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Orrin Hatch just called Christine Blasey Ford “attractive” and “pleasing”

One reason the GOP hired a "female assistant" to ask the questions.

Sen. Orrin Hatch thought a recess from Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony about her sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was a good time to call her “attractive” and “pleasing.”

“I don’t think she’s un-credible. I think she's an attractive, good witness,” Hatch, the longtime Utah Republican lawmaker, told reporters.

He added: “In other words, she’s pleasing.”

Ford has accused Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge of locking her in a room and pinning her down at a house party in 1982 when they were teenagers. Ford was able to escape physically unharmed but said the trauma has followed her through her lifetime since the alleged assault.

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Hatch, 84, is one of the 11 Republican senators — all male — on the Senate Judiciary Committee who have hired a prosecutor to question Dr. Ford instead of asking questions themselves.

Read: Christine Blasey Ford, a memory expert, says she remembers who attacked her just fine

Hatch has previously expressed doubts that Kavanaugh’s now numerous accusers are telling the truth.

On Wednesday, Hatch said that he was “naturally suspicious” of Kavanaugh’s third accuser, Julie Swetnick. Swetnick has accused Kavanaugh of “abusive and physically aggressive behavior toward girls.”

Cover: Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, is surrounded by reporters holding recording devices as he listens to a reporter's question after a Republican lunch meeting, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018 in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)