Early Thursday morning, The Deseret News, a Utah-based publication, accidentally published an op-ed from Sen. Orrin Hatch. It said that despite meeting with Judge Merrick Garland, his view remained that the Senate should not consider a nominee to fill the vacancy left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia until after the election.
Here’s the problem: The two had not yet met.
“Like many of my Senate colleagues, I recently met with Chief Judge Merrick Garland, President Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court,” the Utah senator wrote in the op-ed, before praising Garland’s “character and credentials.”
”Our meeting, however, does not change my conviction that the Senate should consider a Supreme Court nominee after this presidential election cycle.”
The post was removed but is still available in a cached version.
Paul Edwards, executive editor of The Deseret News said in a statement that the draft of the op-ed was “awaiting edits from the Senator following his meeting with Judge Garland," according to The Washington Post
“We apologize to Senator Hatch and our readers for this unfortunate error,” the statement continues.
“Senator Hatch has made clear from the beginning that he intends to meet with Judge Garland out of respect for their longtime friendship,” Hatch spokesman J.P. Freire said in a statement. “He looks forward to their meeting and the opportunity to explain his position on the current Supreme Court vacancy.”
And on Thursday after the snafu, the Utah senator issued a statement praising Garland — who he will be meeting with Thursday afternoon — but held firm that he would not support holding a hearing.
“Merrick Garland is an honorable public servant who deserves our respect. We have been friends for nearly two decades, and I look forward to visiting with him today,” he said. “Despite my personal affection for Merrick, I remain convinced that the right way for the Senate to do its job is to conduct a confirmation process after this contentious presidential election season is over.”
In the release, Hatch also listed all of the times he's had a similar message about Garland.
