Washington (CNN) Sen. Orrin Hatch, the outgoing Utah Republican and most senior GOP senator, issued a statement on Friday expressing regret for telling CNN "I don't care" when asked about President Donald Trump being implicated in crimes by Michael Cohen. In the interview with CNN earlier in the week, Hatch strongly dismissed the federal government's allegations that Trump directed Cohen, his former attorney, to commit two crimes by facilitating hush money payments to silence stories about alleged affairs with Trump. Asked if he had any concerns that Trump was implicated, Hatch told CNN: "The Democrats will do anything to hurt this President." Informed it was alleged by the Southern District of New York, Hatch said: "OK, but I don't care, all I can say is he's doing a good job as President." Hatch suggested the allegations from Cohen were being blown out of proportion in order to attack Trump.

Source: CNN December 14, 2018 20:14 UTC