Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, is facing backlash for “sIut shaming” Brett Kavanaugh accuser Julie Swetnick after tweeting a letter from an ex that suggests she was promiscuous.

The office of the senator, who has described the Supreme Court nominee as “a very strong, decent man” and the judge’s first accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, of being “mistaken,” tweeted Tuesday, “A Utah man named Dennis Ketterer [a former Democratic candidate for Congress and former weatherman] reached out to the Hatch office this week with information about accuser Julie Swetnick, and her allegations against Judge Kavanaugh.”

Sen. Orrin Hatch tweeted a letter from an ex of Kavanaugh accuser Julie Swetnick claiming to describe her past escapades. (Photo: Getty Images)

A Utah man named Dennis Ketterer reached out to the Hatch office this week with information about accuser Julie Swetnick, and her allegations against Judge Kavanaugh. His full statement made under pentaly of felony to @senjudiciary can be found here –> https://t.co/0dSwAHlnVe pic.twitter.com/YSbuONkA5W — Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) October 2, 2018

Ketterer’s statement includes details such as the following:

“During a conversation about our sexual preferences, things got derailed when Julie told me that she liked to have sex with more than one guy at a time. In fact sometimes with several at one time. She wanted to know if that would be ok in our relationship.

“I asked her if this was just a fantasy of hers. She responded that she first tried sex with multiple guys while in high school and still liked it from time-to-time. She brought it up because she wanted to know if I would be interested in that.”

“Julie never said anything about being sexually assaulted, raped, gang-raped or having sex against her will. She never mentioned Brett Kavanaugh in any capacity.”

Ketterer also wrote that at one point, he called Swetnick’s father to get her phone number, seeking her help with his then-campaign. “He told me that she had psychological and other problems at the time.” Ketterer disclosed that he had been violated by a family friend in his youth — “I know what it’s like to be sexually assaulted and not be believed” — and concluded, “I do not believe her allegations against Mr. Kavanaugh.”

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In Ketterer’s full statement, he admits to being married with children when they met and said that he initially thought Swetnick was a “high-end call girl” because she approached him at a bar, “she was alone, quite beautiful,” and “at the time I weighed 350lbs so what would someone like her want with me?” Ketterer also called Swetnick “very sexually aggressive” and said that he ended their relationship specifically due to her “penchant for group sex” at a time when AIDS “was a huge issue” and also because he had children.

The letter was called a character smear, sexist, and an attempt to discredit Swetnick’s claims. In September, the Washington, D.C., resident said that in 1982, she attended parties with Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge (who has been accused of participating in some of Kavanaugh’s alleged sexual assaults). She alleged that both young men spiked young women’s drinks in order to render them powerless in subsequent gang rapes. Kavanaugh has denied the charges.

Even IF her own sexual preferences as an adult had any bearing on what she said happened to her 30+ years ago (and they don't) MANY survivors have had their trauma impact their sexual preferences as they work through the emotional pain of what happened. — Kendally Brown (@kendallybrown) October 2, 2018

You're tweeting out the words of Dennis Ketterer with ZERO corroboration of what he's said while also refusing to believe the allegations of multiple women with large amounts of potential corroboration. Apparently, you're willing to believe men but never women. — Kendally Brown (@kendallybrown) October 2, 2018

Orrin Hatch with some world-historic slut shaming https://t.co/ePhx0hnlSe — joe (@JoeTacopino) October 3, 2018

Why is US Senator Orrin Hatch now slut-shaming one of the women who accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault? — Pamela Kruger (@PamKrugerwriter) October 2, 2018

It’s cool, Swetnick can’t even get an interview with the @FBI, but @OrrinHatch has managed to take a sworn statement from a candidate in Utah slut-shaming her and calling her mentally unbalanced. Classy! — Phineas J. Rocketdump (@thewolfcamp) October 3, 2018

In response, a few people dug up a 1995 Washington Post article about Ketterer’s lawsuit against a former employer, WJLA-TV, in which his reported mental illness was the catalyst for his dismissal.

I don’t know if Julie Swetnick is telling the truth but this slut shaming letter that Orrin Hatch got & the GOP put on the Senate Judiciary website IS DISGUSTING! This is the same Dennis Ketterer, who got fired from channel & sued for $10M He was having A LOT OF MENTAL PROBLEMS pic.twitter.com/Kv5C0f0Zwr — CC 🌊 (@PayingAttn2018) October 2, 2018

"On or about Feb. 15 of this year (1995), the suit claims, Ketterer was diagnosed by a psychiatrist as suffering from a manic-depressive illness known as bipolar II disorder" — Jeffrey Evan Gold (@jeffgoldesq) October 2, 2018

And the GOP was condemned for believing the accused, rather than their alleged victims.

No it won't. If anything, it has demonstrated why women DON'T come forward. Orrin Hatch released a letter today slut-shaming Julie Swetnick. We have NOT moved forward when it comes to misogyny and sexual assault. Republicans have more sympathy for the accused than the accusers. — The B💀💀sistance (@TaritaC) October 2, 2018

“Ketterer’s letter is an example of how certain white heterosexual men exercise an ambivalent sexism: that women are either ethical or hostile,” Margaret L. Signorella, a professor of psychology and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies at Pennsylvania State University, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “Some men have the power to treat women as sex objects while putting their wives and daughters on pedestals.”

The letter also matches a psychological theory called the “just world” hypothesis, a self-protective reaction in which people make snap judgments about others in an attempt to justify a crime, says Signorella. “That can help us feel more in control.”

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