicly presented Swetnick's allegations, President Trump lashed out in response at the attorney, tweeting that Avenatti was a "third-rate lawyer who is good at making false accusations."

The 1996 College graduate hit back shortly thereafter, calling Trump "spoiled," unknowledgeable, and a "moron."

Earlier this month, Avenatti sat down for an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian where he discussed his "non-traditional" time at Penn, his start in politics, and his fear that the Supreme Court could tilt conservative for a number of decades. 

"There’s an enormous amount at stake — if Donald Trump is reelected in 2020, it will usher in dramatic changes in the American way of life because the Supreme Court, in a minimum, will go to 7-2," Avenatti said at the time. "That could have a dramatic impact on students’ abilities to live their lives and enjoy the freedoms that everyone has fought so hard for over the last 100 years."