As a recovering alcoholic and cancer survivor, Mark Judge – the suddenly notorious high school chum of embattled Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh – says he shuns the spotlight.

A lawyer for Judge submitted a letter Thursday to the Senate Judiciary Committee saying he did not recall the sexual assault that Christine Blasey Ford has accused Kavanaugh of committing more than 30 years ago while both were high schoolers. Ford has said Judge was in the room at the time of the alleged attack.

"I have struggled with depression and anxiety," Judge said in the letter, which was presented as a sworn statement that carries the penalty of a felony if any of it is intentionally false. "As a result, I avoid public speaking."

But Encounter Books – which published his 2004 title, "Damn Senators: My grandfather and the story of Washington's only World Series championship" – says he is "available for media and speaking engagements."

Phone and email requests for comment from Encounter were not answered as of Friday afternoon.

Judge's lawyer, Barbara Van Gelder, said in an email to USA TODAY that the publisher's page promoting Judge was incorrect. She reiterated that he's not speaking publicly and noted that Encounter Books is not authorized to make statements on Judge's behalf.

Referring to Encounter's note that he's available for speeches, Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for porn star Stormy Daniels who represents one of Kavanaugh's accusers, wrote on Twitter that Judge's claim he can't speak publicly is "a complete lie."

Ryan Grim, DC bureau chief at The Intercept, suggested that on Twitter that "Maybe instead of a subpoena the Senate can just book him to speak..."

Judge has become the missing key witness who opponents of Kavanaugh believe can provide evidence about the Supreme Court nominee's high school escapades.

His books, "Wasted: Tales of a Genx Drunk" and "God and Man at Georgetown Prep: How I Became a Catholic Despite 20 Years of Catholic Schooling," have been examined for their portrayal of a high school culture centered on binge drinking and chasing girls. And some of his columns from more recent years have been criticized for their takes on sex and women.

The pressure on him to talk about the alleged attack just got more intense now that GOP senators have joined Democrats in pushing for an FBI investigation.

He was recently found hiding in a Delaware beach house.

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