WASHINGTON, D.C., Sept. 24, 2018 (Gephardt Daily/UPI) — Sen. Orrin Hatch is joining Brett Kavanaugh in calling the latest allegations against the President’s nominee to the United States Supreme Court “a smear campaign” by Senate Democrats.
The following was posted Monday on Utah Republican Hatch’s website:
“Last night, Senate Democrats continued their smear campaign against Judge Brett Kavanaugh with a thinly sourced article accusing Judge Kavanaugh of conduct that no eyewitness can even corroborate,” Hatch wrote. “Rather than bringing the matter to the attention of committee investigators, Democrats coordinated with members of the media to drop the story in the most dramatic and damaging way possible.
“This continues Senate Democrats’ pattern of playing hide the ball, after they spent six weeks sitting on a letter regarding alleged conduct while Judge Kavanaugh was in high school before leaking it to the press.”
A new allegation was made public Sunday night from Deborah Ramirez, a former Yale University classmate, according to UPI. Ramirez said Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a 1983 party while she and friends were playing a drinking game.
Ramirez contacted several former classmates to ask if they recalled the incident and said she couldn’t be sure it was Kavanaugh, “The New York Times” reported.
Kavanaugh denied the accusation:
“This alleged event from 35 years ago did not happen,” he said in a statement. “The people who knew me then know that this did not happen and have said so. This is a smear, plain and simple.”
Hatch’s statement continued: “Senate Democrats will stop at nothing to prevent Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation. As reported by the author of last night’s article, the individual in the piece came forward only because Senate Democrats ‘came looking’ And even then, the individual went on the record only after ‘six days of carefully assessing her memories and consulting with her attorney,’ a former Democratic elected official.
“The New York Times, which declined to publish the allegations when approached, reported that it had interviewed ‘several dozen people in an attempt to corroborate the story’ and could find ‘no one with firsthand knowledge.'”
Kavanaugh sent a letter to Senate leaders Monday saying he will not withdraw his nomination to the Supreme Court and denying the new sexual misconduct allegation.
The letter was sent to senators Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the two top members of the judiciary committee.
Kavanaugh wrote: “As I told the committee during my hearing, a federal judge must be independent, not swayed by public or political pressure. That is the kind of judge I will always be.
“I will not be intimidated into withdrawing from this process. The coordinated effort to destroy my good name will not drive me out. The vile threats of violence against my family will not drive me out. The last-minute character assassination will not succeed.”
In the letter, Kavanaugh denied the two allegations of sexual misconduct against him. The first, from Christine Blasey Ford, accused the judge of attempted sexual assault at a party during the early 1980s.
Ford made the allegation in a confidential letter sent to Feinstein and agreed to testify before the committee Thursday.
Feinstein has called for an “immediate postponement” of Kavanaugh’s scheduled confirmation vote Thursday. Feinstein, the top Democrat on the committee, added, “It is time to set politics aside. We must ensure that a thorough and fair investigation is conducted before moving forward.”
Hatch’s statement goes on: “Unsurprisingly, Senate Democrats are now using last night’s article as an excuse to call for further delays. This follows the same approach they have taken since Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination was first announced. No innuendo has been too low, no insinuation too dirty. Everything is an excuse for delay, no matter how unsubstantiated. It does not matter that no other eyewitness can even confirm that Judge Kavanaugh was at the party in question. It does not matter that every other individual alleged to be present denies any memory of the event. The goal is delay.”
Hatch’s statement continues: “As I have said before, every accuser deserves to be heard. Moreover, a person who has committed sexual assault should not serve on the Supreme Court. But the way my Democratic colleagues have approached these allegations makes clear that the driving objective here is not truth, but politics… Senate Democrats are demeaning both the Senate and the Supreme Court through their partisan games and transparent attempts at character assassination. We should hear from Dr. Ford on Thursday as planned. Then we should vote.”
For Hatch’s full statement click here.
President Donald Trump again offered his support for Kavanaugh on Monday, calling him “a fine man” with “an unblemished past.”
