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Why won’t the Senate subpoena Mark Judge?

Judge and Brett Kavanaugh were reportedly "attached at the hip."

A third woman, Julie Swetnick, came forward this week to accuse Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh of sexually predatory behavior in the early 1980s, according to a sworn affidavit released by her attorney, Michael Avenatti. (Photo credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
A third woman, Julie Swetnick, came forward this week to accuse Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh of sexually predatory behavior in the early 1980s, according to a sworn affidavit released by her attorney, Michael Avenatti. (Photo credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

A third woman, Julie Swetnick, came forward this week to accuse Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh of sexually predatory behavior in the early 1980s, according to a sworn affidavit released by her attorney, Michael Avenatti.

The development puts increased pressure on Kavanaugh’s friend, Mark Judge, who has become entangled in the allegations over the past two weeks due to his close friendship with Kavanaugh during that time period. Critics say Judge holds crucial information about the assaults that he has otherwise withheld from authorities and lawmakers, and should be subpoenaed to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify about what he knows.

The Senate has so far declined to act on those suggestions.

The latest accusations are damning for both men. Swetnick’s sworn affidavit claims Kavanaugh, as a teenager, would drink excessively, physically assault women at parties by “grinding” up against them without their consent, and “spike” the punch at parties “so as to cause girls to lose their inhibitions and the ability to say ‘no.'”

The most disturbing allegation in Swetnick’s affidavit places Kavanaugh and Judge among a group of men who would allegedly gang or “train” rape vulnerable or drugged women at those house parties, which typically took place at “Beach Week” in Ocean City, Maryland.

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“I have a firm recollection of seeing boys lined up outside rooms at many of these parties waiting for their ‘turn’ with a girl outside the room,” Swetnick wrote.

And in 1982, according to Swetnick, she became the victim of one of these gang rapes, one which she claims Kavanaugh and Judge were present for.

“During the incident, I was incapacitated without my consent and unable to fight off the boys raping me,” she said. “I believe I was drugged using Quaaludes or something similar placed in what I was drinking.”

Judge’s ex-girlfriend, Elizabeth Rasor, previously described an attack similar to the one in Swetnick’s affidavit, during an interview with The New Yorker. Rasor told the outlet Judge had once “told her ashamedly” that he and other boys “[took] turns having sex with a drunk woman” when they were in high school.

“Rasor said that Judge seemed to regard it as fully consensual. She said that Judge did not name others involved in the incident, and she has no knowledge that Kavanaugh participated,” the outlet wrote.

Judge, Kavanaugh’s Georgetown Preparatory School friend, is described in the affidavit as being “attached at the hip” with the Supreme Court nominee. Swetnick said she believed Judge therefore had crucial knowledge of the alleged assaults Kavanaugh committed.

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“There is no doubt in my mind that Mark Judge has significant information regarding the conduct of Brett Kavanaugh during the 1980s, especially as it relates to women,” she wrote.

Judge’s name was first mentioned by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, the first woman to come out publicly with allegations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh. Ford, who also goes by “Blasey” professionally, claims Judge was in the room when Kavanaugh forced himself on top of her at a house party and attempted to rape her, placing his hand over her mouth to mute her screams.

According to the Washington Post, Judge has been “holed up” in a Delaware beach house to avoid media scrutiny and has so far refused to comment on any of the allegations against Kavanaugh, apart from claiming he has “no memory” of Kavanaugh ever acting inappropriately.

After Avenatti released Swetnick’s affidavit Wednesday, he accused Republicans of “hiding” Judge.

“They are hiding Mark Judge from the American people,” Avenatti said on The View Wednesday. “And I can assure you if he had positive things to say about this time period, and positive things to say about Brett Kavanaugh’s conduct, we would have heard from him.”

In a tweet earlier Wednesday morning, Avenatti was more adamant. “We demand an immediate FBI investigation into the allegations,” he wrote. “Under no circumstances should Brett Kavanaugh be confirmed absent a full and complete investigation.”

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On Capitol Hill, Democrats had begun pressuring the committee to subpoena Judge long before the latest accusations were leveled.

“We need to take the time to gather all of the facts around these allegations. That means we need to also hear from Mark Judge. The Judiciary Committee should subpoena him if he refuses to testify,” Alabama Sen. Doug Jones (D) tweeted last week.

Judge issued a statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee last week through his lawyer, saying, “I did not ask to be involved in this matter, nor did anyone ask me to be involved. I have no more information to offer to the committee, and I do not wish to speak publicly regarding the incidents described in Dr. Ford’s letter.”

Judge’s lawyer on Wednesday told Mother Jones he denied these latest allegations but won’t discuss them publicly until the Kavanaugh confirmation process ends.

The Senate is currently set to hear Kavanaugh and Ford’s testimonies on Thursday. A confirmation vote has been scheduled for Friday. It’s unclear whether the vote will be pushed back in light of Swetnick’s allegations.