In a welcome move, Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley has referred Brett Kavanaugh’s third accuser, Julie Swetnick, and her porn-lawyer, Michael Avenatti, to the Justice Department and FBI for criminal investigation for lying to Congress.

Avenatti hit the talk-show circuit to repeat Swetnick’s completely ludicrous claims — that Kavanaugh was present for a “gang rape” ring at drunken high-school parties. Days after her initial accusations were made in a sworn statement to the Judiciary Committee, Swetnick walked back important aspects of her story in an interview. We won’t dredge through the whole affair again other than to say Swetnick’s allegations were the least credible and most salacious, which is no doubt why a self-promoter like Avenatti championed her.

In a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Grassley wrote:

When a well-meaning citizen comes forward with information relevant to the committee’s work, I take it seriously. It takes courage to come forward, especially with allegations of sexual misconduct or personal trauma. I’m grateful for those who find that courage. But in the heat of partisan moments, some do try to knowingly mislead the committee. That’s unfair to my colleagues, the nominees and others providing information who are seeking the truth. It stifles our ability to work on legitimate lines of inquiry. It also wastes time and resources for destructive reasons. Thankfully, the law prohibits such false statements to Congress and obstruction of congressional committee investigations. For the law to work, we can’t just brush aside potential violations. I don’t take lightly making a referral of this nature, but ignoring this behavior will just invite more of it in the future.

Moreover, Grassley continued, “When charlatans make false claims to the Committee — claims that may earn them short-term media exposure and financial gain, but which hinder the Committee’s ability to do its job — there should be consequences.” Indeed there should, and we’re glad to see Grassley going to bat for Kavanaugh, who, as a sitting Supreme Court justice, can no longer practically defend himself.

Avenatti, who’s been teasing a 2020 presidential bid and thinks the nominee “better be a white male,” fired back with his typical bravado, “It is ironic that Senator Grassley now is interested in investigations. He didn’t care when it came to putting a man on the SCOTUS for life. We welcome the investigation as now we can finally get to the bottom of Judge Kavanaugh’s lies and conduct. Let the truth be known.”

He later added a not-so-veiled threat: “Maybe if Grassley was actually a lawyer that knew something about the law, he would realize what he has done. He just opened up Pandora’s box as it relates to Justice Kavanaugh’s conduct. It is Christmas in October!”

We strongly suspect it’s not going to be a Merry Christmas for Avenatti. In recent days, Avenatti has also lost a legal battle that leaves him owing his former law partner $4.85 million (on top of $10 million from a previous judgment), as well as another case in which he was ordered to vacate his firm’s offices for failure to pay rent. Furthermore, Avenatti’s defamation case against President Donald Trump on behalf of his other infamous client, Stormy Daniels, was dismissed, and she must pay Trump’s legal fees. In other words, Avenatti is a pathetic excuse for an attorney and a scummy human being. Which we suppose makes him the perfect Democrat presidential candidate.