Former Senator Kelly Ayotte, who is a part of the team guiding Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, through the confirmation process, released a statement Thursday regarding the judges comments to senators that have dominated the news cycle.

Judge Gorsuch has made it very clear in all of his discussions with senators, including Senator Blumenthal, that he could not comment on any specific cases and that judicial ethics prevent him from commenting on political matters. He has also emphasized the importance of an independent judiciary, and while he made clear that he was not referring to any specific case, he said that he finds any criticism of a judge’s integrity and independence disheartening and demoralizing.

President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee has been under fire for comments he made to senators he met with in preparation for his confirmation hearing.

Senators from both sides of the aisle, including Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Ben Sasse (R-NE), have confirmed that Judge Neil Gorsuch said something along the lines of Trump’s comments about a member of the judiciary were “disheartening” and “demoralizing.”

Unsurprisingly, President Trump also took the opportunity to bite back and stir the pot over the faux controversy when he responded to a question about the comments by blaming the media. A tactic not exactly suited to diffusing the situation the media and Democrats have created out of the comments, as Jay Caruso discussed earlier.