Democratic Senators Seek Specific Papers Relating to Supreme Court Nominee

[Skinner]

Just received this press release in my email. Looks like a good thing. :thumbsup:

Democratic Senators Seek Specific Papers Relating to Supreme Court Nominee

Judiciary Panel Members Set Document Priorities To Expedite Review Process

WASHINGTON (Tuesday, July 26) -- The Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday sent a letter to President Bush seeking specific documents written by Supreme Court nominee John Roberts while he worked in the White House Counsel’s office for former President Ronald Reagan. The letter is the first request by Democratic senators for information relating to the record of Judge Roberts.

The letter is attached and below –

The Honorable George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We are disappointed that the White House appears to have so quickly moved to close off access by the Senate to important and informative documents written by Supreme Court nominee John Roberts while he was at the Department of Justice. According to news reports today, your Administration may be preemptively protecting thousands of documents not even requested yet by the Committee – documents that could very well hold important information necessary to evaluate Judge Roberts’ judicial philosophy and legal reasoning.

While many documents are being delivered today from Judge Roberts’ work for Attorney General William French Smith at the Reagan Justice Department, it is far too early to determine whether these documents are relevant, adequate, or even helpful. It may be that this group of documents, along with the upcoming hearings, will give us enough information to fulfill our constitutional duty to advise and consent on this nomination. But it would be premature for either the Senate or the White House to make that determination now. Judge Roberts spent some four years working for President George H.W. Bush, and it may very well be that documents from that time will be helpful to the Committee as well.

It is our hope that the confirmation process moves swiftly and smoothly over the coming weeks. We can assure you that no Senator is attempting to unduly delay the proceedings. We intend to work with Chairman Specter if and when further requests for documents or information appear appropriate. But in the meantime, we believe that judgment should be withheld on which and how many documents regarding this nominee might be released to the Senate. The history of past nominations is varied but clear – each confirmation process is different, and the type and number of documents shared between the White House and the Senate has depended on the nature of the debate, the needs of the Committee, and a cooperative negotiation between the Senate and the White House. A blanket statement that entire groups of documents are off limits is both premature and ill advised.

Finally, it is our understanding that many more publicly available documents will soon be sorted and delivered to the Committee. In the interests of speeding up the process, we have attached a list of the document areas within that group we feel would be most helpful to the Committee. To the extent your staff can assist in expediting the delivery of those documents, we would be grateful.

Sincerely,

Patrick Leahy
Edward Kennedy
Joseph Biden
Herb Kohl
Dianne Feinstein
Russell Feingold
Charles Schumer
Richard Durbin

ATTACHED:

Particular matters of Interest:

JGR/ Law of War
JGR/ Texas Redistricting
JGR/ Abortion
JGR/ Acid Rain
JGR/ Affirmative Action Correspondence
JGR/ Appointee Correspondence 1985
JGR/ Appointee Memos, Clearance, Announcements, etc.
JGR/ Appointments Clause
JGR/ Asbestos Legislation
JGR/ DC Chadha
JGR/ Change in Presidential Term
JGR/ Civil Rights Commission
JGR/ Comparable Worth
JGR/ Conflicts of Interest
JGR/ Death Squads Investigation – SSCI
JGR/ DOJ Daily Reports
JGR/ EECO
JGR/ Equal Opportunity in Education
JGR/ Ethics
JGR/ Exclusionary Rule
JGR/ First Amendment
JGR/ Flag, American
JGR/ Independent Counsel
JGR/ Iran Emergency
JGR/ Jones, Bob – Univ. Decision
JGR/ Judges
JGR/ Legal Services Corporation
JGR/ Pardons
JGR/ Political Activity
JGR/ Pro Bono
JGR/ Reagan – Bush Rallies Guidance
JGR/ Recess Appointments
JGR/ School Prayer
JGR/Supreme Court
JGR/ War Powers

# # # # #

[ClassWarrior]

1. Answer the questions, Baby Bork!!

NGU.

[DemsUnite]

12. Whacha hidin' Johnny boy?

[meganmonkey]

2. I hope this doesn't get ignored completely

like every other effort by Dems lately....

Time will tell.

[peace frog]

3. Nice try...

... but it will go nowhere. BushCo are well aware Roberts will be confirmed without giving up one shred of paper requested.

[brentspeak]

4. I think that if the WH refuses to cooperate with the Senate

by providing documents it needs to properly evaluate Roberts, then that alone should constitute "extraordinary circumstances". The Democrats, if they have any PR wits about them (and for the past few years, they haven't), could easily make a convincing case for a filibuster by simply pointing out to the public that the White House is obstructing the Senate's sworn duty to sternly vet all SCOTUS nominees.

[peace frog]

10. Good point

but do the Dems have the cojones to filibuster? I'd like to believe they do, but... I'll believe it when I see it. I'm thinking Frist would be happy to revive the nuclear option, and unless Dems have certain key Repubs in their corner again, Frist won't hesitate to launch it.

[progressoid]

18. Filibuster - HA! Thats a funny one.

Some Dems are already changing his kids diapers and bringing him coffee and donuts. He's such a swell guy ya know.

:sarcasm:

[babylonsister]

5. Not so fast. Remember Bolton? nt

[peace frog]

11. See my post above

[Straight Shooter]

6. The "Honorable" george w. bush

I bet that brings a snort when they have to write that clear deviation from reality.

bush will counter that the Dems are obstructing the process by demanding documents that clearly are outside the purview of the vetting of his chosen one.

Wow, lookee there, asbestos litigation. Doesn't take a crystal ball to know his position on that one, does it?

[JimmyJazz]

7. I thought the White House was already asserting attorney-client

privilege with regard to these documents. However, I think the people should be considered the client and should be able to see the documents.

[gkhouston]

8. they're trying that spin on for size

But if Roberts gets approved, he'll be on the Court for decades. Why should we be willing to buy a pig in a poke? The harder they try to sell him to us Right Now This Very Minute No You Can't Ask Any Questions Or Debate The Issue, the more certain I am that he's got a past they'd rather not have openly discussed in the Senate.

[Justitia]

17. Good luck w/that! He worked for "the people" - WE are his client.

And on top of that, Ken Starr himself determined there is no attorney client privilege afforded the executive branch - remember that????

Nixon tried this BS tactic too - it didn't work for him either.

[JimmyJazz]

27. why are you "yelling" at me when I said the same thing you did?

And yes, I remember Ken Starr's assertion.

[Justitia]

28. Not yelling at you, yelling in enthusiasm w/you.

Sorry, sometimes tone doesn't translate well via keyboard.

[realFedUp]

9. People for the American Way has this snippet about Reagan/Roberts

snip

Between 1981 and 1993, the Reagan and George H. W. Bush Administrations made every effort to turn back the clock on civil rights laws protecting women, minorities, people with disabilities, and older Americans. The documents we do have access to, which are only complete for the years between '81 and '82, give us reason to believe that Roberts may have been an integral part of these comprehensive attempts to undermine the civil rights enforcement policies of previous Republican and Democratic administrations. The American people have a right to know the full extent of his involvement with these endeavors. And the Senate must have access to all relevant documents from this entire period in order to determine whether Judge Roberts can be trusted to guard Americans' rights and liberties if confirmed.

[donheld]

13. May the Gods hear our prayer

and STOP Roberts.

[DS1]

14. Damn, typo in the first line

right around where it says 'Honorable'

:-)

[mtnester]

15. It was good strategy to let the asshats in the WH come out first with the

documents they WON'T release.

Now, we get everything, PLUS they lead us to the dead bodies. Nice job.

[woodsprite]

16. Isn't pre-emptively blocking papers the Senate needs, obstr. of justice?

[cornermouse]

19. NPR did a story on him this morning.

He's much worse than he looks. The democrats really need to get ALL of his papers.

[Toucano]

22. Agreed! A lifetime appointment demands ALL documentation. n/t

[IndianaGreen]

20. Here is the text of e-mail I sent to Evan Bayh re: Roberts's documents

Please join Senator Kerry's request that the White House releases all memoranda and e-mails that Judge Roberts prepared while an employee of the United States government. This information is critical to ascertain Judge Robert's judicial temperament to sit on the highest court in the land.

The claim of attorney-client privilege made by Fred Thompson, John McCain, and others on documents written by Roberts while assistant Solicitor General is the most ridiculous claim ever made, particularly in view of how such claims were found by the courts to have no legal standing during the Whitewater investigation.

The question is what are they trying to hide? Judge Roberts's claim of amnesia regarding

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=151x2870

[Cha]

21. Great for the Senators to seek

those papers..

Cause this 'toon from buzzflash's Steve Bradenton is dead on..



That roberts didn't even remember he was a member of.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

23. Specifically the years 1985 and 1986.

Anything with the words "TOW Missile" in it would also be helpful.

[BeFree]

24. Gosh...

Do ya think he might have had a hand in Iran/Contra?

I got a bad feeling about this guy. Hell, anything the WH proposes gives me nausea.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

25. He was the Associate Counsel to the President until 1986.

So, yeah, he undoubtedly did.

[slay]

26. Awesome. Good to see they are after some hard facts

and not just wooed by his "pretty boy" image the way the corporate media seems to be.