Senator Orrin Hatch passed away Saturday.  He was a true leader and a great friend to the Republican National Lawyers Association. He spoke to RNLA more than any other elected politician and was very close to one of our founders, Betty Southard Murphy. As the left tries to lionize him for being some bipartisan figure from a bygone age, we should remember what a strong Republican Senator Hatch always was. As his former staffer, Tom Jipping, stated: Senator Hatch was “a real compassionate conservative.”  

But that compassion should not be mistaken for weakness. The Wall Street Journal had it right when it editorialized:  

The press is eulogizing former Senator Orrin Hatch for his civility and bipartisan deal-making with Democrat Ted Kennedy. He certainly was a gracious man who represented a more civil era in politics. But we’ll remember the longest-serving Republican Senator, who died Saturday at age 88, for the moments he bucked Beltway convention and took unfair abuse for it.

The first was his stalwart defense of Clarence Thomas against the accusations by Anita Hill in 1991. Ms. Hill’s claims have achieved totemic status on the political left. But they arrived only at the last minute, midwifed by Democratic operatives, and lacked substantiation. On the Judiciary Committee, Senator Hatch subjected the claims to proper scrutiny. He helped confirm Justice Thomas, who has been a credit to the High Court and country.

Yesterday, the Senate voted to overturn new IRS rules which are meant to protect certain tax-exempt organizations that do not have 501(c)(3) status from the requirement to report the names and addresses of their contributors who donate more than $5,000 in a given year.

Today, President Trump gave Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian honor.  Senator Hatch was given the award along with six others, including the late Justice Antonin Scalia.  Senator Hatch, who is retiring, is currently the longest-serving senator and Senate President pro tempore, and voted on the confirmation of every current Supreme Court justice.

If you read the Huffington Post, you would have to believe that the Republicans on the Judiciary Committee are out of control and acted in an unprecedented fashion yesterday when they held hearings.  The reality is that Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) was merely doing what he made an agreement with Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein to do.  Meanwhile, led by Ranking Member Feinstein, Senate Democrats have brought unprecedented indignity and degradation to the modern Senate. 

NEW: In a detailed, 29-page letter Chairman @ChuckGrassley has referred Michael Avenatti and Julie Swetnick to the Attorney General and FBI Director for criminal investigation for providing false statements, obstructing investigations, and conspiracy.https://t.co/ZjQWtnqQOM pic.twitter.com/DNYNGxel4K

— Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) October 25, 2018

Just when you thought it could not get anymore ridiculous or the smears any worse, Senator Dick Durbin takes off on a new tact.  Knowing FBI reports are confidential, he tweeted:

This tweet is not accurate. Committee Republicans must correct it. See our letter here: https://t.co/trJ9ymDjee https://t.co/cCVpAwCzEI

— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) October 3, 2018

Now think about this. Through multiple confirmation hearings (including for the DC Circuit), Durbin never brought this up.  Neither did any other Senator.  Yet now there is an issue in those past 6 FBI reports?  This is a classic, like the “there is a problem with Mitt Romney’s taxes” tactic used by Harry Reid. Reid famously said that when there was nothing there.  Yet the media reported Reid's charge breathlessly. 

Fortunately the Senate Judiciary Committee under Senator Chuck Grassley fought back:  

Nothing in the tweet is inaccurate or misleading. The committee stands by its statement, which is completely truthful. More baseless innuendo and more false smears from Senate Democrats. https://t.co/x7VUEKnFRV

— Senate Judiciary (@senjudiciary) October 3, 2018

Led by Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley Republican Senators have patiently listened and investigated the allegations against Judge Kavanaugh.  The results at every turn back Judge Kavanaugh and it can be considered telling that the only person not to provide a statement to the committee (which are subject to criminal penalties for perjury) is Dr. Ford.  That has made Democrats more desperate in their smear campaign against Judge Kavanaugh. 

Now other Senators have gotten into this fight to stop the effort to smear a great man and Judge.  Let’s start with Leader Mitch McConnell's speech today:

Democrats have signaled for months they’d put on whatever performance the far-left special interests demanded and throw all the mud they could manufacture. Well, it’s not like they didn’t warn us. But even by the far left’s standards, this shameful smear campaign has hit a new low. I’ll get into the specifics in just a moment. But I want to be perfectly clear about what has taken place.

The confirmation battle over the nomination of D.C. Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court is back in the headlines after The Intercept reported on Wednesday that Senator Dianne Feinstein was keeping a document from her Senate Judiciary Committee Democratic colleagues that was regarding an incident involving Brett Kavanaugh in high school.  On Thursday, Senator Feinstein issued a statement that she had "information" on Judge Kavanaugh from an individual who requested confidentiality.  On Sunday, The Washington Post reported the identity of the accuser -- California research psychologist Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. 

While the story recounted by Dr. Ford is harrowing, this is not the proper way to handle an allegation of sexual assault against a nominee for high office, for the sake of everyone involved -- the accused nominee, the woman making the accusation, and the state of our political discourse and process.  Instead of using the confirmation process to vet the accusation, Senator Feinstein has held onto it until the last moment, releasing it at a time when she thinks it can be used to smear Judge Kavanaugh without giving the allegation a complete evaluation and hearing.