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SALT LAKE CITY — Former Sen. Orrin Hatch says Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden told him he did not believe Anita Hill’s sexual harassment allegations against then-U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas.
“Biden told me personally that he didn’t believe her. He said, ‘I don’t know why she did this.’ I don’t mean to malign Joe, but Joe told me he didn’t believe her and there were some others that told me that, too,” Hatch says in a Fox Nation documentary titled, “The Confirmation Chronicles Vol 2: High-tech Lynching.”
In 1991, Hill accused Thomas of sexually harassing her in two government jobs. She testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee for eight hours before the panel, and ultimately the full Senate, narrowly confirmed Thomas.
Biden served as the committee chairman at the time. He has been criticized for the way he handled Hill’s accusations and testimony. Biden’s campaign did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment on Hatch’s assertion.
The issue arose shortly after Biden launched his bid for the presidency earlier this year. According to his campaign, Biden expressed in a private discussion with Hill his “regret” for the way she was treated.
In an interview on ABC’s “The View” in April, Biden said “I believed her from the beginning” and did “everything in my power” to defeat Thomas.
Biden came under fire for failing to call additional witnesses who could have supported Hill’s claims, letting Republicans on the committee attack her.
Hatch was chief among them.
Hatch served as the Republicans designated questioner in the Thomas hearings. He told KSL at the time that he had no doubt special interest groups coached Hill and that she lied about sexual harassment by Thomas.
During a speech at the University of Utah last year, Hill said the committee wasn’t really interested in what she had to say, but in affirming what they had already set out to do.
"They relied on misogynist tropes to support their position," she said, calling out Hatch.
