WASHINGTON, D.C. — Utah’s two U.S. senators, who both sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee, are weighing in on new accusations against President Donald Trump’s choice for Supreme Court.
At issue are accusations of sexual misconduct dating back to when Judge Brett Kavanaugh was a teenager.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, tells CNN he believes the woman accusing Kavanaugh must be mistaken. The exchange went as follows:
Hatch: “He’s a very strong, decent man.”
CNN: “And you believe him?”
Hatch: “I sure do.”
CNN: “Do you believe the accuser at all?”
Hatch: “I think she’s…she’s mistaken something that I don’t know. I mean, I don’t know her.”
Hatch said Kavanaugh told him on the phone he didn’t assault the woman and wasn’t at the party as she claims.
He says even if the accusation is true, Kavanaugh is a good man, and senators should judge who he is now.
Democrat leaders say that shows a hearing won’t help because Republican leaders have already made up their minds.
A spokesman for Sen. Mike Lee says Utah’s junior senator, who once clerked for Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, is looking forward “to hearing the testimony of both Kavanaugh and his accuser.”