Sen. Orrin Hatch Orrin Grant HatchBottom line Bottom line Senate GOP divided over whether they'd fill Supreme Court vacancy MORE (R-Utah) said Monday that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh denies attending an early 1980s party at the center of a sexual assault allegation against him.

Hatch told reporters that Kavanaugh denied being at the party during a phone call the two men had on Monday afternoon. Hatch added that he believed Kavanaugh’s accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, is “mixed up.”

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“The judge, who I know very, very well [and] is an honest man said this didn’t happen,” Hatch said, adding that there is “some question” about if Ford was “mixed up.”

Ford told The Washington Post that Kavanaugh, while intoxicated at a party in high school, pinned her down and groped her, attempting to remove her clothing. Kavanaugh has denied wrongdoing.

Hatch was asked if there was a possibility that Kavanaugh was so drunk that he did not remember being at the party. The senator dismissed the question.

“He said that’s not true. ... He said this did not happen and he’s naturally very upset about it,” Hatch told reporters.

A Hatch spokesman later clarified that Hatch was "paraphrasing" Kavanaugh's responses in his comments and Kavanaugh did not necessarily refer to a specific party.

"Hatch was paraphrasing, never quoting, and a more accurate representation of Kavanaugh’s words was that he was not at any party like the one she describes," Matt Whitlock said on Twitter.

Hatch was paraphrasing, never quoting, and a more accurate representation of Kavanaugh’s words was that he was not at any party like the one she describes. — Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) September 17, 2018

-Updated Sept. 18 at 4:11 p.m.