Sen. Orrin Hatch says he would vote to release the transcript of more than 10 hours of testimony from a former journalist who helped compile an explosive dossier alleging collusion between President Donald Trump’s campaign staff and Russian intelligence officials.
Earlier this month Glen Simpson testified behind closed doors in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee behind closed doors. Simpson is the co-founder of Fusion GPS which was hired by Republicans to do opposition research into then-candidate Donald Trump.
Following his testimony, Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal called for the transcript of Simpson’s testimony to be made public. Simpson’s lawyer says he also would like to see the transcript made public.
That would be subject to an affirmative vote of the full Senate Judiciary Committee. Sen. Orrin Hatch’s office says Hatch would also be in favor of releasing Simpson’s testimony to the public.
In an email statement, Hatch’s office said:
“The Senator, like Chairman Grassley, believes we should make as much public as possible, and as soon as we can. Barring additional and unexpected developments (such as, for example, a new, bondfide assertion of privilege or the unanticipated discovery of a need for additional interviewing to provide greater context before release), he would vote in favor.”
Hatch’s statement was in response to a question from the Rachel Maddow Show about Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley’s statement that he, too, would vote to make Simpson’s testimony public. Grassley is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The mostly uncorroborated dossier from Fusion GPS alleges that members of Trump’s campaign colluded with the Russian government.
