Press Releases
Washington, DC—This week Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), the senior member and former Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, continued his effort to ensure the Senate’s examination and confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s nominee to the United States Supreme Court, remains fair and focused on substance.
Hatch wrote an op-ed for USA Today about “Borking,” the character assassination strategy first employed successfully against Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork. Hatch, who served on the Senate Judiciary Committee at the time of the first Borking, described how the left had turned character assassination into a million-dollar industry.
Political operatives can dehumanize Judge Kavanaugh all they want in the media. But at the end of the day, this is the same man who, every year, takes the little girl of his widowed friend to the school daddy-daughter dance. It’s the same man who has championed the professional success of women and minorities throughout the entirety of his legal career. And it’s the same man who has garnered widespread admiration from jurists and academics on both sides of the political aisle.
In an attempt to make a monster of a mensch, Democrats have dumped millions of dollars on political ads maligning Judge Kavanaugh’s character. But the truth, like Teflon, keeps these attacks from sticking.
Of course, reality won’t deter Democrats from further attempts to Bork Judge Kavanaugh. Mother Theresa could be our nominee, and the left would still find something to complain about. Even so, I trust the American people to see through the ruse. Judge Kavanaugh is both a gentleman and a jurist of the highest quality. He is an eminently qualified nominee who deserves swift confirmation to the Supreme Court.
You can read the rest of the op-ed here.
On the Hugh Hewitt show:
Hatch also joined the Hugh Hewitt show to discuss Judge Kavanaugh, and to discuss Democrat efforts to prevent his confirmation.
Hatch: I’ve heard a lot over the years in these confirmation battles. And we know a lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its shoes on. And we know the Democrats will say just about anything to hurt this nominee. And that’s why we have to go into overdrive. I’ve written three op-eds, I’ve spoken on the Senate floor several times. I’ve had my team operate a rapid response operation on social media to make sure that Judge Kavanaugh is represented well and represented fairly and accurately. We have fun with some of these efforts like my op-ed in the Daily Beast about jumping the shark on Judge Kavanaugh. But Judge Kavanaugh is a judge worth fighting for, and I’ve got to tell you, I’ve known him for a long time. He’s a really fine, young man and one of the more thoughtful people on the federal bench today.
What a “thorough examination of Kavanaugh’s record” looks like:
Senator Hatch spoke on the floor about the part of Judge Kavanaugh’s judicial record that has received the most extensive discussion thus far: the issue of separation of powers. In his remarks, Hatch focused on Kavanaugh’s writing on three separate cases: Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, Loving v. Internal Revenue Service, and PHH Corporation v. CFPB.
You can find the full speech here.
Senator Hatch also noted that his Democrat colleagues thus far have neglected to give Judge Kavanaugh’s sterling record and extensive writing a thorough review, instead focusing on creating distractions and misrepresentations of Judge Kavanaugh’s highly regarded opinions.
“I’ve spoken at length today about Judge Kavanaugh’s writing and jurisprudence. I’ve focused on actual cases that he’s decided and on his important contributions to constitutional law. In short, I’ve done what Judge Kavanaugh asked me to do. I’ve reviewed his opinions and considered his analysis. I’ve done what all of my colleagues should be doing. We should be reading what Judge Kavanaugh has actually written. We should be looking at his judicial philosophy and how he decides cases. Judge Kavanaugh is an outstanding choice for the Supreme Court. His opinions are cogent, his writing eloquent, and his reasoning ironclad.”
Press Conference
Senator Hatch joined his colleagues at a press conference to discuss Senate Democrats efforts to stall the Kavanaugh confirmation with excessive document demands. He decried the partisanship of the process and urged Republicans and Democrats to come together to confirm one of the most qualified Supreme Court nominees in decades. He and his colleagues stood in front of boxes representing the up to one million pages of documents the Senate will use to vet Judge Kavanaugh, constituting the most thorough examination of a Supreme Court nominee in history.
Deseret News covered the press conference, click here for the full story: Hatch throws colorful terms at Democrats opposed to Supreme Court nominee
###
