Courtesy of Pam Martens
Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT). (Courtesy Senator’s Office)
Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, who effectively conducted himself as Clarence Thomas’s attorney instead of as an impartial member of the Senate Judiciary Committee during Anita Hill’s testimony on October 11, 1991, is still using the strategy of “nut-shaming” women who accuse men of sexual misconduct. Yesterday, Hatch, still a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee that holds confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominees, told reporters that Christine Blasey Ford, who has credibly accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, is “mixed up.”
Adding to the outrage over Hatch’s statement is the fact that he made his “mixed up” remark about Ford before he heard her testimony, which is scheduled to take place before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday, with Kavanaugh also invited to testify.
In a letter that has been published by CNN, Ford, a research psychologist in California, asserts that Kavanaugh “physically and sexually assaulted me during high school in the early 1980’s.” Ford alleges further that Kavanaugh’s pal and classmate, Mark Judge, was an eyewitness in the room and an accomplice. Kavanaugh and Judge were attending Georgetown Preparatory School when the incident was said to have happened in a private home. Ford was 15 at the time while Kavanaugh and Judge were believed to be approximately 17.
At the suggestion of her attorney, Ford has taken a lie detector test about the incident. The New York Times reported on Sunday that Ford “underwent a polygraph examination in early August; the retired F.B.I. agent who conducted the examination, Jerry Hanafin, said in an interview on Sunday that the results showed ‘no deception indicated’ — in effect, ‘she was being truthful.’ ”
Hatch told reporters yesterday afternoon that he had spoken with Kavanaugh and he is denying even being present at the party. Mark Judge, the alleged accomplice, told the Weekly Standard in an email that he has “no recollection” of the alleged attack.
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