Republican Orrin Hatch Regrets Comments Defending Trump, Says, 'No One Is Above the Law'

Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah previously defended President Donald Trump amid allegations that he directed a criminal conspiracy over hush money payments doled out before the 2016 election. The retiring lawmaker then said he regretted his past statements and he insisted, "No one is above the law."

Earlier this week, following the news that federal prosecutors in New York concluded Trump directed his former attorney Michael Cohen to commit campaign finance violations, Hatch told reporters, "I don't care, all I can say is he's doing a good job as president."

"The Democrats will do anything to hurt this president," he said.

But now, just after giving his farewell address on the Senate floor, Hatch released a statement in which he expressed regret for "speaking imprudently" in his defense of Trump.

"Earlier this week in an unplanned hallway interview with CNN, I made comments about allegations against the President that were irresponsible and a poor reflection on my lengthy record of dedication to the rule of law," Hatch wrote.

The longtime lawmaker added that while he doesn't believe that Cohen is "any kind of reliable voice in this process" he expressed "confidence" in special counsel Robert Mueller and his ongoing investigation into Russian election interference.

"I don't believe the President broke the law, but one of the core principles of our country is that no one is above the law. That means anyone who does break the law should face appropriate consequences," Hatch concluded.

Federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York concluded that the president directed Cohen to pay off adult film actress Stormy Daniels and model Karen McDougal to keep quiet about their extramarital affairs with Trump so as not to affect the outcome of the 2016 election. The allegation was written in a court memo filed by investigators in their case against Cohen.

"During the campaign, Cohen played a central role in two similar schemes to purchase the rights to stories—each from women who claimed to have had an affair with Individual 1—so as to suppress the stories and thereby prevent them from influencing the election," prosecutors wrote, identifying Trump as "Individual 1."

"In particular, and as Cohen himself has now admitted, with respect to both payments, he acted in coordination with and at the direction of Individual 1," they added.

Trump has repeatedly denied the accusations, writing in a series of tweets on Thursday that he "never directed Cohen to break the law."

"He was a lawyer and he is supposed to know the law. It is called 'advice of counsel,' and a lawyer has a great liability if a mistake is made. That is why they get paid," Trump wrote, later adding that Cohen pleaded guilty to the charges just to "embarrass" the president.