The Senate Judiciary Committee is reviewing a statement from a third woman who has come forward with sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

The allegations, from a woman identified as Julie Swetnick, were made public by attorney Michael Avenatti on Wednesday morning.

NPR is not reporting some of the details involved in the allegations; attempts to contact Swetnick had not succeeded on Wednesday morning.

Kavanaugh has denied all accusations of sexual misconduct.

"This is ridiculous and from the Twilight Zone," he said in a statement released by the White House. "I don't know who this is and this never happened."

President Trump, who nominated Kavanaugh, fired back on Twitter against Avenatti, who has become a political enemy since his suit against Trump on behalf of porn actress Stormy Daniels.

Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court once appeared to be a sure thing. Those prospects now are left uncertain.

In the sworn declaration posted on Twitter, Swetnick alleges that from 1981 to 1983, she was at several parties that Kavanaugh also attended.

Swetnick writes that she observed Kavanaugh drunk, press himself against girls without their consent and engage in other such behavior. Swetnick writes that she was raped at one party that Kavanaugh attended.

Judiciary Committee spokesman Taylor Foy said in a statement that the panel has received Swetnick's statement and is looking into the allegations.

"This morning Michael Avenatti provided a declaration to the Judiciary committee," Foy said. "Committee lawyers are in the process of reviewing it now."

The committee's minority Democrats, led by California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, asked Trump on Wednesday to either direct the FBI to investigate the allegations or withdraw Kavanaugh's nomination.

Kavanaugh has been asked before about the culture of partying and drinking from his high school days.

"That's totally false and outrageous," he told Fox News on Monday. "I've never done any such thing, known about any such thing."

Separately, the Judiciary Committee posted a statement from Kavanaugh on Wednesday morning in which he acknowledged partying but no sexual impropriety.

"I drank beer with my friends, usually on weekends," he wrote. "Sometimes I had too many. In retrospect, I said and did things in high school that make me cringe now. But that's not why we are here today. What I've been accused of is far more serious than juvenile misbehavior."

Some of Kavanaugh's classmates have told other news organizations they recall a different person from the early and mid-1980s in high school and college.

Sure thing no more

Swetnick's allegations follow those of two other women who have said they were victims of sexual misconduct involving Kavanaugh decades ago, when they and he were in high school or college.

The charges have disrupted what had appeared to be a sure confirmation for Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court following his hearings before the Judiciary Committee, which took place before the sexual misconduct allegations became public.

The allegations that appeared on Wednesday further complicate a much-anticipated hearing scheduled for Thursday with Kavanaugh and another of his accusers, Christine Blasey Ford.

Opponents of Kavanaugh have called for the Judiciary Committee to hear testimony from other accusers; Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has so far not agreed.

One question raised by Swetnick's charges on Wednesday was whether she might also appear or whether Grassley might delay the hearing.

Democrats argued that the new allegations mean Republicans must suspend Kavanaugh's confirmation process. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he thought the judge should bow out.

"I strongly believe Judge Kavanaugh should withdraw from consideration," he said. "If he will not, at the very least, the hearing and vote should be postponed while the FBI investigates all of these allegations. If our Republican colleagues proceed without an investigation, it would be a travesty for the honor of the Supreme Court and our country."

It wasn't clear how Avenatti had become involved with the Kavanaugh case, but he has spent months cutting out a role for himself as an antagonist of the president.

He sued on behalf of Daniels, whose given name is Stephanie Clifford, to escape a nondisclosure agreement she signed with Trump's then-lawyer, Michael Cohen. That kept alive Daniels' account of a sexual relationship with Trump in 2006, a story which Cohen has acknowledged paying her to not tell ahead of Election Day in 2016.

Daniels also is telling her story in a book scheduled to be published this autumn.

Trump has acknowledged payments to women ahead of the election but denies their underlying allegations about sexual relationships.

Avenatti also surfaced business relationships that Cohen forged with corporate clients early in the Trump administration — he was paid because he said he could provide access to Trump for companies such as AT&T and Novartis.</s>Iowa Senator Joni Ernst says she is trying to watch as much as she can of the Senate Judiciary Committee questioning of the woman who accuses the Supreme Court nominee of sexually abusing her. Ernst says she can’t watch all of the proceedings, but did get to see Christine Blasey-Ford’s opening statement.

But the Republican from Red Oak Ernst says the other information does not support the alleged involvement of nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Ernst says Senators needed to hear personally from Ford.

Ernst says her staff will watch all the testimony and she will watch what she can as she prepares to vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination.

Iowa’s other Senator, Chuck Grassley is the chair of the committee that’s conducting the hearings.</s>Brett Kavanaugh testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday about the allegations she made that he sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford in high school.Kavanaugh released the text of his opening statement ahead of the hearing. In it, he again strongly denied the allegations."I drank beer with my friends, usually on weekends. Sometimes I had too many," the statement reads. "In retrospect, I said and did things in high school that make me cringe now. But that's not why we are here today. What I've been accused of is far more serious than juvenile misbehavior. I never did anything remotely resembling what Dr. Ford describes."The statement submitted Wednesday differs from what Kavanaugh actually read before the committee Thursday.</s>On the eve of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in which a woman is expected to testify that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in high school, a fourth person has come forward with allegations of misconduct.

Per a transcript from a committee phone call with Kavanaugh dated Sept. 25, an anonymous letter was sent to Colorado's Republican Senator Cory Gardner from a woman in Denver late last week. As detailed in the transcript, the letter states the woman's daughter, from Boulder, saw Kavanaugh shove his date, a friend of the woman's daughter, "very aggressively and sexually" against a wall in 1998 in Washington D.C.

The letter states the alleged victim contacted the witness last week, and they decided to remain anonymous - prompting this letter to Senator Gardner.

RELATED | The latest on the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation process

Screenshot says letter was sent to Gardner

According to the letter, Kavanaugh had been drinking before the alleged incident.

When a member of the committee asks Kavanaugh if this happened, he denies the claim, calling it "ridiculous."

"Total twilight zone. And no, I've never done anything like that," Kavanaugh is quoted as saying, adding that he doesn't recall socializing with anyone from Boulder. "This is crazy town."

9NEWS reached out to Gardner's office, which said that upon receiving the letter, they immediately forwarded the information to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The full statement courtesy Casey Contres, Gardner's press secretary, is below:

"September 24th our Denver office received an anonymous letter in the mail about an alleged incident with Brett Kavanaugh in 1998. The letter contained no names, no address, and no contact info.

"Upon receiving the anonymous letter we immediately notified the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is handling the confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh. The letter was shared with both Republican staff and Democrat staff.

"Due to privacy regarding mail that comes into our office, we do not share the content of correspondence. Additionally, this anonymous letter contained no name or no contact info so our office is unable to contact the individual that sent the anonymous letter."

The statement from Gardner's office said he received the letter on Sept. 24. According to the transcript from the committee, he received the letter on Sept. 22. The letter is dated Sept. 22, meaning the person in the transcript may have misspoken.

Kavanaugh was nominated to the Supreme Court after Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his plans to retire earlier this year. Kavanaugh is an attorney that currently serves as a U.S. Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C. Married in 2004, he has two children.

If he is confirmed, he would be the second justice President Donald Trump has nominated and helped get confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court - the other being Colorado judge Neil Gorsuch.

Since his nomination, three women have come forward publicly and two people have anonymously to accuse Kavanaugh of misconduct. Dr. Christine Blasey Ford accused Kavanaugh and a friend of holding her down and attempting to rape her at a party in high school. Deborah Ramirez of Boulder said Kavanaugh put his penis in her face while at a dorm party while they were both freshmen at Yale. On Wednesday, Julie Swetnick came forward through her attorney to allege Kavanaugh and a friend would prey on young girls while in high school.

All three accusations stem from the early 1980s.

Kavanaugh denies all claims of misconduct against him.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has agreed to interview both Ford and Kavanaugh on Thursday before a committee vote on whether or not to recommend Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court. Regardless of the committee's vote, the full Senate will vote on whether or not to confirm Kavanaugh. The Senate is split with 47 Democrats to 51 Republicans. Two independents in the Senate usually vote with the Democrats.

Kavanaugh said in the transcript released Wednesday that he was looking forward to the hearing on Thursday.

Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh testifies during the second day of his Supreme Court confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill September 5, 2018 in Washington, DC.

"I am looking forward to it," he told the committee. "...I look forward to defending my name, defending my integrity."

The transcript also allows Kavanaugh to respond to Ramirez's allegations about their time together at Yale. Kavanaugh admits to knowing Ramirez in college and attending a wedding she also did later in life but denies every claim she made against him in a New Yorker article published Sunday.

Earlier in the day on Wednesday, Julie Swetnick, a client of attorney Michael Avenatti, said in a signed statement that while he was in high school, Kavanaugh would drink heavily and "engage in abusive behavior" toward girls.

Swetnick claimed she witnessed Kavanaugh and Mark Judge, who was also mentioned in Ford's allegations, try to get teen girls drunk so they could be "'gang raped' in a side room or bedroom by a 'train' of numerous boys."

Avenatti, most known for representing adult film star Stormy Daniels, called for the FBI to investigate Swtnick's allegations.

Also in the committee transcript released Wednesday are was a second anonymous accusation that was recanted that same night.

Starting at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, Channel 9 will be switching over to an NBC Special Report to cover the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings with Brett Kavanaugh and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. We’ll also be streaming the hearings on 9NEWS.com and on the 9NEWS app.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect a fifth accuser recanting their story concerning Kavanaugh.</s>The Senate Judiciary Committee is reviewing allegations by a third woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, a panel spokesman said Wednesday, in yet another potential blow to his prospects for Senate confirmation.

WASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee is reviewing allegations by a third woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, a panel spokesman said Wednesday, in yet another potential blow to his prospects for Senate confirmation.

As in the allegations by his two previous accusers, the latest incidents are alleged to have occurred decades ago. In a three-page sworn declaration, Julie Swetnick of Washington, D.C., says she witnessed Kavanaugh “consistently engage in excessive drinking and inappropriate contact of a sexual nature with women in the early 1980s.” Her attorney, Michael Avenatti, posted the declaration on Twitter and provided it to the committee.

Kavanaugh denied her allegations as he has the others. President Donald Trump tweeted that Avenatti was a “third-rate lawyer” pushing “false accusations.” He has described the previous allegations as a Democratic “con job.”

The new development came a day before Trump’s nominee and his first accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, are to testify to the Judiciary Committee in what looms as a critical moment in the 53-year-old conservative jurist’s quest to join the high court. As of now, Republicans controlling that panel have announced no plans to focus Thursday’s session on the claims of the two other women.

In fact, the committee is expecting to push ahead on a vote recommending confirmation with a roll call by the full Senate early next week.

“This is ridiculous and from the Twilight Zone. I don’t know who this is and this never happened,” he said.

The committee also released a two-page prepared statement from Kavanaugh for Thursday’s hearing in which he “categorically and unequivocally” denies Ford’s allegation. She has said he forced her into a room at a high school party, held her on a bed and tried removing her clothes as he muffled her mouth with his hands. Ford says she eventually escaped.

Kavanaugh’s written testimony for the committee went a bit further than the description of his youthful behavior he gave in a Fox News Channel interview Monday, when he said “people” may have drunk too much at high school parties.

“I drank beer with my friends, usually on weekends. Sometimes I had too many. In retrospect, I said and did things in high school that make me cringe now,” Kavanaugh said.

He also provided the committee with detailed calendar pages listing in green-and-white squares the activities that filled his summer of 1982 when he was 17 years old — exams, movies, sports and plenty of parties.

That’s the year when Ford says she believes the assault occurred.

The May through August pages mention several parties at various houses and also a beach week, highlighted in all caps, the week after Kavanaugh’s exams. Nothing on the calendar appears to mention Ford, who has said she was a “friendly acquaintance” of Kavanaugh’s at the time.

Swetnick, the third accuser, made other accusations in her statement. The Associated Press has not been able to corroborate them, and continues to investigate.

In an interview with the AP, Avenatti said he would not provide additional details about Swetnick’s allegations, saying they want to see an FBI investigation. He said they expect to release additional names and evidence in “coming weeks.”

Avenatti also represents Stormy Daniels, who alleges she was paid to keep a sexual relationship with Trump quiet. The publicity-friendly attorney has said he’s considering competing for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

The Judiciary Committee has scheduled a vote on Kavanaugh for Friday, just a day after the hearing, though it has said it might be delayed. But Senate leaders have laid plans for lawmakers to stay in session this weekend to take procedural votes that would lead to a final confirmation vote early next week.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a Trump ally, warned Republicans not to “bail out” on Kavanaugh.

“Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, it just did,” he said in a written statement. “The lawyer to porn stars has just taken this debacle to an even lower level.”

No. 2 Senate GOP leader John Cornyn said the Judiciary panel had asked for interviews and information on new accusations, but he didn’t indicate the hearing or planned votes would be delayed.

“The longer this nomination sits out there the more you’re going to get reckless allegations that have no basis in fact,” he said.

On the other side, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Kavanaugh should withdraw his nomination.

Hanging in the balance is Trump’s chance to swing the high court more firmly to the right for a generation. Despite Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s forecast that Republicans will win, Kavanaugh’s fate remains uncertain in a chamber where Republicans have a scant 51-49 majority.

Earlier Wednesday, Ford’s lawyers said they’d given the Judiciary committee sworn statements from four people who say Ford told them well before Trump nominated Kavanaugh to the court this summer that she had been sexually assaulted when she was much younger. According to all four, she either named Kavanaugh as the assailant or described the attacker as a “federal judge.”

Those documents could have weight because people who Ford has said were at the party she’s described have not corroborated her account.

In one statement, family friend Keith Koegler said he wrote to Ford in a June 29 email, “I remember you telling me about him, but I don’t remember his name. Do you mind telling me so I can read about him?”

“Brett Kavanaugh,” Ford responded by email, according to Koegler, her son’s baseball team coach.

Ford’s husband, Russell Ford, stated that he became aware around the time the couple wed in 2002 that his wife had “any experience with sexual assault,” but she provided no details at the time. In 2012 during a couples therapy session, he says, she revealed that in high school she had been “trapped in a room and physically restrained by one boy who was molesting her while another boy watched.” He says she named the attacker as Kavanaugh.

The subject came up again when Trump was considering his first Supreme Court nominee, who ended up being Justice Neil Gorsuch. Before the selection, Ford had told her husband that she was afraid the president might nominate Kavanaugh. The matter came up again when Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement and Trump had a second seat to fill.

Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley said Arizona prosecutor Rachel Mitchell will be brought in to handle questioning of Kavanaugh and Ford. Mitchell comes from the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office in Phoenix, where she is the chief of the Special Victims Division, which covers sex crimes and family violence.</s>On the eve of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in which a woman is expected to testify that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in high school, a fourth person has come forward with allegations of misconduct.

Per a transcript from a committee phone call with Kavanaugh dated Sept. 25, an anonymous letter was sent to Colorado's Republican Senator Cory Gardner from a woman in Denver late last week. As detailed in the transcript, the letter states the woman's daughter, from Boulder, saw Kavanaugh shove his date, a friend of the woman's daughter, "very aggressively and sexually" against a wall in 1998 in Washington D.C.

The letter states the alleged victim contacted the witness last week, and they decided to remain anonymous - prompting this letter to Senator Gardner.

RELATED | The latest on the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation process

Screenshot says letter was sent to Gardner

According to the letter, Kavanaugh had been drinking before the alleged incident.

When a member of the committee asks Kavanaugh if this happened, he denies the claim, calling it "ridiculous."

"Total twilight zone. And no, I've never done anything like that," Kavanaugh is quoted as saying, adding that he doesn't recall socializing with anyone from Boulder. "This is crazy town."

9NEWS reached out to Gardner's office, which said that upon receiving the letter, they immediately forwarded the information to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The full statement courtesy Casey Contres, Gardner's press secretary, is below:

"September 24th our Denver office received an anonymous letter in the mail about an alleged incident with Brett Kavanaugh in 1998. The letter contained no names, no address, and no contact info.

"Upon receiving the anonymous letter we immediately notified the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is handling the confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh. The letter was shared with both Republican staff and Democrat staff.

"Due to privacy regarding mail that comes into our office, we do not share the content of correspondence. Additionally, this anonymous letter contained no name or no contact info so our office is unable to contact the individual that sent the anonymous letter."

The statement from Gardner's office said he received the letter on Sept. 24. According to the transcript from the committee, he received the letter on Sept. 22. The letter is dated Sept. 22, meaning the person in the transcript may have misspoken.

Kavanaugh was nominated to the Supreme Court after Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his plans to retire earlier this year. Kavanaugh is an attorney that currently serves as a U.S. Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C. Married in 2004, he has two children.

If he is confirmed, he would be the second justice President Donald Trump has nominated and helped get confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court - the other being Colorado judge Neil Gorsuch.

Since his nomination, three women have come forward publicly and two people have anonymously to accuse Kavanaugh of misconduct. Dr. Christine Blasey Ford accused Kavanaugh and a friend of holding her down and attempting to rape her at a party in high school. Deborah Ramirez of Boulder said Kavanaugh put his penis in her face while at a dorm party while they were both freshmen at Yale. On Wednesday, Julie Swetnick came forward through her attorney to allege Kavanaugh and a friend would prey on young girls while in high school.

All three accusations stem from the early 1980s.

Kavanaugh denies all claims of misconduct against him.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has agreed to interview both Ford and Kavanaugh on Thursday before a committee vote on whether or not to recommend Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court. Regardless of the committee's vote, the full Senate will vote on whether or not to confirm Kavanaugh. The Senate is split with 47 Democrats to 51 Republicans. Two independents in the Senate usually vote with the Democrats.

Kavanaugh said in the transcript released Wednesday that he was looking forward to the hearing on Thursday.

Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh testifies during the second day of his Supreme Court confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill September 5, 2018 in Washington, DC.

"I am looking forward to it," he told the committee. "...I look forward to defending my name, defending my integrity."

The transcript also allows Kavanaugh to respond to Ramirez's allegations about their time together at Yale. Kavanaugh admits to knowing Ramirez in college and attending a wedding she also did later in life but denies every claim she made against him in a New Yorker article published Sunday.

Earlier in the day on Wednesday, Julie Swetnick, a client of attorney Michael Avenatti, said in a signed statement that while he was in high school, Kavanaugh would drink heavily and "engage in abusive behavior" toward girls.

Swetnick claimed she witnessed Kavanaugh and Mark Judge, who was also mentioned in Ford's allegations, try to get teen girls drunk so they could be "'gang raped' in a side room or bedroom by a 'train' of numerous boys."

Avenatti, most known for representing adult film star Stormy Daniels, called for the FBI to investigate Swtnick's allegations.

Also in the committee transcript released Wednesday are was a second anonymous accusation that was recanted that same night.

Starting at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, Channel 9 will be switching over to an NBC Special Report to cover the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings with Brett Kavanaugh and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. We’ll also be streaming the hearings on 9NEWS.com and on the 9NEWS app.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect a fifth accuser recanting their story concerning Kavanaugh.</s>Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh dismissed a new allegation of misconduct against him on Wednesday, saying: “This is ridiculous and from the Twilight Zone. I don’t know who this is and this never happened.”</s>Julie Swetnick, a client of attorney Michael Avenatti, alleged in a signed statement released Wednesday that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh would drink to excess and "engage in abusive behavior" toward teenage girls while he was in high school.

In an explosive statement released by Avenatti, Swetnick claimed that in the 1980s she witnessed efforts by Kavanaugh and his classmate, Mark Judge, to get teenage girls "inebriated and disoriented so they could then be 'gang raped' in a side room or bedroom by a 'train' of numerous boys."

"I have a firm recollection of seeing boys lined up outside rooms at many of these parties waiting for their 'turn' with a girl inside the room," she alleged in the statement. "These boys included Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh."

Swetnick alleged she became one of the victims of "one of these 'gang' or 'train' rapes." She did not say that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her.

Kavanaugh called Swetnick's allegations "ridiculous" in a statement released by the White House on Wednesday.

"This is ridiculous and from the Twilight Zone," he said. "I don’t know who this is and this never happened."

President Donald Trump knocked Swetnick's lawyer, Avenatti, in a tweet Wednesday afternoon. Avenatti also represents porn star Stormy Daniels in her lawsuits against Trump.

"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," the president tweeted. "He is just looking for attention and doesn’t want people to look at his past record and relationships - a total low-life!"

For his part, Avenatti called for an FBI investigation into Swetnick's allegations.

"Under no circumstances should Brett Kavanaugh be confirmed absent a full and complete investigation," he said on Twitter.

Avenatti also said he is still waiting for a response from Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, over Swetnick's allegations about Kavanaugh. He included emails he exchanged with Grassley's staff earlier this week.

Two other women, Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez, have come forward with their own allegations against Kavanaugh. Ford alleged that Kavanaugh held her down and tried to remove her clothes while they were both in high school. Ramirez alleged that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her while they were freshmen at Yale University. Kavanaugh vehemently has denied their allegations.

Ford and Kavanaugh are set to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

Swetnick, a resident of Washington, D.C., said she was a graduate of Gaithersburg High School in Maryland. She currently holds clearances for her work with the Treasury Department, U.S. Mint and the IRS.

In Swetnick's statement, she said she met Kavanaugh and Judge in the early 1980s at a house party. She described the two as "extremely close friends."

"There is no question in my mind that Mark Judge has significant information concerning the conduct of Brett Kavanaugh during the 1980s, especially as it relates to his actions toward women," she said. Ford, the first woman to accuse Kavanaugh of assault, alleged that Judge was present for that incident.

Swetnick alleged she attended more than 10 parties where Kavanaugh and Judge were present, where she witnessed the two drinking excessively and engaging in "highly inappropriate conduct, including being overly aggressive with girls and not taking 'No' for an answer."</s>Judge Brett Kavanaugh was accused Wednesday by another woman of engaging in sexual misconduct at parties while he was a student at Georgetown Preparatory School in the 1980s.

The allegation came from Julie Swetnick, 55, who like Kavanaugh, 53, grew up in the Washington suburbs. In a statement posted on Twitter by her lawyer, Swetnick said she observed the future Supreme Court nominee at parties where women were verbally abused, inappropriately touched, made “disoriented” with alcohol or drugs and “gang raped.”

She said she witnessed Kavanaugh participating in some of the misconduct, including lining up outside a bedroom where “numerous boys” were “waiting for their ‘turn’ with a girl inside the room.” Swetnick said she was raped at one of the parties and believed she had been drugged, but did not directly accuse Kavanaugh of raping her.

None of Swetnick’s claims could be independently corroborated by The New York Times, and her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, declined to make her available for an interview.

President Donald Trump said on Twitter that Avenatti was a “third-rate lawyer who is good at making false accusations” and suggested he was “just looking for attention.” Avenatti rose to fame through his representation of Stephanie Clifford, the pornographic film actress known as Stormy Daniels who has taken on Trump.

The White House issued a statement from the judge describing the allegations as “ridiculous and from the Twilight Zone” and denying that he even knew Swetnick. “I don’t know who this is and this never happened,” the judge’s statement said.

Unlike two other women who have accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, one who went to college with him and another who went to a sister high school, Swetnick offered no explanation in her statement of how she came to attend the same parties as he did, nor did she identify other people who could verify her account.

Kavanaugh has repeatedly denied allegations that he behaved inappropriately toward women. On Monday, the judge, with his wife at his side, denied on Fox News that he had ever assaulted anyone, saying he had always “treated women with dignity and respect.”

Asked if he had participated in or was aware of any gang rape at a party he attended, he said: “That’s totally false and outrageous. I’ve never done any such thing, known about any such thing.”

On Wednesday afternoon, more than 60 classmates from Georgetown Prep and women from sister schools who say they knew Kavanaugh in high school signed a letter to rebut Swetnick’s allegations and deny ever having met her. “We never witnessed any behavior that even approaches what is described in this allegation. It is reprehensible,” said the letter, which was addressed to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Brett Kavanaugh is a good man. He has always treated women with respect and decency.”

Avenatti had used his Twitter account for days to promote what he said would be explosive allegations against Kavanaugh. And immediately after he shared what he called a sworn affidavit from Swetnick, it drew immediate coverage across social media and cable news as another revelation to rock the confirmation process.

Asked in a brief interview why Swetnick would be attending parties with high schoolers during her college years, Avenatti said the parties in question included people of both high school and college ages.

Avenatti said he had corroborating witnesses who could back up Swetnick’s accounts, but was not ready to present them because he was waiting to see if the Senate Judiciary Committee would begin a full investigation into her claims as he demanded, along with an FBI inquiry. In her statement, Swetnick said she would be willing to appear before the committee.

In an email to Avenatti on Wednesday afternoon, Mike Davis, the committee’s chief nominations counsel, offered to arrange an interview with Swetnick.

“Please let me know immediately whether your client will agree to an interview by committee investigators today,” Davis wrote in the email, which was obtained by The Times. “We can do a telephone interview anytime this afternoon or evening.”

In recent days, Kavanaugh and Trump, who nominated him in July, have pushed back against the allegations relating to Kavanaugh’s treatment of women. Trump called the claims a “con game” by Democrats who were “trying to delay and obstruct his confirmation.”

Swetnick’s allegations come days after Deborah Ramirez, a Yale classmate, told The New Yorker that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her during a drinking game while they were students.

The accusation also comes as Kavanaugh is on the verge of testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee about an allegation made this month by Christine Blasey Ford, who says he sexually assaulted her in high school. Blasey, who is sometimes known by her married name, Ford, is also expected to testify.

Swetnick’s claims included Mark Judge, a classmate of Kavanaugh’s. Judge, who has written about his alcohol-fueled years at Georgetown Prep, had denied the claim made by Blasey that he was in the room during the alleged incident. Barbara Van Gelder, a lawyer for Judge, said Wednesday that he denied the allegations in Swetnick’s statement.

Swetnick grew up in Montgomery County, Maryland, graduating from Gaithersburg High School in 1980, according to a résumé posted online. She took classes at Montgomery College, a local community college, a spokesman for the school confirmed. Her résumé listed an affiliation with the University of Maryland, College Park, but a university spokeswoman could not confirm her attendance. Kavanaugh graduated from Georgetown Prep in 1983 before studying at Yale.

In her statement, Swetnick said she met Kavanaugh and Judge in 1980 or 1981 when she was introduced to them at a house party in the Washington area. She saw them to be “extremely close friends” who were “consistently” together at social gatherings. She said she attended at least 10 house parties in the Washington area from 1981 to 1983 where the two were present. She said the parties were common, taking place almost every weekend during the school year.

She said she observed Kavanaugh drinking “excessively” at many of the parties and engaging in “abusive and physically aggressive behavior toward girls, including pressing girls against him without their consent, ‘grinding’ against girls, and attempting to remove or shift girls’ clothing to expose private body parts.”

“I also witnessed Brett Kavanaugh behave as a ‘mean drunk’ on many occasions at these parties,” she said.

She said that Kavanaugh, Judge and others would try to spike the punch at parties in an effort to intoxicate women, who would be targeted and taken advantage of. In 1982, she said, she “became the victim of one of these ‘gang’ or ‘train’ rapes where Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh were present.” She said she told at least two people about the alleged episode shortly afterward. “I also witnessed efforts by Mark Judge, Brett 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 said in the statement.

A lawyer for Kavanaugh, Beth Wilkinson, appearing on CNN, denied the allegations but said Avenatti should have gone directly to the police if he believed them to be true. “There must be a reason, as a lawyer, that he didn’t take these allegations to the police himself,” she said. “No one is stopping him.”

In the intervening years, Swetnick has mostly remained in the Washington area, where she has worked as a web and information technologist. She has had a variety of public- and private-sector jobs over the years, including working for federal government agencies. Her father was a scientist with NASA.

According to her résumé and her statement, she has held several government clearances, including with the State Department and the Justice Department.

Daniel Pfeffer, a neighbor of Swetnick’s in Washington, said he hadn’t seen her for a month or two. “She’s a very sweet girl,” he said. “My girlfriend and I have had drinks on her patio now and then, and we’ve had her over for dinner.” He said Swetnick had never discussed Kavanaugh or any allegations about him.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Steve Eder, Jim Rutenberg and Rebecca R. Ruiz © 2018 The New York Times</s>The Senate Judiciary Committee is reviewing a statement from a third woman who has come forward with sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

The allegations, from a woman identified as Julie Swetnick, were made public by attorney Michael Avenatti on Wednesday morning.

NPR has not corroborated the claims; attempts to contact Swetnick had not succeeded on Wednesday morning.

Kavanaugh has denied all accusations of sexual misconduct.

"This is ridiculous and from the Twilight Zone," he said in a statement released by the White House. "I don't know who this is and this never happened."

President Trump, who nominated Kavanaugh, said during his visit to the United Nations on Wednesday that the accusations are "ridiculous" and repeated his counter-accusation that Democrats are playing a "con game."

Kavanaugh is a "high quality person," Trump said. "It's a horrible con game. I think the people are finding it out. And hopefully for the next couple of days it will be settled up and solved, and we will have a Supreme Court justice who will go down as our greatest ever."

Trump also fired back on Twitter against Avenatti, who has become a political enemy since his suit against Trump on behalf of porn actress Stormy Daniels.

Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court once appeared to be a sure thing. Those prospects now are left uncertain.

In the sworn declaration posted on Twitter, Swetnick alleges that from 1981 to 1983, she went to several parties that Kavanaugh also attended.

Swetnick writes that she observed Kavanaugh drunk, pressing himself against girls without their consent and engaging in other such behavior. Swetnick also writes that she was raped at one party that Kavanaugh attended.

Judiciary Committee spokesman Taylor Foy said in a statement that the panel has received Swetnick's statement and is looking into the allegations.

"This morning Michael Avenatti provided a declaration to the Judiciary committee," Foy said. "Committee lawyers are in the process of reviewing it now."

The committee's minority Democrats, led by California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, asked Trump on Wednesday to either direct the FBI to investigate the allegations or withdraw Kavanaugh's nomination.

The Judiciary Committee posted a statement from Kavanaugh on Wednesday morning in which he acknowledged partying and drinking but denied any sexual impropriety.

"I drank beer with my friends, usually on weekends," he wrote. "Sometimes I had too many. In retrospect, I said and did things in high school that make me cringe now. But that's not why we are here today. What I've been accused of is far more serious than juvenile misbehavior."

Those prepared comments to lawmakers echoed remarks that the federal appeals court judge made earlier this week in an interview that aired on Fox News.

"And yes, people might have had too many beers on occasion and people generally in high school — I think all of us have probably done things we look back on in high school and regret or cringe a bit, but that's not what we're talking about ..."

"We're talking about an allegation of sexual assault. I've never sexually assaulted anyone."

Some of Kavanaugh's classmates have said they remember him as a heavy drinker in high school and at college. Others have sprung to his defense: More than 60 of Kavanaugh's former classmates from high school signed a letter on Wednesday to the Judiciary Committee calling Swetnick's allegations "nonsense."

Sure thing no more

Swetnick's allegations follow those of two other women who have said they were victims of sexual misconduct involving Kavanaugh more than three decades ago, when they and he were in high school or college.

The charges have disrupted what had appeared to be a sure confirmation for Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court following his hearings before the Judiciary Committee in early September, which took place before the sexual misconduct allegations became public.

The allegations that appeared on Wednesday also further complicate a much-anticipated hearing scheduled for Thursday with Kavanaugh and another of his accusers, Christine Blasey Ford.

Preparations continued for that session. An attorney for Ford sent the Judiciary Committee a report from a polygraph examination that Ford underwent in August.

Later in the day, the Judiciary Committee posted Ford's prepared testimony.

"I am here today not because I want to be," Ford plans to tell the Senate, according to the document. "I am terrified. I am here because I believe it is my civic duty to tell you what happened to me while Brett Kavanaugh and I were in high school."

Opponents of Kavanaugh have called for the Judiciary Committee to hear testimony from the other accusers; Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has so far not agreed but he said on Twitter the committee is "talking to all witnesses & gathering all evidence."

Grassley's post suggested federal investigators have been detailed to the committee from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The FBI, however — which Democrats say should investigate the claims by Kavanaugh's accusers — apparently is not involved.

Another Judiciary Committee leader, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told reporters at the Capitol that he'd be open to Swetnick talking with the committee's professional staff, but it wasn't clear whether Grassley agreed or whether Swetnick might follow up with the committee in person.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he thinks Kavanaugh should bow out altogether.

"I strongly believe Judge Kavanaugh should withdraw from consideration," he said. "If he will not, at the very least, the hearing and vote should be postponed while the FBI investigates all of these allegations. If our Republican colleagues proceed without an investigation, it would be a travesty for the honor of the Supreme Court and our country."

Key Republicans said they thought the hearing scheduled for Thursday should go forward. It remains on the Judiciary Committee's schedule, as does a meeting scheduled for Friday at which the committee could vote on whether to recommend Kavanaugh to the full Senate.

Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who does not sit on the Judiciary Committee but whose vote might be critical to confirming Kavanaugh, told reporters she wasn't familiar with Swetnick's allegations but that she thought Thursday's session should go ahead "because we'll find out some valuable information."

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas agreed and called for the Thursday hearing to take place as planned.

"These most recent allegations don't have anything to do with Dr. Ford," he said.

It wasn't clear how Avenatti had become involved with the Kavanaugh case, but he has spent months cutting out a role for himself as an antagonist of the president.

He sued on behalf of Daniels, whose given name is Stephanie Clifford, to escape a nondisclosure agreement she signed with Trump's then-lawyer, Michael Cohen. That kept alive Daniels' account of a sexual relationship with Trump in 2006, a story which Cohen has acknowledged paying her to not tell ahead of Election Day in 2016.

Daniels also is telling her story in a book scheduled to be published in early October.

Trump has acknowledged the payment to Daniels ahead of the election but denies underlying allegations about sexual relationships with Daniels and another woman, Karen McDougal.

Avenatti also surfaced business relationships that Cohen forged with corporate clients early in the Trump administration. Trump's onetime personal lawyer was paid because he said he could provide access to Trump for companies such as AT&T and Novartis.

NPR correspondents Scott Detrow, Kelsey Snell and Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report.
A third woman accuses US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct. Her lawyer submitted her sworn statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee.