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MSNBC Legal Analyst: Swetnick's Allegation Against Kavanaugh Is 'Not Credible' and 'Should Go Away'

October 2, 2018

MSNBC legal analyst Cynthia Alksene, a former federal prosecutor who has been critical of Kavanaugh throughout his confirmation process, said she thinks the "not credible" allegations made against him by Julie Swetnick "should go away."

"I think it's clear that the third sexual assault is not credible, and it should go away," Alksene said on Tuesday.

Kavanaugh has been accused of sexual misconduct by three women. The first, Christine Blasey Ford, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday that Kavanaugh groped her and attempted to remove her clothes while they were both in high school. The second, Deborah Ramirez, claims Kavanaugh exposed himself to her while they were freshmen at Yale. The third, Julie Swetnick, claims she attended parties where gang rapes occurred and there saw Kavanaugh–then in high school–acting aggressively towards women.

Kavanaugh has denied all the allegations against him.

Swetnick is represented by Micheal Avenatti, the same lawyer representing adult film actress Stormy Daniels in her defamation suit against President Donald Trump.

"I hesitate to say it, because on some level I'm afraid Michael Avenatti will come after me. But I do think, as somebody who, I looked at my first sex crime in 1985, I've looked at hundreds of them, and this is not a prosecutable case," Alksene told MSNBC host Ali Velshi.

"The story has changed," Alksene continued. "She's not even clear. The original statement was he was involved in this train, then 'maybe he wasn't, maybe I've surmised it'. That just didn't make any sense to me. The language is language picked up from television on some level, the manner in which he was a 'mean drunk,' the statements that he had such a remarkable face that she remembered it. I mean, he looked like every single guy I ever went to high school with, with the exact same haircut."

"When you've done this enough," Alksene said, "you get a feel for what rings true and what doesn't, and something may very well have happened to her, but it doesn't ring true to me that Judge Kavanaugh did it."

She added that Swetnick's allegation takes away from that leveled by Ford, which she deemed credible.

"In addition," Alksene said, 'it's not fair to Dr. Ford, the real victim here, who is credible, who does have a serious case and a story to tell."

Alksene, echoing the view voiced by a number of Senate Democrats this week, also told Velshi and fellow guest Elliot Williams that she thought the renewed FBI investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations is not focused on getting to the truth.

"The White House is still limiting the investigation ... Why hasn't Dr. Ford been interviewed? Dr. Ford hasn't been interviewed, because if they interview Dr. Ford, they have to interview Judge Kavanaugh, and they don't want to interview Judge Kavanaugh because the only logical way to do that is to ask about Dr. Ford but to follow up with Ms. Ramirez," Alksene said.

"This is not about the truth. This is about getting Brett Kavanaugh quickly voted on this week and then voted on a second time at the end of the week," she said.

Williams, a former federal prosecutor, expressed doubt Kavanaugh could be convicted of any allegations against him, either of sexual misconduct or lying to the Senate Judiciary Committee, but argued the lack of a case didn't matter when appointing someone to the high court.

"Could you convict Brett Kavanaugh of perjury or even the sexual assault now based on the information we have available to us? The answer is no," he said. "But that does not mean he should be on the Supreme Court ... the question becomes, are we exercising the judgment to give someone life tenure on the Supreme Court?"

Alksene has previously been critical of Kavanaugh's demeanor and temperament during his confirmation hearing. When asked about his opening statement during the testimony on Thursday, she called it a "temper tantrum" that made her afraid.

"Well, I thought it was a temper tantrum. You have a feeling for what he's like when he is, as his roommate from Yale described him when he drank, that he could be an angry and belligerent drunk," she said at the time.

Published under: Brett Kavanaugh , MSNBC