Sen. Orrin Hatch (R., Utah) on Monday accused Senate Democrats of engaging in a coordinated campaign to prevent Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh from being confirmed.
"The goal is delay. Nothing new to most of us. It should be clear now to all Americans that Democrats are engaged in a coordinated effort to stop Judge Kavanaugh's confirmation by any means possible," Hatch said during a speech on the Senate floor.
Hatch added that "every accuser deserves to be heard," but castigated how Democrats have handled the sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh.
"Moreover, a person who has committed sexual assault should not serve on the United States Supreme Court, but the way my Democratic colleagues have approached these allegations makes clear that the driving objective here is not the truth, but politics," Hatch continued.
Hatch was referring to new allegations which emerged Sunday night. The New Yorker reported that Deborah Ramirez, who attended Yale University with Kavanaugh in the 1980s, has accused the Supreme Court nominee of drunkenly thrusting his penis in her face, causing her to inadvertently touch it as she pushed him away, at a party when he was a freshman.
Kavanaugh called the claim a "smear, plain and simple," and said he looks "forward to testifying on Thursday about the truth, and defending my good name—and the reputation for character and integrity I have spent a lifetime building—against these last-minute allegations."
The New Yorker reported that Ramirez was "at first hesitant to speak publicly, partly because her memories contained gaps because she had been drinking at the time of the alleged incident," and that "she was reluctant to characterize Kavanaugh's role in the alleged incident with certainty."
Ramirez decided to come forward after "six days of carefully assessing her memories and consulting with her attorney."
The New Yorker noted it "has not confirmed with other eyewitnesses that Kavanaugh was present at the party."
"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 said on the Senate floor. "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," Hatch continued. "Senate Democrats will stop at nothing to prevent Judge Kavanaugh's confirmation."
Hatch was referring to the first allegation made against Kavanaugh. Christine Blasey Ford alleged that, at a high school party in the early 1980s, Kavanaugh forced her onto a bed, groped her, and tried to remove her clothes while he was drunk, and while his friend Mark Judge watched. She said she escaped after Judge jumped on them, sending them tumbling and giving her an opportunity to get out of the room.
Kavanaugh has denied the allegation, and all four people who Ford claims attended the party have denied any knowledge of the party or the alleged assault. Ford and Kavanaugh are set to testify in an open hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
"Senate Democrats are demeaning both the Senate and the Supreme Court to their partisan games and transparent attempts at character assassination," Hatch said. "We will hear and should hear from Dr. Ford on Thursday as planned. Then we should vote."
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