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KEY POINTS Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley refers lawyer Michael Avenatti and his client Julie Swetnick to the Justice Department for criminal investigation.

He claims they made potentially false statements related to sexual misconduct accusations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Michael Avenatti, lawyer of adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, arrives at federal court in New York, U.S., on Wednesday, May 30, 2018. Peter Foley | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley on Thursday referred lawyer Michael Avenatti and a woman he represents to the Justice Department and the FBI for criminal investigation, claiming they made potentially false statements to Congress about Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and alleged sexual misconduct. Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, cited "contradictions" between what Avenatti's client, Julie Swetnick, originally told the Judiciary Committee about Kavanaugh in an affidavit in late September, and what she said about the then-Supreme Court nominee days later in an interview with NBC News. In his letter Thursday to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and FBI Director Christopher Wray asking for an investigation, Grassley listed "potential violations" of federal criminal code, specifically "conspiracy, false statements and obstruction of Congress." "Swetnick made her allegations in a sworn statement to the committee on September 26. In an October 1 interview with NBC News, however, Swetnick specifically and explicitly back-tracked or contradicted key parts of her sworn statement on these and other allegations," the Judiciary Committee said in a statement. "In subsequent interviews, Avenatti likewise cast serious doubt on or contradicted the allegations while insisting that he had thoroughly vetted his client," according to the statement. The committee said there was a "lack of substantiating or corroborating evidence" about Swetnick's claims, and also cited "overarching and serious credibility problems pervading the presentation of these allegations."

In a tweet responding to Grassley's referral, Avenatti said he and Swetnick "welcome the investigation" and hit the senator for allegedly not showing enough interest in Swetnick's claims as Grassley pushed to confirm Kavanaugh. Avenatti tweet: It is ironic that Senator Grassley now is interested in investigations. He didn't care when it came to putting a man on the SCOTUS for life. We welcome the investigation as now we can finally get to the bottom of Judge Kavanaugh's lies and conduct. Let the truth be known. When asked for comment by CNBC, Avenatti referred to his tweet and added: "Sen. Grassley has just made a major mistake." "Let the investigation into Kavanaugh and his lies begin," Avenatti said. Kavanaugh has strongly denied all allegations of sexual misconduct as a young man, which came to light in September, when he was awaiting a confirmation vote by the Judiciary Committee.

Source: Michael Avenatti