The ex-boyfriend of Brett Kavanaugh accuser Julie Swetnick says she ‘exaggerated everything’ during their relationship and often acted ‘crazy’ – including telling him to ‘hit me’ during arguments.
Richard Vinneccy says he dated Swetnick ‘on and off’ between 1994 and 2001 before leaving her for his wife, with whom he has at least one child.
Mr Vinneccy said that Swetnick’s continued to hound him even after they broke up, even threatening to kill him, his wife, and their unborn infant.
Richard Vinneccy, who says he dated Julie Swetnick between 1994 and 2001, claims she acted ‘cray’, encouraged him to hit her, and ‘exaggerated everything’ during their relationship
Mr Vinneccy (left and right with Ms Swetnick) said that after they broke up and he got engaged to his wife, Swetnick threatened to kill them both and their unborn child
The threats were so severe, he told Fox News, that he applied for a restraining order – though never went through with it because he did not want to ‘provoke her’.
Speaking alongside his lawyer, Mr Vinneccy told Lauren Ingraham that Swetnick ‘never once’ mentioned the issue of sexual assault to him while they were dating.
Swetnick claims to have witnessed a severely drunk Brett Kavanaugh alongside his friend Mark Judge at high school parties in the 1980s.
Swetnick claims to have witnessed Brett Kavanaugh being excessively drunk at parties where girls, including her, were gang raped
She claims that Kavanaugh was present at parties where girls were gang raped and says that on one occasion she was the victim of such a rape.
Addressing those accusations, Mr Vinneccy said: ‘I don’t believe her. I really don’t believe her.’
He added: ‘She always wanted to be the center of attention… She was exaggerating everything. Everything that came out of her mouth was just exaggerations.’
Mr Vinneccy has spoken out once before, in an interview with Politico, which uncovered a court docket filed in Miami-Dade County in 2001 for an injunction against Swetnick by Mr Vinneccy.
Thirteen days later the case was dismissed, not long after an affidavit of non-ability to advance fees was filed.
At the time he claimed to have ‘evidence’ that her claims against Kavanaugh were untrue, but has so far failed to present that evidence.
Michael Avennatti, the lawyer who brought forward Swetnick’s claims, told Politico that there was ‘no truth’ to Mr Vinneccy’s claims.
Mr Vinneccy says he does not believe Ms Swetnick’s claims against Kavanaugh, and says she ‘never once’ mentioned sexual assault to him over the years
Swetnick says she was convinced to come forward after Christine Blasey Ford (left) accused Kavanaugh of attempting to rape her at a party in the 1980s, and Deborah Ramirez (right) said he exposed himself to her at a party around the same time
Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court has been paused for a week while the FBI investigates Ford’s claims
Meanwhile Swetnick also gave an interview on Monday night to NBC in which she reiterated her claim that Kavanaugh was present at a party where she was raped.
However, she said she cannot be sure he was involved, and was unable to provide corroborating witnesses to her story.
Swetnick also addressed Mr Vinneccy’s claims against her, saying they were ‘nonsense’ and that she never received a restraining order.
Kavanaugh’s nomination for the Supreme Court has been paused for a week while the FBI investigates testimony brought by Christine Blasey Ford, who accuses him of attempting to rape her at a party in the 1980s.
The judge has also been accused of exposing himself to Deborah Ramirez at another high school party, and she is due to be questioned by agents.
Kavanaugh has vehemently denied all allegations of improper sexual conduct.