President Joe Biden gave a statement Sunday following the news that former Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) had passed away at the age of 88. Biden, as Vice President, presided over Hatch in 2013 as he swore in for his final term in the Senate.
Hatch, whose tenure as the longest-serving Republican senator in history (1977-2019) overlapped with Biden&#8217;s time serving in the deliberative body, <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/orrin-hatch-longest-serving-republican-in-history-dies-at-88/">died on Saturday</a>. A statement from the Hatch Foundation read, in part, &#8220;Upon his retirement, Senator Hatch held the distinction of having passed more legislation into law than any other Senator alive. Through his relentless work ethic, Hatch earned a reputation as one of the most effective and bipartisan lawmakers of all time. In total, he sponsored or cosponsored more than 750 bills that became law.&#8221;
&#8220;Biden on the passing of his friend, late GOP UT Sen Orrin Hatch. Biden says Hatch “never humored a bully, or shied from a challenge … saw that energetic, sharp-elbowed Orrin in the many battles we had over tax policy, the right of workers to join a union, and many others,&#8221; Fox News Congressional reporter Chad Pergram tweeted.
&#8220;Biden: Senator Hatch was also a man of deep faith; a gentle soul who wrote songs and poems. This was the Orrin who looked out for the people who often didn’t have a voice in our laws and our country &#8230; He was, quite simply, an American original,&#8221; Pergram&#8217;s second tweet added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
B) Biden: Senator Hatch was also a man of deep faith; a gentle soul who wrote songs and poems..This was the Orrin who looked out for the people who often didn’t have a voice in our laws and our country..He was, quite simply, an American original.
&mdash; Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChadPergram/status/1518287874784993280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;
Hatch, who was often praised for his willingness to work across the aisle, lamented the growing divide between the parties during his retirement announcement in 2018.
&#8220;My heart is heavy because it aches for the times when we actually lived up to our reputation as the world’s greatest deliberative body. It longs for the days in which Democrats and Republicans would meet on middle ground rather than retreat to partisan trenches,&#8221; he said.
Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) noted his willingness to work with her despite their political — and other — differences of opinion in a tribute posted Saturday evening, just after the news broke.
&#8220;Senator Hatch was kind to me and we worked together well. There were a lot of differences including party, height, age…you name it…but somehow we always looked for common ground. Prayers for his family today,&#8221; she tweeted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Senator Hatch was kind to me and we worked together well. There were a lot of differences including party, height, age…you name it…but somehow we always looked for common ground. Prayers for his family today. 🙏
Former Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch dies at 88 <a href="https://t.co/WkXEGlwk8V">https://t.co/WkXEGlwk8V</a>
&mdash; Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) <a href="https://twitter.com/amyklobuchar/status/1518042559020507137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
David Axelrod, who served in former President Barack Obama&#8217;s White House, also remembered Hatch for his kind words — offered even to those who often disagreed with him.
&#8220;At a low moment during my WH years, when a barbed piece about me had been written, I got an unexpected call from Sen. Orrin Hatch, whom I knew, but not well. &#8216;Don&#8217;t let the bastards get you down,&#8217; he said,&#8221; Axelrod tweeted. &#8220;It was a kindness, unusual in Washington, I&#8217;ll never forget. May he RIP.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
At a low moment during my WH years, when a barbed piece about me had been written, I got an unexpected call from Sen. Orrin Hatch, whom I knew, but not well. &quot;Don&#39;t let the bastards get you down,&quot; he said. It was a kindness, unusual in Washington, I&#39;ll never forget. May he RIP.
&mdash; David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) <a href="https://twitter.com/davidaxelrod/status/1518218103783628800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Vice President Biden Holds Senate Ceremonial Swearing In

‘American Original’: Biden Remembers Orrin Hatch As An ‘Energetic, Sharp-Elbowed’ Man Of ‘Deep Faith’

Amy Klobuchar

bipartisanship

David Axelrod

Joe Biden

Orrin Hatch

U.S. Senate

Orrin Hatch, who represented Utah as the longest serving Republican senator in history, died on Saturday at 88.
Hatch’s death was announced Saturday evening by his foundation, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/philanthropy-utah-mitt-romney-confirmation-hearings-clarence-thomas-eb5c864b40e5d3a60de7077a9504b5cf">according</a> to the Associated Press.
&#8220;The <a href="https://orrinhatchfoundation.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hatch Foundation</a> sadly announces the passing of Senator Orrin G. Hatch—the Chairman Emeritus of the Hatch Foundation, former President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate, and longest-serving Senator in Utah history (1977-2019). Senator Hatch passed away at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 23, 2022 in Salt Lake City, Utah, surrounded by family,&#8221; a <a href="https://orrinhatchfoundation.org/in-memoriam">statement</a> from the Hatch Foundation read.
Hatch served in the Senate for 42 years. He was first elected in 1976 and retired in 2018, NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/orrin-hatch-longest-serving-republican-us-senator-dies-88-rcna25728">reported</a>. He famously defended Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who was being targeted by Democrats with sexual harassment allegations during his confirmation hearings.
The senator from Utah stood firm on limiting abortion throughout his career and fought for fiscal conservatism.
&#8220;Upon his retirement, Senator Hatch held the distinction of having passed more legislation into law than any other Senator alive,&#8221; the Hatch Foundation statement said. &#8220;Through his relentless work ethic, Hatch earned a reputation as one of the most effective and bipartisan lawmakers of all time. In total, he sponsored or cosponsored more than 750 bills that became law.&#8221;
Hatch was born in 1934 in Homestead Park, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Brigham Young University in 1959 with a degree in history and moved to Utah 10 years later.
Hatch leaves behind his wife Elaine and six children.
Republican politicians took to social media to remember their former colleague after news of his death broke.
&#8220;Sad to learn of the passing of my friend Orrin Hatch /I worked closely w Senator Hatch for 40yrs on the [judicial committee] +20 yrs on Finance [committee] we had a very good friendship he has contributed so much to public policy&amp; for the ppl of Utah Barbara &amp; I send our sympathies to his family,&#8221; Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) tweeted.
&#8220;Today we lost a jewel and true American statesman in former Senator Orrin Hatch. He was a great colleague &amp; mentor—and left a truly remarkable legacy in the Senate. My heart is with Elaine &amp; the family,&#8221; Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) wrote.
Hatch was also remembered fondly by those across the aisle who worked with him for decades on issues such as stem cell research and children&#8217;s health insurance. He was known for extending an arm to Democrats when he could and advocating for political civility, Politico <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/23/utah-senator-orrin-hatch-dies-00027357">reported</a>.
&#8220;So sorry to hear that Senator Orrin Hatch has died,&#8221; Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) said. &#8220;We worked together on health issues on the Finance Committee, and he was passionate about serving the people of Utah. Sending my prayers to his family.&#8221;
This article has been expanded after publication to include additional information.

Orrin Hatch, Longest Serving Republican Senator In History, Dies At 88

Death

Republican Party

When Sen. John McCain died at age 81 in August, there was much nostalgia for the self-described &#8220;maverick.&#8221;
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the Senate minority leader, waxed poetic about McCain&#8217;s stature.
&#8220;As you go through life, you meet few truly great people. John McCain was one of them,&#8221; Schumer said in a statement after the Arizona Republican&#8217;s death. &#8220;His dedication to his country and the military were unsurpassed, and maybe most of all, he was a truth teller &#8211; never afraid to speak truth to power in an era where that has become all too rare. The Senate, the United States, and the world are lesser places without John McCain.&#8221;
And he made a vow: &#8220;Nothing will overcome the loss of Senator McCain, but so that generations remember him I will be introducing a resolution to rename the Russell building after him.&#8221;
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
The Senate, the United States, and the world are lesser places without John McCain.
Nothing will overcome the loss of Senator McCain, but so that generations remember him I will be introducing a resolution to rename the Russell building after him.
&#8212; Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenSchumer/status/1033514443437694977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 26, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
The Senate didn&#8217;t need support from the House, or from President Trump, to sign off on the move. Senators simply needed to take a vote to rename a current Senate building. Targeted was the Russell Senate Building, named in the 1970s after former Georgia Democratic Sen. Richard Russell, a segregationist who vociferously opposed the Civil Rights Act.
Four months later, the resolution was never introduced, <a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/dec/25/john-mccain-senate-office-building-push-fizzles-ch/">The Washington Times</a> reports.
<blockquote>
Mr. Schumer&#8217;s spokesman clammed up when asked what happened.
Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican floor leader, had seemed cool to the renaming idea, instead promising a bipartisan committee to look at other good ways to honor their departed colleague.
His office said it is still in touch with McCain&#8217;s family and some senators but isn&#8217;t ready to announce anything.
</blockquote>
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), who served with McCain, &#8220;said it was his own fellow Republicans who scuttled that plan,&#8221; the Times reported. &#8220;We need a lot more support if we were going to do it,&#8221; he said.
The move initially had support among Republicans. Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee, both Utah Republicans, for instance, got behind the name change.
&#8220;Senator Hatch believes it&#8217;s a worthy goal and looks forward to working with the majority leader to accomplish it,&#8221; Hatch&#8217;s deputy chief of staff, Matt Whitlock, said at the time.
&#8220;Matt Bennett, co-founder of Third Way, a think tank, has been eager to ditch the Russell name for some time and had hoped McCain would be the one to do it,&#8221; the Times reported. And somehow, Bennett blamed Trump once again, saying the name change fizzled out &#8220;like almost every other good, worthy idea in Trump&#8217;s Washington.&#8221;
&#8220;Rather than rename the building for an American hero and Senate titan, we are left with a monument to bigotry and civil rights obstructionism. It&#8217;s appalling, but it&#8217;s not surprising,&#8221; he said.

‘John McCain Senate Office Building’ Push Goes Nowhere As Senator Schumer Fails To Introduce Resolution

Charles Schumer

John McCain

Mike Lee

In the Democrats&#8217; endless war on religion, some party leaders have bashed a judicial nominee who&#8217;s a member of the Knights of Columbus (KOC), a Catholic organization.
Brian C. Buescher is an Omaha-based lawyer who was nominated by President Trump to become a judge on the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska. Senators Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) expressed concerns about his membership in the KOC in a recent hearing.
&#8220;Senators also asked whether belonging to the Catholic charitable organization could prevent judges from hearing cases &#8216;fairly and impartially,'&#8221; the <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/senators-quiz-nominee-about-membership-of-extreme-knights-of-columbus-78683">Catholic News Agency</a> (CNA) reported this week.
<blockquote>
In written questions sent to Buescher by committee members Dec. 5, Sen. Hirono stated that &#8220;the Knights of Columbus has taken a number of extreme positions. For example, it was reportedly one of the top contributors to California&#8217;s Proposition 8 campaign to ban same-sex marriage.&#8221;
Hirono then asked Buescher if he would quit the group if he was confirmed &#8220;to avoid any appearance of bias.&#8221;
&#8220;The Knights of Columbus does not have the authority to take personal political positions on behalf of all of its approximately two million members,&#8221; Buescher responded.
&#8220;If confirmed, I will apply all provisions of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges regarding recusal and disqualification,&#8221; he said.
</blockquote>
Harris, who is preparing a run for president in 2020, called the Knights of Columbus &#8220;an all-male society&#8221; and asked Buescher if he was was aware that the group was&#8221;anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage when he joined,&#8221; CNA reported. &#8220;The California senator also referenced Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson&#8217;s statement that abortion amounted to &#8216;the killing of the innocent on a massive scale&#8217; and asked Buescher if he agreed with the statement.&#8221;
Religious leaders hit back against what they deemed religious bigotry.
&#8220;This isn&#8217;t just about the Knights of Columbus or Catholics, this is an ongoing attack from the extremist left of the Democratic Party to silence people of faith and run them out of engaging in public service based on their religious beliefs,&#8221; Penny Nance, the president of Concerned Women for America, a Christian women&#8217;s activist group, said in a written statement, according to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dems-accused-of-religious-bigotry-for-questioning-trump-court-picks-knights-of-columbus-ties">Fox News</a>.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) also defended Buescher.
&#8220;Hopefully, in the eyes of Democrats you are not disqualified to a be a judge because of your religious affiliations and beliefs. The Knights of Columbus are a Catholic charitable organization who have genuinely held beliefs about marriage &amp; abortion,&#8221; he wrote on Twitter.
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Hopefully, in the eyes of Democrats you are not disqualified to a be a judge because of your religious affiliations and beliefs.
The Knights of Columbus are a Catholic charitable organization who have genuinely held beliefs about marriage &amp; abortion. <a href="https://t.co/Oage4AaLJg">https://t.co/Oage4AaLJg</a>
&#8212; Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) <a href="https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/1077260236786987008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
&#8220;Will not tolerate disqualifying judicial nominees because of charitable works and personal religious opinions,&#8221; Graham added.
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en">
Will not tolerate disqualifying judicial nominees because of charitable works and personal religious opinions.
&#8212; Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) <a href="https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/1077260488550039552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
And the office of Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said, &#8220;Alarming questions from Senate Democrats, showing they are getting more and more comfortable with imposing religious tests on Federal judicial nominees.&#8221;
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-cards="hidden" data-lang="en">
Alarming questions from Senate Democrats, showing they are getting more and more comfortable with imposing religious tests on Federal judicial nominees. <a href="https://t.co/iSAXByJl0M">https://t.co/iSAXByJl0M</a>
&#8212; Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) <a href="https://twitter.com/senorrinhatch/status/1076657983713533953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
&#8220;Kathleen Blomquist, a spokeswoman for the Knights of Columbus, blasted the questions by Hirono and Harris as a throwback to past anti-Catholic rhetoric,&#8221; Fox reported.
&#8220;Our country&#8217;s sad history of anti-Catholic bigotry contributed to the founding of the Knights of Columbus, and we are proud of the many Catholics who overcame this hurdle to contribute so greatly to our country,&#8221; she told the CNA.
Despite the pointed questions of the nominee and the implications of the interrogations, Knights of Columbus Senior Vice President Kevin Shinkle said the organization has valued the backing it&#8217;s received.
&#8220;The Knights of Columbus is grateful for the support of so many people who recognize our charitable efforts and understand that mainstream religious beliefs shouldn&#8217;t disqualify anyone from serving their country,&#8221; Shinkle said in a statement to Fox News.

Hard Left Senate Liberals Bash Trump Court Pick For Ties To Catholic Organization Knights Of Columbus

Catholicism

Kamala Harris

Lindsey Graham

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) has one of the best social media teams in congress. Following Sen. Elizabeth Warren&#8217;s (D-MA) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/37118/elizabeth-warren-releases-results-dna-test-just-james-barrett">release of DNA test results</a> showing she might be 1/1,024 to 1/64 Native American, the Utah senator&#8217;s staff released his own &#8220;DNA Test&#8221;:
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
These DNA tests are quite something. <a href="https://t.co/tCHmW7pJbj">pic.twitter.com/tCHmW7pJbj</a>
&#8212; Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) <a href="https://twitter.com/senorrinhatch/status/1051979441835003907?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
The self-deprecating post claims Hatch is &#8220;1/1032&#8221; T-Rex and the rest of him is made up of &#8220;other dinosaurs.&#8221; This is not only a silly way to mock Warren, but also a reminder that Hatch, who announced his retirement earlier this year, is the longest-serving Republican senator in history. He has been in the upper chamber since January 3, 1977.

DINO DNA: GOP Senator Mocks Elizabeth Warren With His Own ‘DNA Test’ Results

Elizabeth Warren

On the floor of the Senate Thursday, Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah made his closing arguments for the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, providing evidence against the uncorroborated allegations and condemning the Democrats&#8217; manipulative and partisan handling of the allegations.
The senator began by stressing Kavanaugh&#8217;s unquestionable qualifications for the position, noting that he is &#8220;among the most distinguished and most influential judges in the entire country&#8221; (full transcript, video below). His decisions have influenced the Supreme Court &#8220;no less than eleven times,&#8221; said Hatch, and he has taught courses &#8220;at Harvard, Yale, and Georgetown.&#8221;
But his impeccable record has not been the focus of the last few weeks, Hatch underscores; rather, uncorroborated and often absurd on their face accusations given credence by the Democrats. The result as been &#8220;the lowest, most vile, most dishonest attempt at character assassination&#8221; he&#8217;s ever seen.
&#8220;We&#8217;ve had protestors in halls and hearing rooms and elevators. We&#8217;ve even seen the miraculous return of Spartacus,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And, Mr. President, we&#8217;ve had the lowest, most vile, most dishonest attempt at character assassination that I&#8217;ve ever seen in all my 42 years in the Senate. We may never know who leaked reports of Dr. Ford&#8217;s allegations to the press. We do know it was someone in the Democratic orbit. This was followed by the most appalling smear campaign imaginable. No accusation was too heinous, no claim too far-fetched.&#8221;
Hatch then called out the Democrats for pretending alarm over Kavanaugh&#8217;s response to their shamelessly political smear campaign, particularly by acting as if they&#8217;d only pushed Christine Blasey Ford&#8217;s allegations.
&#8220;My Democratic colleagues like to pretend that Judge Kavanaugh&#8217;s understandable indignation at last week&#8217;s hearing was a reaction only to Dr. Ford&#8217;s allegations, but of course, that&#8217;s not the case,&#8221; said Hatch. &#8220;In the days immediately preceding the hearing, Judge Kavanaugh was accused of drugging women, of serial assault, and even gang rape. As Judge Kavanaugh told committee investigators, it was like the Twilight Zone. I sure wish my Democratic colleagues would stop trying to rewrite history to excise the slew of garbage they unleashed on Judge Kavanaugh and the American people.&#8221;
Hatch then focused his attention on Ford&#8217;s allegations, which he called &#8220;serious.&#8221; &#8220;If true, they should disqualify Judge Kavanaugh from serving on the Supreme Court,&#8221; he said. &#8220;But neither Dr. Ford, nor her attorneys, nor any member of the news media has been able to provide any corroboration for her claims. To the contrary, every alleged eyewitness or partygoer that she has named has either denied her allegations or failed to corroborate them. This includes her lifelong friend, Leland Keyser, whom Dr. Ford says was present at the party that night. Ms. Keyser says that not only does she not remember such a gathering ever taking place, but that she does not even know Judge Kavanaugh.&#8221;
And more questions have begun to arise following Ford&#8217;s testimony that undermine her credibility, Hatch said, including her claims about the second front door and not having helped anyone prepare for a lie detector test.
&#8220;Questions have been raised in recent days about certain elements of Dr. Ford&#8217;s testimony,&#8221; he said. &#8220;She says she first told others that Judge Kavanaugh had attacked her around the time of a house remodel to add a second front door to her home. But permit records show the door was added four years prior to her first alleged mention of Judge Kavanaugh. She testified she&#8217;d never given advice on how to take a polygraph test. A former boyfriend of hers, however, disputes that statement. Dr. Ford has also offered inconsistent accounts of when the attack took place and how many people were present at the party.&#8221;
He also notes that other aspects of her account are &#8220;confusing,&#8221; including her selective memory which leaves out key details essential in corroborating her allegations, including how she got home. &#8220;Even more puzzling, her good friend, Ms. Keyser, apparently never asked Dr. Ford why she disappeared from the party,&#8221; he noted.
&#8220;Given that there is no corroborating evidence for Dr. Ford&#8217;s claims, all we have to go on is her story,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;Although not dispositive, the questions and inconsistencies and puzzling aspects that I have just outlined call into question the reliability of her account. This is simply not enough, Mr. President, to conclude that Judge Kavanaugh is guilty of the heinous act Dr. Ford alleges.&#8221;
In Kavanaugh&#8217;s favor, he argued, we have a documented &#8220;lifetime of good works and honorable public service,&#8221; testified to by &#8220;dozens of letters from hundreds of people attesting to Judge Kavanaugh&#8217;s good character and unimpeachable credentials.&#8221;
&#8220;His clerks, students, and former colleagues have all praised him as a man of the highest integrity. He has made the promotion and encouragement of women lawyers a focus of his time on the bench. He volunteers in his community and mentors young athletes. This is a good man,&#8221; he said. &#8220;What Dr. Ford alleges is entirely out of character with the entire course of Judge Kavanaugh&#8217;s life. The recent sideshow stories about his drinking habits in high school and college over 30 years ago from people who never liked him in the first place are just a distraction. That this confirmation process has turned into a feeding frenzy about how nice Judge Kavanaugh was to his freshman roommate is an embarrassment.&#8221;
In the end, the Senate &#8220;has taken these allegations seriously&#8221; and done their due diligence. The FBI &#8220;found no corroborating evidence for any of the recent allegations against him. Not a single piece of corroborating evidence,&#8221; he stressed.
&#8220;Mr. President, I will vote to confirm Judge Kavanaugh,&#8221; Hatch concluded. &#8220;He is unquestionably qualified. He has gone through the most thorough vetting process I&#8217;ve ever seen. Hundreds of thousands of documents produced. Five days of hearings. Seven FBI background checks. We know what we need to know. The American people know what they need to know. It&#8217;s time to vote. It&#8217;s time to confirm this good man to the Supreme Court.&#8221;
In a tweet including an excerpt of his speech, Hatch laid out his four reasons the Senate should confirm Kavanaugh:
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Senator Hatch&#8217;s closing argument:
FBI found no new info to corroborate charges 
Dr Ford&#8217;s story has changed significantly 
Democrats have operated in bad faith from before nomination 
Kavanaugh&#8217;s credentials and record are pristine
Full text&#8212;&gt;<a href="https://t.co/ibxOZv6TJo">https://t.co/ibxOZv6TJo</a> <a href="https://t.co/4UAW8O8ftG">pic.twitter.com/4UAW8O8ftG</a>
&#8212; Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) <a href="https://twitter.com/senorrinhatch/status/1048016889774006272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
Full video and <a href="https://www.hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=releases&amp;id=A6914D4C-5D99-4EC2-97FF-F84629DCBA74">transcript</a> below:
<div class="embed video fluid-video"><iframe loading="lazy" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_96X3xIfFlo" width="853"></iframe></div>
<blockquote>
Mr. President, nearly three months ago, I came to the Senate floor for the first time to support President Trump&#8217;s nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Here&#8217;s what I had to say at that time:
&#8220;Judge Kavanaugh is among the most distinguished and most influential judges in the entire country. The Supreme Court has adopted the positions in his opinions no less than eleven times. He has authored multiple dissents that ultimately prevailed in the Supreme Court. He has taught courses at Harvard, Yale, and Georgetown. And, it bears mention, liberal and conservative justices alike have hired his former clerks, which shows the respect he has across the ideological spectrum. Truly, Mr. President, there is no one more qualified and more prepared to serve on the Supreme Court than Brett Kavanaugh.&#8221;
A lot has transpired in the last three months. We&#8217;ve received&#8212;and reviewed&#8212;more documents for Judge Kavanaugh than for any other Supreme Court nominee in our nation&#8217;s history. We&#8217;ve had five days of public hearings. Judge Kavanaugh has answered more than 1,300 written questions&#8212;more questions than all previous Supreme Court nominees combined. We&#8217;ve had protestors in halls and hearing rooms and elevators. We&#8217;ve even seen the miraculous return of Spartacus.
And, Mr. President, we&#8217;ve had the lowest, most vile, most dishonest attempt at character assassination that I&#8217;ve ever seen in all my 42 years in the Senate. We may never know who leaked reports of Dr. Ford&#8217;s allegations to the press. We do know it was someone in the Democratic orbit. This was followed by the most appalling smear campaign imaginable. No accusation was too heinous, no claim too far-fetched.
My Democratic colleagues like to pretend that Judge Kavanaugh&#8217;s understandable indignation at last week&#8217;s hearing was a reaction only to Dr. Ford&#8217;s allegations, but of course, that&#8217;s not the case. In the days immediately preceding the hearing, Judge Kavanaugh was accused of drugging women, of serial assault, and even gang rape. As Judge Kavanaugh told committee investigators, it was like the Twilight Zone. I sure wish my Democratic colleagues would stop trying to rewrite history to excise the slew of garbage they unleashed on Judge Kavanaugh and the American people.
I&#8217;d like to say a word here about Dr. Ford. It&#8217;s clear now that we&#8217;ll never know what happened 36 years ago. Dr. Ford offered a moving account of what she says happened between her and Judge Kavanaugh back when they were teenagers. Judge Kavanaugh, in turn, offered a forceful, impassioned rebuttal of her claims. Some have criticized Judge Kavanaugh for being too forceful in his response. Interestingly, almost without exception, these critics had announced their opposition to Judge Kavanaugh even before Dr. Ford&#8217;s allegations were leaked to the press. So let&#8217;s not pretend these critics are neutral observers. And in any event, Judge Kavanaugh&#8217;s indignation at what he clearly believes are false and unjust accusations was both understandable and, in my view, entirely proper.
Dr. Ford&#8217;s allegations are serious. If true, they should disqualify Judge Kavanaugh from serving on the Supreme Court. But neither Dr. Ford, nor her attorneys, nor any member of the news media has been able to provide any corroboration for her claims. To the contrary, every alleged eyewitness or partygoer that she has named has either denied her allegations or failed to corroborate them. This includes her lifelong friend, Leland Keyser, whom Dr. Ford says was present at the party that night. Ms. Keyser says that not only does she not remember such a gathering ever taking place, but that she does not even know Judge Kavanaugh.
Questions have been raised in recent days about certain elements of Dr. Ford&#8217;s testimony. She says she first told others that Judge Kavanaugh had attacked her around the time of a house remodel to add a second front door to her home. But permit records show the door was added four years prior to her first alleged mention of Judge Kavanaugh. She testified she&#8217;d never given advice on how to take a polygraph test. A former boyfriend of hers, however, disputes that statement. Dr. Ford has also offered inconsistent accounts of when the attack took place and how many people were present at the party.
There are other aspects of her story that are also confusing. She does not remember where or when the attack took place, but she remembers with crystal clarity how much alcohol she had consumed. This appears to be the only fact unrelated to the alleged attack that she is able to recall with certainty.
Dr. Ford also testified that after the attack, she ran out of the party. The location of the party would have had to be some distance from her home. She was too young to drive, so she would have had to have gotten a ride home. But she does not recall who drove her home, and given that this was long before the era of cell phones, it&#8217;s unclear how she would have contacted someone to come pick her up after she ran out of the party. Even more puzzling, her good friend, Ms. Keyser, apparently never asked Dr. Ford why she disappeared from the party.
Given that there is no corroborating evidence for Dr. Ford&#8217;s claims, all we have to go on is her story. Although not dispositive, the questions and inconsistencies and puzzling aspects that I have just outlined call into question the reliability of her account. This is simply not enough, Mr. President, to conclude that Judge Kavanaugh is guilty of the heinous act Dr. Ford alleges.
Against the thinness of Dr. Ford&#8217;s accusations, we have an entire lifetime of good works and honorable public service by Judge Kavanaugh. We have received dozens of letters from hundreds of people attesting to Judge Kavanaugh&#8217;s good character and unimpeachable credentials. His clerks, students, and former colleagues have all praised him as a man of the highest integrity. He has made the promotion and encouragement of women lawyers a focus of his time on the bench. He volunteers in his community and mentors young athletes. This is a good man.
What Dr. Ford alleges is entirely out of character with the entire course of Judge Kavanaugh&#8217;s life. The recent sideshow stories about his drinking habits in high school and college over 30 years ago from people who never liked him in the first place are just a distraction. That this confirmation process has turned into a feeding frenzy about how nice Judge Kavanaugh was to his freshman roommate is an embarrassment.
That said, the Senate has taken these allegations seriously. We invited Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh to testify, and they did so. Committee investigators spoke with numerous individuals who said they had relevant information to share. The committee also took statements under penalty of felony from the alleged witnesses Dr. Ford named. 
In addition, the FBI recently completed a supplemental background check of Judge Kavanaugh. And the FBI found no corroborating evidence for any of the recent allegations against him. Not a single piece of corroborating evidence.
Now that the FBI has found no corroborating evidence, some of my Democratic colleagues have taken to calling into question the credibility of the FBI and its investigators. These attacks are irresponsible.
Indeed, contrary to what my Democratic colleagues have said, the FBI conducted a thorough, professional, and expeditious investigation. The FBI talked to the people it needed to talk to. What agents didn&#8217;t do is talk to someone who says he talked to someone more than 30 years ago who now doesn&#8217;t remember seeing anything. They didn&#8217;t investigate whether Judge Kavanaugh was in fact spotted near a punch bowl at a high school party. And they were right not to do so. An FBI investigation is not a wild goose chase.
Some of my Democratic colleagues are also complaining that the FBI didn&#8217;t interview Dr. Ford or Judge Kavanaugh during the supplemental investigation. Well, Dr. Ford testified in a public hearing for nearly three hours. She told the committee she had given us all of the information she could remember. The FBI does not need to repeat questions that have already been asked and answered, particularly when a person has already said she&#8217;s shared everything she can remember.
Judge Kavanaugh likewise testified publicly at the hearing. He also spent several hours answering questions from committee investigators under penalty of felony on several different occasions. He has been thoroughly interrogated, under oath, in public and in private, about these allegations.
Some of my Senate Judiciary Committee colleagues made the unfortunate choice last night to smear Judge Kavanaugh with yet another piece of innuendo. Eight members of the committee sent a letter in which they incorrectly implied that the six previous background checks on Judge Kavanaugh contained information concerning sexual improprieties or alcohol abuse. In so doing, they took advantage of rules that protect the confidentiality of witnesses to score cheap political points. Although we should all be disquieted by my colleagues&#8217; unscrupulous conduct, the American people can rest assured that no such information exists. If it did, Democrats would have raised it before now. Of that we can be certain.
Indeed, Mr. President, after weeks of nonstop mudslinging and attempted character assassination by Senate Democrats and their media allies, no one has been able to find any charge against Judge Kavanaugh that sticks. And you can believe they&#8217;ve tried. Boy can you believe they&#8217;ve tried. This has been the worst example of the Washington smear machine that I&#8217;ve seen in all my 42 years of Senate service.
So we&#8217;re left back where we were before this whole sordid saga began. Judge Kavanaugh is eminently qualified&#8212;unquestionably qualified&#8212;to serve on our nation&#8217;s highest court. He is among the most distinguished, influential judges in the entire country. His opinions have received widespread acclaim and have won approval by the Supreme Court on multiple occasions. The American Bar Association interviewed more than a hundred fellow judges and lawyers who know Judge Kavanaugh and who have appeared before him and they all spoke with virtual unanimity in praising his integrity, his work product, and his judicial temperament.
I&#8217;m sorry that Judge Kavanaugh has had to go through this ordeal. He did not deserve this. He is a good man. He spent decades building a reputation of decency and fairness. His opponents have destroyed it with three weeks of smut and unsubstantiated allegations.
But I know Brett Kavanaugh. I know him well. He is a man of great resilience and firm conviction. He is going to be a great Justice, perhaps one of the greatest we&#8217;ve had. He will bring to the Supreme Court the integrity, honor, and intellectual rigor he has demonstrated throughout his entire career. And soon enough, he will have rebuilt his reputation. He will earn the respect of his colleagues and the American people through his writings and his decisions. Of that I have no doubt.
Mr. President, I will vote to confirm Judge Kavanaugh. He is unquestionably qualified. He has gone through the most thorough vetting process I&#8217;ve ever seen. Hundreds of thousands of documents produced. Five days of hearings. Seven FBI background checks. We know what we need to know. The American people know what they need to know. It&#8217;s time to vote. It&#8217;s time to confirm this good man to the Supreme Court.
</blockquote>

WATCH: Sen. Hatch Details The Evidence Against The Kavanaugh Accusations

Brett Kavanaugh

Christine Blasey Ford

Democratic Party

Supreme Court

When Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) was greeted by anti-Kavanaugh protesters demanding to speak to him on Thursday, the Republican shooed them away with his hand and told them he&#8217;d speak to them when they &#8220;grow up.&#8221; Clearly going in the opposite direction of Hatch&#8217;s warranted and vital advice, the hysterical protesters, right on cue, flew off the handle and cursed out the senator.
&#8220;Why aren&#8217;t you brave enough to talk to us and exchange with us?&#8221; one of the protesters yelled at Hatch as he approached an elevator on Capitol Hill.
Hatch made a shooing motion with his hand.
Outraged, the protester shot back, &#8220;Don&#8217;t you wave your hand at me!&#8221;
&#8220;When you grow up I&#8217;ll be glad to,&#8221; Hatch offered, suggesting he&#8217;d be willing to sit down and talk to rational protesters.
This really triggered the already-hysterical group, and a predictable chorus of how-dare-yous and identity politics ensued.
&#8220;F***ing old piece of s***!&#8221; one woman yelled. &#8220;You dismiss women! How dare you dismiss women!&#8221; another screamed, finger pointed at Hatch as he waved to her from the elevator.
Republican senators have been continuously ambushed and screamed at since the start of the circus-like confirmation process of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Some have even had their home addresses and telephone numbers published by a Democrat staffer.
A vote for the confirmation of Kavanaugh, who has been hit with uncorroborated and ever-changing allegations of sexual misconduct from 30-plus years ago, is set for Saturday. Though screaming left-wing activists were successful in delaying the vote last week, it appears likely they won&#8217;t be able to derail the confirmation of Kavanaugh to the bench.
WATCH:
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Classy <a href="https://twitter.com/OrrinHatch?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OrrinHatch</a> telling a group of survivors to &#8220;grow up&#8221; while he literally shoos them away with his hand. <a href="https://t.co/MGEf0OSkWy">pic.twitter.com/MGEf0OSkWy</a>
&#8212; Scott Hechinger (@ScottHech) <a href="https://twitter.com/ScottHech/status/1047940497027878917?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>

WATCH: Senator Orrin Hatch Tells Hysterical Protesters Exactly What They Need To Hear. They Lose Their Minds.

Protest

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, used the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as an opportunity to raise money, sending out a fundraising email during the hearing.
&#8220;We should all be concerned about what it would mean for our country if Judge Kavanaugh is confirmed to the Supreme Court,&#8221; the email began. &#8220;I will be questioning Judge Kavanaugh at length in this week&#8217;s Judiciary Committee hearing to shed more light on his views and record &#8212; but here&#8217;s what we already know.&#8221;
The email, titled &#8220;Stop Kavanaugh,&#8221; goes on to reveal that Booker&#8217;s mind is already made up before he has the chance to question Kavanaugh. He writes: &#8220;We can only make a difference if everyone steps off the sidelines. Add your name to join me in this fight and oppose Judge Kavanaugh&#8217;s nomination to the Supreme Court.&#8221;
He also makes the claim that Kavanaugh &#8220;was the one judge on President Trump&#8217;s shortlist who poses a direct threat to the integrity of Special Counsel Robert Mueller&#8217;s investigation.&#8221;
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Booker sends out fundraising email on Kavanaugh just now <a href="https://t.co/TpUCJjBqGy">pic.twitter.com/TpUCJjBqGy</a>
&#8212; Joe Perticone (@JoePerticone) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoePerticone/status/1036978210611900417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
&#8220;This stuff will make us sicker, not healthier,&#8221; Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) tweeted in response to the letter. &#8220;Sending out fundraising emails DURING A HEARING about opposition to a Supreme Court nominee is not the job of a Senator. It is cynical play-acting for a political base.&#8221;
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
This stuff will make us sicker, not healthier.
Sending out fundraising emails DURING A HEARING about opposition to a Supreme Court nominee is not the job of a Senator. It is cynical play-acting for a political base. <a href="https://t.co/JCmIb7OwCW">https://t.co/JCmIb7OwCW</a>
&#8212; Ben Sasse (@BenSasse) <a href="https://twitter.com/BenSasse/status/1037008942218522624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
Sasse followed with a second tweet, saying, &#8220;The American people see right through this &#8212; and the result will not be more serious deliberation,&#8221; he writes. &#8220;The result will be (yet again) a smaller Senate, and a more tribal electorate.&#8221;
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
The American people see right through this &#8212; and the result will not be more serious deliberation. The result will be (yet again) a smaller Senate, and a more tribal electorate. <a href="https://t.co/ErR7XhcQOz">https://t.co/ErR7XhcQOz</a>
&#8212; Ben Sasse (@BenSasse) <a href="https://twitter.com/BenSasse/status/1037009492465074177?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) also tweeted about the fundraising email.
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
This fundraising email went out during the hearing.
&#8220;I&#8217;m just sorry to see the Senate Judiciary Committee descend this way.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/VXYwXn4fuO">https://t.co/VXYwXn4fuO</a>
&#8212; Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) <a href="https://twitter.com/senorrinhatch/status/1037017611308085250?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>

Ben Sasse Goes After Cory Booker For Using Kavanaugh Hearing To Fundraise

Ben Sasse

Cory Booker

Judiciary

Menu