The latest accusations against Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh — brought by Resistance TV lawyer Michael Avenatti, representing a D.C. resident named Julie Swetnick — have caused Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee to push even harder to derail Kavanaugh’s confirmation.

Follow updates from Breitbart News on the latest developments in the Kavanaugh confirmation battle. All times eastern.

Livewire Highlights:

• Christine Blasey Ford releases polygraph report from her legal team. Details differ from other times she has recounted the story, and it is revealed that it was administered in Maryland — even though she recently delayed testifying before the Senate, citing difficulty with flying across the country from her home in California.

• Michael Avenatti has declined to make his client Julie Swetnick available for media contact. The NYTimes says it is thus unable to corrobate her story.

• Judge Kavanaugh has testified under oath to Senate investigators in response to Swetnick’s allegations.

• GOP senators Cotton and Graham declare Swetnick’s allegations “not credible,” echo Kavanaugh’s “Twilight Zone” characterization.

• President Trump disses Avenatti on Twitter… and apparently gets under his skin.

• Jeff Flake trashes Trump for being “uninformed and uncaring” in response to Kavanaugh’s accusers — still says he has an open mind and will hear out both parties.

• Avenatti tells CNN’s Tapper: He doesn’t know if he first heard Swetnick’s story before44 or after Ford came forward

• Trump lambastes Democrats in press conference for holding back allegations after confirmation hearings: ‘They know it’s a big, fat con job’

• NBC runs with “4th accuser” story… an anonymous letter claiming someone’s daughter saw Kavanaugh molest another woman in 1998

• Senate Judiciary Committee releases transcript of testimony from Kavanaugh on new(er) accusations… took place day before Swetnick came forward



11:47 PM —

https://twitter.com/BazziNYU/status/1045157861150662656

11:44 PM — Beyond parody. WashPost “annotates” Kavanaugh’s yearbook with nuggets such as: “It’s not clear who Timmy is, but it’s important to note here that Timmy is clearly some friend of Kavanaugh’s at whose house parties occur.”

I transcribed and dug into every entry on Kavanaugh's 1982 calendar so that you didn't have to. https://t.co/yLr2GmbxcY — Philip Bump (@pbump) September 27, 2018

11:06 PM — Perhaps the perfect summation of the left’s thought process today.

A picture is emerging of Judge Kavanaugh which suggests that he may "That Guy," who many have seen before – the dangerous drunk (strong language I grant you but we have to consider the evidence before us). More thoughts here: https://t.co/P1wY1ae231 — Dan Rather (@DanRather) September 27, 2018

11:02 PM —

More: Judiciary Committee sent letter today to Ford's attnys requesting 1) audio/visual recordings taken during Fords's polygraph; and 2) charts/data used in drawing polygraph conclusions. Ford's attnys just now refused to supply, saying such material not "important." Really? — Kimberley Strassel (@KimStrassel) September 27, 2018

10:34 PM — Another anonymous accusation.

Judiciary Committee has actually received yet another letter with an allegation against Kavanaugh pic.twitter.com/PNbhz3aYzh — Burgess Everett (@burgessev) September 27, 2018

10:33 PM —

JUST IN: Speaking in Utah, Anita Hill says integrity of U.S. Supreme Court at stake as Senate considers Kavanaugh https://t.co/pE6lCYKC3P — Herb Scribner (@HerbScribner) September 27, 2018

9:56 PM — Democrats on Senate Judiciary too busy pouting to ask more questions.

Judiciary staff held another call w Kavanaugh tonight, per source, on Swetnick. Again both Rs and Ds on call but only GOP asked Qs b/c Dems “strongly objected to these allegations being handled piecemeal by committee staff and not by a thorough and non-partisan FBI investigation” — Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) September 27, 2018

9:47 PM — “You’re asking me what donors think? They think he is being railroaded. It is the first time the grassroots and the donors have been aligned in the Trump era.” — The Daily Beast, quoting a “major GOP donor”

9:08 PM — From Senate transcript… Kavanaugh reacts to Avenatti’s “gang rape” accusation:

That is false. I’ve never participated in a gang rape. I’ve never participated in sexual activity with more than one woman present and me. I think — yeah. Just making sure I accurately described that. In other words, I’ve never had a threesome or more than a threesome.

9:00 PM — Left out of the NBC story: the third-hand account says that Kavanaugh’s 1998 victim was dating him.

The Senate Judiciary Committee just released this anonymous letter sent to Sen Cory Gardner R-CO about Kavanaugh pic.twitter.com/IGzjf36hsA — Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) September 27, 2018

8:48 PM — From Senate transcript… Kavanaugh “outraged” by the New Yorker story with Deborah Ramirez’s allegations:

The New York Times says as recently as last week, she was calling around to other classmates saying she wasn’t sure I had done this. And you know, I think — I think we’re — this is an outrage for this kind of thin, uncorroborated, 35-year-old accusation to be leveled in this fashion at this time. I’ve been in the public eye for 24 years, since I started with the independent counsel in the fall of 1994, very public at various points in my life. I’ve been through six background checks. I worked in the White House at the highest levels, senior staff, traveling with the President all over the world, seeing the most highly sensitive secrets of our Nation for years. I went through a difficult confirmation process for the D.C. Circuit that was public with two separate confirmation hearings in 2004 and 2006. I’ve been a judge for 12 years in a very public way. I’ve been identified repeatedly as a potential Supreme Court nominee. Whether that was accurate or not, I’ve been publicly identified. My decisions have been publicly discussed. I’ve been very much a presence at the Yale College reunions. I’ve been on multiple panels there. So I’ve been active in the class. The class newsletter has talked about me. The people in my class have been at those reunions and those events. In all that time, not a word. And then 4 days, you know, when just right before a vote for the Supreme Court, after the nomination itself has been pending for months, and I’ve been through the hearings and 65 Senate meetings and all the written questions, and then — and then, after all these years, with all this time, and all these descriptions with no corroboration and with her best friend saying she never heard about it, you know, I’m — I’m really just, you know, stunned. And outraged.

8:21 PM — It is now Bad, Actually to investigate outlandish accusations against Brett Kavanaugh.

Senior Senate Dem aide tells me there's a concern the GOP is "now releasing anonymous allegations in an effort to make all allegations look frivolous. We’re focusing on the ones that have names attached." https://t.co/gdzmYJLdMM — Elana Schor (@eschor) September 26, 2018

8:18 PM —

One Democrat told me tonight it was a mistake to give Trump a “villain” in Avenatti. — James Oliphant (@jamesoliphant) September 27, 2018

8:13 PM — Kavanaugh denied frequent drunkenness in call with Senate investigators:

So two things I was doing the most at Yale College were studying and going to class and working very hard on my academics, doing well enough to get into Yale Law School, which was not obvious when I arrived in September 1983. I worked my ass off. And the second thing was basketball. Throughout the freshman year when I lived there, I was playing basketball every day… Those were intense, really intense afternoons, early evenings of basketball.

8:11 PM — This is apparently the account behind the Rhode Island “boat rape” accusation.

Do everyone who is going crazy about what I had said I have recanted because I have made a mistake and apologize for such mistake — Jeffrey Catalan (@JeffreyCatala16) September 26, 2018

7:58 PM —

Rep. Walter Jones becomes first Republican to call for FBI investigation into Kavanaugh allegations: “What in the world difference would 10 days make? Why not wait 10 days, why not wait two weeks to find out the truth?” https://t.co/YCqjEJeMrD — Alexandra Jaffe (@ajjaffe) September 26, 2018

7:53 PM — Full transcript of Senate interview with Kavanaugh about allegations in the New Yorker Ramirez story, Avenatti’s yearbook allegations, and other anonymous accusers.

The Senate has released the transcript of Kavanaugh's questioning, where he answers what "the devils triangle' and "FFFF" mean in his yearbook. They're not sexual.

Remember, the only interpretation we have of what those mean are from Michael Avenatti. And the media ran with them. — Joe Gabriel Simonson (@SaysSimonson) September 26, 2018

7:52 PM — Good enough for NBC!

GOP CO Sen Gardner statement on new allegations against Kavanaugh: On 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. — Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) September 26, 2018

7:48 PM — Someone else claims that Kavanaugh and Judge, still in their college years, raped a girl on a boat in Rhode Island, then got beaten up by her friends. The man making this claim calls Trump “the parasite that occupies the White House.”

https://twitter.com/jeneps/status/1045091112287965185

https://twitter.com/pfeifferdc/status/1045096533950156801?s=21

6:51 PM — Avenatti, sounding very stable:

NEW: @MichaelAvenatti responds to Trump press conference: "I am thoroughly enjoying living in your head rent-free, Donald Trump" pic.twitter.com/xSqNDHEJgK — TheBeat w/Ari Melber (@TheBeatWithAri) September 26, 2018

6:49 PM — NBC News reports that the Senate Judiciary Committee is investigating a fourth accusation — that Kavanaugh “physically assaulted a woman he socialized with in the Washington, D.C. area in 1998 while he was inebriated.”

The letter, sent to Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO), is anonymous. The author is not the alleged victim but claims to be the parent of a woman who claims to have witnessed Kavanaugh “[shove] her friend up against the wall very aggressively and sexually.”

6:38 PM —

Text blast that just went out from the Trump campaign: “Judge Kavanaugh has become the victim of a televised witch hunt playing out in front of his own family.” pic.twitter.com/1f29GbKAoq — Vera Bergengruen (@VeraMBergen) September 26, 2018

6:31 PM — Will journos dare talk to her?

In-Box: Juanita Broaddrick will be on the Hill tomorrow during the Kavanaugh hearing. — Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) September 26, 2018

6:28 PM — Avenatti, still salty, challenges Trump to a debate.

Trump is a moron. He knows nothing about me or my client. He is trying to divert attention away from Julie as a smokescreen. I challenge him to debate me regarding Kavanaugh and his accusers and our respective backgrounds. He will never agree because he is a coward and weak. — Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) September 26, 2018

6:00 PM —

JUST IN: Christine Blasey Ford's legal team just released a photo of her taking the polygraph test on her Kavanaugh accusation. https://t.co/mLj8cXRbla pic.twitter.com/oRvO7eAB4I — CBS News (@CBSNews) September 26, 2018

5:53 PM —

NEWS: At private meeting today, Susan Collins raised serious concerns about latest allegations against Kavanaugh, citing the sworn statement. She also questioned why no subpoena for Mark Judge. GOP leaders sought to reassure her. w/@Phil_Mattingly https://t.co/UZSFJVvvI5 — Manu Raju (@mkraju) September 26, 2018

5:47 PM — President Puppetmaster.

Trump just got the entire left to start attacking George Washington And thus completely prove his point pic.twitter.com/eZ1WoxJJpL — Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) September 26, 2018

5:46 PM —

"I've always said women are smarter than men…women are incensed at what's going on," Trump says. (He means that women are incensed at what is being done to Brett Kavanaugh.) — Daniel Dale (@ddale8) September 26, 2018

5:44 PM — John Kasich, who is not a senator, says: “Without an investigation… I can’t support this nomination if they choose to move forward.”

My statement on Judge #Kavanaugh's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court: pic.twitter.com/zw53NY9yeL — John Kasich (@JohnKasich) September 26, 2018

5:31 PM —

President Trump on Kavanaugh allegations: "George Washington would be voted against 100% by Schumer and the con artists…so it really doesn't matter from their standpoint." pic.twitter.com/Eupb63P3tW — Joshua Dov Caplan (@joshdcaplan) September 26, 2018

5:28 PM — More statements from Ford’s testimony:

“I couldn’t see who pushed me” into the room. Has previously said Kavanaugh pushed her and that both Kavanaugh and Judge pushed her.

“Until July 2018, I had never named Mr. Kavanaugh as my attacker outside of therapy.”

5:23 PM — Ford’s opening statement for tomorrow’s hearing: “I don’t have all the answers, and I don’t remember as much as I would like to.”

JUST IN: Text of opening statement from Dr. Ford for Thursday's hearing, as submitted to the Senate Judiciary Cmte. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/VXlWwuHAr5 — NBC News (@NBCNews) September 26, 2018

5:22 PM — Trump goes on long discussion of his own sexual assault accusations, attacking the New York Times for printing “phony” stories. “People know that a lot of the news is fake and a lot of the people here are fake.”

5:19 PM — Trump makes sidelong reference to Ford’s delay in testifying: “We could have heard from her last week, we could have heard from her for a long time.”

5:15 PM — Trump says he is open to hearing Kavanaugh’s accusers, pulling his nomination if he believes he is guilty.

Trump sez he could "be persuaded" by women accusers of Kavanaugh, and says "I cant tell you whether or not they're liars." "I'm going to see what happens tomorrow . . . it's possible they will be convincing." And adds there could be situation in which he would w/draw nomination. — Jonathan Landay (@JonathanLanday) September 26, 2018

Asked if there’s a chance he would ever withdraw Kavanaugh, Trump says: “If I thought he was guilty of something like this, yeah sure.” pic.twitter.com/jV2Fnlw87V — Eamon Javers (@EamonJavers) September 26, 2018

5:11 PM — CNN’s Jim Acosta asks Trump to call on a female reporter — questions why he “always sides with the accused instead of the accusers.”

Jim Acosta asks Trump to ask a female reporter about the allegations – Trump: “What does that mean?” — Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) September 26, 2018

Of course @Acosta is making a scene today at the press conference. — Betsy Rothstein (@betsyscribeindc) September 26, 2018

5:07 PM — Trump: FBI would have had “all the time in the world” if Feinstein did not wait to reveal Ford’s letter until after the confirmation hearings.

5:06 PM — Asked to respond to accusers’ allegations, Trump says, “I won’t get into that game… These are all false accusations, to me.”

“I won’t get into that game” Trump says when asked if he thinks the accusations are “liars” — Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) September 26, 2018

5:04 PM — Trump says Democrats are “laughing” in private about obstructing Kavanaugh nomination and tarnishing his name: “What they’ve done to this family, what they’ve done to these children… they know it’s a big, fat con job.”

Trump on why White House didn't ask for FBI probe of Kavanaugh accusations: "I think when you really look at it all, it's not going to change any of the Democrats' minds. … It wouldn't have mattered if the FBI came back with the cleanest score." — Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) September 26, 2018

5:03 PM — Trump begins press conference on Kavanaugh accusers:

HAPPENING NOW: President Trump holds 5th solo press conference, as critics double down on embattled SCOTUS pick Brett Kavanaugh. https://t.co/tHXZTH6iHO pic.twitter.com/zoNvs5Fk4c — CBS News (@CBSNews) September 26, 2018

4:57 PM — Longer video of Tapper’s interview.

"Why don't we place my client under oath and Miss Wilkinson can question her for 8 hours about these allegations. And then let's place Brett Kavanaugh under oath, and I can question him for 8 hours…we'll do it tomorrow." – @MichaelAvenatti w/ @JakeTapper https://t.co/73ju5RkVT7 pic.twitter.com/I4cwMXzeOq — The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) September 26, 2018

4:48 PM — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) says “three credible witnesses” against Kavanaugh have come forward.

If President Trump is afraid of what an FBI investigation into Brett Kavanaugh will confirm or uncover, then the nomination should be withdrawn. pic.twitter.com/xETeqtaqTO — Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) September 26, 2018

4:45 PM —

NEW: Mark Judge’s ex-girlfriend is willing to testify that he told her he and a group of friends once took turns having sex with a drunk woman. Julie Swetnick claims she saw Judge and Kavanaugh engage in that sort of behavior at a party. https://t.co/foCw7M28dE — Liam Martin (@LiamWBZ) September 26, 2018

4:42 PM — Kavanaugh classmates contest claims from Swetnick, Avenatti:

JUST IN: White House releases letter signed by 60-plus men, woman who attended Georgetown Prep or sister schools that knew Kavanaugh "to directly refute the allegations released earlier today by Michael Avenatti" https://t.co/tmxYwBcXOO pic.twitter.com/GMqNpiXIRM — 1010 WINS (@1010WINS) September 26, 2018

White House is sharing a letter signed by 60 people who knew Kavanaugh in high school. One line stands out: "In the extensive amount of time we collectively spent with Brett, we do not recall having ever met someone named Julie Swetnick." — David Martosko (@dmartosko) September 26, 2018

4:37 PM — Avenatti won’t answer if Swetnick is specifically alleging that Kavanaugh raped her.

Video: @JakeTapper calls out @MichaelAvenatti for his "really egregious lack of specificity" and refusing to to say under firm questioning whether Swetnick thinks Kavanaugh raped her -> "I'm not going to have any further comment on that specific allegation." Unreal. pic.twitter.com/UGNYreQ2LV — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) September 26, 2018

4:34 PM — Avenatti speaking live to — who else? — CNN’s Jake Tapper.

Avenatti just refused to say when he first spoke to his new client. "Within the last month." Jake Tapper asks, "Was it before or after Ford's allegation?" Avenatti: "I honestly don't know." — Elizabeth Harrington (@LizWFB) September 26, 2018

CNN's @jaketapper just asked @MichaelAvenatti if he would provide a list of Swetnick witnesses to "me" or CNN more broadly. — ErikWemple (@ErikWemple) September 26, 2018

And @MichaelAvenatti replied, in essence, no. He said the "Jake Tapper Show" — actually, "The Lead w/Jake Tapper" — wasn't the appropriate investigative organ for this sort of matter. — ErikWemple (@ErikWemple) September 26, 2018

4:27 PM — Sen. Bill Cassidy: Avenatti “was immediately called by Judiciary staff but would not reveal any information.”

Clearly the left's game plan against Judge Kavanaugh is to come out with accusation, accusation, accusation. At some point we have to look at a life’s work and judge it against someone else’s. If I judge Brett Kavanaugh's record against @MichaelAvenatti’s, I’ll go with Kavanaugh. pic.twitter.com/exUFSQxWSx — U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (@SenBillCassidy) September 26, 2018

4:15 PM —

A new NPR/@NewsHour/Marist poll finds 59 percent of Americans think that if Christine Blasey Ford's allegation is true, Brett Kavanaugh shouldn't be confirmed to the Supreme Court. https://t.co/cwOHFZ225p — NPR Politics (@nprpolitics) September 26, 2018

4:13 PM —

The Kavanaugh Show:

All 4 broadcast networks will break in with special live coverage tomorrow of Supreme Court hearing.

(20 million watched Comey last June) — Michael M. Grynbaum (@grynbaum) September 26, 2018

4:12 PM —

I'm told GOP staffers on Judiciary are preparing to release transcripts of at least some of their interviews they've conducted in the course of investigating Ford allegation. Committee also plans to release xscript of Fox News interview, which makes it go under penalty of perjury — Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) September 26, 2018

4:10 PM — CNN PRIMETIME HOST: ‘AVENATTI IS NOT THE ISSUE’

I think we don’t know. I think Avenatti is not the issue except for those who don’t want to deal with the issues. And I think that the clear intent to do the minimum by gop is a problem for them and unfair to k https://t.co/FUYzrKezGi — Christopher C. Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) September 26, 2018

4:07 PM — Avenatti under fire for posting Swetnick’s name and photo, then paying lip service to “her privacy.” He tells the New York Observer he “wanted America to know what my client looks like.”

4:04 PM —

Transcribing from earlier, Sen. Kennedy said of the Kavanaugh allegations: "This is no country for creepy, old men, or creepy young men, or creepy middle-aged men. But this is also no country to deny people due process.” — Lauren Gambino (@laurenegambino) September 26, 2018

4:00 PM — Rosie O’Donnell calls Graham a “closeted idiot” in response to his defense of Kavanaugh. (Archived here in anticipation of deletion)

fuck u u closeted idiot – this is the patriarchy exposed – this is reality deal with it !!#NoKavanaughConfirmation #NotMyPresident — ROSIE (@Rosie) September 26, 2018

3:58 PM — Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) says Thursday hearing will proceed with no delay: “I feel like I have a definite responsibility to hold a hearing, not only for (Blasey Ford) but for Judge Kavanaugh.”

3:55 PM —

. @SenBillCassidy said, “There has to be some fairness to Kavanaugh not to someone like Michael Avenatti.” — Deborah Berry (@dberrygannett) September 26, 2018

3:50 PM — VP Mike Pence affirms support for Kavanaugh:

The White House is not getting cold feet about this nomination. Pence told Rs today that they support both Kavanaugh and the process playing out. He said he's confident the hearing will be fair, but added somewhat tellingly that he looks forward to the process moving forward. — Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) September 26, 2018

3:44 PM — Kavanaugh’s lawyer Beth Wilkinson spars with NBC News’ Katy Tur: “I heard your last session, and you guys were all saying, ‘oh, there’s so much detail.’ There’s no detail in here. There’s no place. There’s one or two years, generally. There’s no other people. There’s no dates, there’s no times. There’s no information here, other than that there are multiple people, supposedly involved for years — not just her, by the way. She actually saw other women being gang raped, and it’s never been reported?”

TUR: Does your client believe what the president has said — that these accusations stem from a Democratic plot of some sort? KAVANAUGH'S ATTORNEY: My client knows he didn't do this. He's not speculating about the politics. pic.twitter.com/GbCY5tUBnf — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 26, 2018

3:43 PM —

Durbin on latest Kavanaugh allegations: These women had every reason to stay silent to avoid harassment and death threats. They have shown that they have nothing to hide by calling for a nonpartisan FBI investigation and sworn testimony from other witnesses. — Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) September 26, 2018

3:16 PM — Commentators noticing more discrepancies in Blasey Ford’s polygraph notes:

Dr. Ford's polygraph letter contradicts letter she sent to Feinstein. Polygraph letter says "4 boys and a couple of girls" were at party. Letter to Feinstein says "me and four others." No way to reconcile the two—irrespective of whether she's counting herself in polygraph letter. pic.twitter.com/aWJ10vTDna — Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) September 26, 2018

Kavanaugh vote/hearing was delayed because Ford was "scared" of flying. "Ford's fear of flying is directly related to her allegation of assault, and that an airplane is the ultimate closed space where you cannot get away." She flew 3,000 to Maryland for a poly in August.

How? pic.twitter.com/cznzQiixWN — Benny (@bennyjohnson) September 26, 2018

3:15 PM — “None of Ms. 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.”

3:12 PM — Of note from the “polygraph report”:

New letter from Ford lawyers to Judiciary: “Under no circumstances” will they hand over her medical records, including therapist notes, to committee. Did send them her polygraph test — Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) September 26, 2018

3:09 PM — Lindsey Graham echoes “Twilight Zone” response from Kavanaugh.

GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham on the new allegations against Kavanaugh: "This is getting into the twilight zone. You are talking about Brett Kavanaugh being a serial rapist during high school as a sophomore…" pic.twitter.com/H8fuadUsKY — CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) September 26, 2018

3:05 PM — Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) says pushback on the Kavanaugh “smear campaign… frightens me as a woman.”

I believe that there are responsible Republicans who are going to share the view that it is not just a Supreme Court nominee that is on trial right now. It is the United States Senate in the year of the #MeToo movement. We have the obligation to show this country we a take the allegations seriously, and investigate them absolutely, but that they will be listened to and heard. We are on trial here as well.

3:04 PM —

I'm seeing a lot of people jumping on the latest allegations against Kavanaugh, saying Julie Swetnick's claims are credible because she made them under the penalty of perjury.@MichaelAvenatti's ex-wife made claims of abuse under oath, yet Avenatti dismissed them as a smear. — Lukas Mikelionis (@LukasMikelionis) September 26, 2018

3:01 PM — Intense virtue signaling from Jeff Flake. Says Trump “uninformed and uncaring.” Does not give an indication who he finds credible: “I will have to listen to the testimony before I make up my mind about the testimony.”

3:00 PM — Tom Cotton: Avenatti client’s allegations are “not credible.”

FBI already investigated latest accusation—six full-field background investigations of Judge Kavanaugh, yet none turned up alleged drug-running, gang-rape operation he supposedly ran as a teenager. Not credible. — Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) September 26, 2018

2:58 PM — Worth remembering re: the FBI…

While the president could authorize further investigation by the FBI, Mr. Trump said he trusted the committee to carry out the process. “‘It seems that the FBI really doesn’t do that,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday, noting that the bureau already completed six background checks on Kavanaugh. [emphasis added]

2:55 PM — Murkowski so far has been the Republican senator most publicly sympathetic to Democratic objections, saying that the FBI should investigate Kavanaugh’s accusers to “clear up” questions.

Sens. Feinstein and Murkoskwi have been huddling and whispering to each by the elevators in the basement of the Capitol for some time now pic.twitter.com/0eKN0bhNBT — Matt Laslo (@MattLaslo) September 26, 2018

2:51 PM — RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel asks, “Why hire a Michael Avenatti? Why hold this in your back pocket [referring to Dianne Feinstein sitting on Ford’s letter]?”

.@GOPChairwoman Ronna McDaniel: “I do think the Democrats have done a disservice to these individuals.” pic.twitter.com/FzegVQzfrh — Fox News (@FoxNews) September 26, 2018

2:49 PM — Reality check from… a Washington Post blogger?

Worth emphasizing that Swetnick doesn't EXPLICITLY claim Kavanaugh and Judge engaged in gang rape. Says they deliberately got girls inebriated & that she saw them lined up outside rape rooms. Also says they were "present" for her own gang rape, which may not mean participants. pic.twitter.com/3VjYJwRmRy — Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) September 26, 2018

facilitating or witnessing gang rapes and doing nothing to stop them/report them would be disqualifying anyway. but it's worth being specific about what's alleged. — Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) September 26, 2018

2:44 PM — Alyssa Milano proves unconvincing.

In her first statement on the Senate floor, Republican Mississippi Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith says sexual assault must never be taken lightly — which is why "unproven accusations," like these ones against Kavanaugh, "are so very unjust." — Daniel Dale (@ddale8) September 26, 2018

2:43 PM —

Plane with a sign that reads "Thank you Deborah we have your back" circling over downtown #Boulder pic.twitter.com/vDJi2kEejV — Mitchell Byars (@mitchellbyars) September 26, 2018

2:40 PM — Trump, still at the U.N., pays a compliment to Japanese PM Shinzo Abe in his defense of Kavanaugh. “They are bringing people out of the woods. They can do it to anybody. They can do it to anybody except for Prime Minister Abe because he is so pure.”

Pres. Trump on the latest allegations against Brett Kavanaugh:

"It's a disgrace what's going on. The good news is the public is very smart and they get it." pic.twitter.com/GZM9FS9Eon — AnnaMaria Di Pietro (@AnnaMariaDP) September 26, 2018

2:37 PM — Washington Post with the Bezos-Money Analysis:

Kavanaugh's high school and college years were the high water mark of teen drinking in the U.S. This doesn't tell us what any individuals did or didn't do, but the context is important. https://t.co/H9m4PdLnW5 pic.twitter.com/EH2lyMHwbc — Christopher Ingraham (@_cingraham) September 26, 2018

2:36 PM — New poll says that Kavanaugh’s approval among Republican women has dropped.

NEW #KAVANAUGH POLL:

• Net support for Supreme Court nominee dropped 18 points among GOP women.

• @realDonaldTrump approval fell 19 points among GOP women, with 68% approving and 26% disapproving.https://t.co/aPTiYqJszy pic.twitter.com/2qUT0xHvis — Eli Yokley (@eyokley) September 26, 2018

2:32 PM — Blasey Ford’s legal team releases their report on a polygraph test administered this August:

2:30 PM — Mark Judge responds to Swetnick/Avenatti claims:

NEW: "Mr. Judge vehemently denies Ms. Swetnick’s allegations,” attorney for Mark Judge tells @ABC. https://t.co/2PRAkil3rc — ABC News (@ABC) September 26, 2018

2:29 PM —

GOP senators made a protective bubble around @SenatorCollins as she walked through reporters so she didn’t have to answer ?s, Collins is one of just a few toss-up votes on Kavanaugh — Eliza Collins (@elizacollins1) September 26, 2018

2:25 PM — Trump’s dismissive tweet against Avenatti appears to have gotten under the 2020 hopeful’s skin. He has now responded twice in the past 40 minutes to insist that his legal record is very impressive.

Trump pretends he is a tough guy. He is nothing of the kind. He grew up spoiled with a silver spoon in his mouth and a gold toilet under his butt. He was handed everything. That is why the majority of America & the UN laughs at him and calls him a con. But at least Putin is a fan — Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) September 26, 2018

Trump doesn’t even know anything about my background. Knows nothing about my history of over $1 Billion in verdicts and settlements. I have represented Republicans and Democrats. I have represented hard working people throughout this nation. — Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) September 26, 2018

2:22 PM — Merkley’s legal filing is now publicly available. Among several dubious claims, it repeats the argument presented by Democrats during Kavanaugh’s public hearings that the National Archives have not released enough documents from Kavanaugh’s tenure in the Bush (43) White House.

This Merkley suit is bonkers. The claim is that the Constitution prevents the Senate from holding a vote on a judicial nominee until the National Archives releases an indeterminate number of records about that nominee. pic.twitter.com/XgbWaHGPni — Gabriel Malor (@gabrielmalor) September 26, 2018

2:20 PM — Kavanaugh has already testified under oath in response to Swetnick’s allegations, according to Time. The testimony took place in a closed-door session with Senate Judiciary investigators.

2:00 PM — Video from Breitbart News shows actress Alyssa Milano protesting at the office of Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS). Hyde-Smith is not a member of the Judiciary Committee.

1:58 PM — Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) is seeking a federal court injunction to halt Kavanaugh’s nomination, Politico reports.

1:55 PM — Kavanaugh and Republican senators unfazed by Swetnick’s allegation that Kavanaugh may have participated in “gang rapes” of other women and that he was “present” at a party where she was raped by multiple men.

Kavanaugh attorney Beth Wilkinson tells @wolfblitzer that Kavanaugh is NOT going to withdraw his nomination, & will continue to fight — Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) September 26, 2018

Sen. Lindsey Graham in a new statement: "If Republicans bail out on this good man because of the smears and character assassination perpetrated by Michael Avenatti, we deserve our fate.” — Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) September 26, 2018

1:53 PM — A CNN legal analyst says “it’s hard to believe” that the FBI “missed something as big, potentially, as this” new accusation in six background checks during Kavanaugh’s judicial career.