Mark Joseph Stern writes:

On Wednesday, attorney Michael Avenatti revealed a sworn declaration by his client, Julie Swetnick, alleging that, while in high school, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh targeted women for group sexual assault. Swetnick’s horrific allegations, put forth under penalty of perjury, describe “numerous boys” drugging and raping young women in Maryland during the early 1980s. Her declaration contradicts Kavanaugh’s statements while bolstering the accusation of Christine Blasey Ford, who claims a very drunken Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge sexually assaulted her around 1982.

Swetnick’s allegations require a thorough investigation on the part of Maryland authorities. She is alleging nothing less than a conspiracy of sex abuse involving multiple rapists, none of whom, apparently, have faced any punishment for their reported crimes. It’s worth noting that, unlike earlier accusations against Kavanaugh, Swetnick’s story was not vetted by journalists. That makes an investigation all the more necessary. Without one, there will now be a cloud over every male student in a very broad social circle. Swetnick implies that some number of young men were at the very least aware of grave sexual abuse and did not report it. Her allegation cannot be ignored. And if it isn’t true, it should not be allowed to hang over this entire cohort indefinitely. At this point, an investigation isn’t optional. [Continue reading…]