Despite a claim from Brett Kavanaugh's high school friend Mark Judge that he's unavailable to testify publicly about Kavanaugh's suitability for the Supreme Court because of chronic illnesses, his publisher advertises that he's available for press interviews and paid speeches.

Judge insisted in a letter to the Judiciary Committee after Thursday's blockbuster hearing that '[a]s a recovering alcoholic and a cancer survivor, I have struggled with depression and anxiety. As a result, I avoid public speaking.'

Encounter Books, which published his 2004 book 'Damn Senators,' lists Judge among its stable of authors. Its website says that he 'is available for media and speaking engagements.'

Judge did not respond to an email asking him if he is still available for speeches booked by Encounter, which last published him 14 years ago.

But a spokesman for encounter Books told DailyMail.com that it no longer books public appearances for him.

Mark Judge, a childhood friend of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, told senators that anxiety and depression would prevent him from testifying publicly about his nad Kavanaugh's alcohol-fueled adolescence, but his publisher says he's 'availabld for media and speaking engagements'

Encounter Books last published Judge in 2004, making it unclear whether the publisher is still authorized to offer him up for interviews and speeches

'It has been brought to our attention that boilerplate text that appears on the book pages of all of our living authors lists Mark Judge as “available for media and speaking engagements.” This message has appeared on author pages on our website since 2015. We offer this service for inquiries about all books published by Encounter,' the spokesman said.

Judge has claimed he has no recollection os an alleged sexual assault described by Christine Blasey Ford, and has pleaded to be left out of the spotlight.

He also jumped to the Supreme Court nominee's defense by insisting he 'never saw Brett act in the manner [Ford] described,' but admitted they haven't spoken in several years.

Committee Democrats have demanded to hear Judge's testimony, and forced a failing party-line vote on a motion Friday morning to isue a subpoena.

Michael Avenatti, a spotlight-seeking attorney representing a client who has made more damning claims against Kavanaugh and Judge than anything Ford alleges, did a snarky victory dance Friday on Twitter and included an image from Encounter Books' website.

'These old white men ... are now claiming that Mark Judge can’t testify publicly because he suffers from depression, etc. As the below shows, this is a complete lie. These misogynists must not know there is something called Google,' he tweeted.

During her emotional appearance Thursday, Ford claimed Judge encouraged Kavanaugh during a high-school house party when he groped her and put his hand over her mouth to muffle her screams.

One of Brett Kavanaugh's closest high school friends, Mark Judge has reiterated that he doesn't remember the alleged sexual assault described by Christine Blasey Ford in her testimony. He is seen outside a friend's home in a holiday village in Delaware earlier this week

Support: Judge has reiterated his earlier statement that he had never seen Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh 'act in the manner described'

New #Kavanaugh friend Mark Judge letter - obtained by FOX - on why he didn’t want to testify as a recovering alcoholic and cancer survivor, and says he never saw Judge Kavanaugh act in the manner Dr. Ford describes. pic.twitter.com/sLLqIDd7Fn — Mike Emanuel 🇺🇸 (@MikeEmanuelFox) September 28, 2018

Ford, now a university psychology professor, claims Judge watched the attack and egged Kavanaugh on until he jumped on top of them and they tumbled off a bed.

In her testimony, she spoke of how the alleged sexual assault at the party in 'the Chevy Chase/Bethesda area' in 1982 had haunted her for 36 years and left her suffering with anxiety and PTSD.

She claimed Kavanaugh and Judge had pushed her into a bedroom and locked the door, after which the former tried to rip her clothes off while they both laughed.

In his letter, Judge writes: 'I did not ask to be involved in this matter, nor did anyone ask me to be involved.

'We have told the Committee that I do not want to comment about these events publicly.'

Kavanaugh (right) and Judge (left) played football together and were at a school Judge has described in two memoirs as 'positively swimming in alcohol.' Both men deny that Kavanaugh tried to commit a sex attack

Allegations: Mark Judge was named by Ford as being present during the alleged sexual assault she claims Kavanaugh committed at a high school party in 1982

'Brett Kavanaugh and I were friends in high school, but we have not spoken directly in several years.

'I do not recall the events described by Dr. Ford in her testimony before the US Senate Judiciary Committee today. I never saw Brett act in the manner Dr. Ford describes.'

Over much of his adult life, Judge has dived back repeatedly into his memories of Georgetown Preparatory School student life in the early 1980s, and his two memoirs and a cluster of internet essays provide cautionary takes on his prep school days and boozy weekend rounds as a teenage drinker.

Judge's book 'Wasted: Tales of a GenX Drunk' surveyed his alcohol-fueled escapades in high school and college, a time of 'drinking and smoking and hooking up,' he wrote in a 2015 essay on the Acculturated website.

Judge said in his letter that while he had been friends with Kavanaugh in high school, they had not spoken for years

Kavanaugh and Judge's contemporaries have described the pair as close friends, and some have pointed out that the latter was a cruel bully - but that the SCOTUS nominee was not.

Democrat Maryland state Sen. Richard Madaleno, who was in Georgetown Prep's 1983 graduating class with Kavanaugh and Judge, sharply remembers Judge as 'nasty to other people.'

'He was an unhappy person who dealt with his own demons by making other people unhappy,' Madaleno said, 'especially those of us who he perceived to be on a lower rung of the high school ladder.'

Although Kavanaugh and Judge played on the school's football team and partied together, Madaleno did not remember the future judge the same way. 'There's no guilt by association,' he said.

Two other Georgetown Prep classmates elaborated on Judge's 'bully' persona at the time: Quick-witted and adroit with insults, he taunted kids with weight problems or foreign names. He dismissed many of those outside of his circle as 'losers.' He questioned the sexuality of members of the school's swim team. He sometimes openly mocked teachers and priests.

'He had a way of being funny at other peoples' expense,' one former classmate said. 'You'd want to be on his good side so that you weren't his target.'