Rehnquist FBI File Sheds New Light on Confirmation Battles, Drug Dependence

[djg21]

http://www.law.com/jsp/dc/PubArticleDC.jsp?id=1167732122395&hub=TopStories

The late Chief Justice William Rehnquist’s Senate confirmation battles in 1971 and 1986 were more intense and political than previously known, according to a newly released FBI file that also offers dramatic new details about Rehnquist’s 1981 hospitalization and dependence on a painkiller.

. . . .

(I)n 1986, the FBI conducted an intensive investigation into Rehnquist’s dependence on Placidyl, a strong painkiller that he had taken since the early 1970s for insomnia and back pain. Rehnquist’s bout with drug dependence had been made public in 1981, when he was hospitalized for his back pain and suffered withdrawal symptoms when he stopped taking the drug.

The FBI’s 1986 report on Rehnquist’s drug dependence was not released at the time of his confirmation, though some Democratic senators wanted it made public. But it is in Rehnquist’s now-public file, and it contains new details about his behavior during his weeklong hospital stay in December 1981. One physician whose name is blocked out told the FBI that Rehnquist expressed “bizarre ideas and outrageous thoughts. He imagined, for example, that there was a CIA plot against him.”

The doctor said Rehnquist “had also gone to the lobby in his pajamas in order to try to escape.” The doctor said Rehnquist’s delirium was consistent with him suddenly stopping his apparent daily dose of 1400 milligrams of the drug — nearly three times higher than the 500-milligram maximum recommended by physicians. The doctor said, “Any physician who prescribed it was practicing very bad medicine, bordering on malpractice.”


. . . .

The 1986 investigation also included extensive interviews conducted to clarify Rehnquist’s role as a Republican poll watcher in Arizona in the early 1960s. Witnesses had widely varying recollections, and the FBI did not offer the Senate a clear conclusion. It did suggest that at one point, when Rehnquist was explaining voter qualifications to fellow Republicans at a Phoenix polling place, some voters who overheard the conversation left, apparently discouraged.

. . . .

Interesting read. Now I have a better understanding of some of the ridiculous legal opinions authored by the former Chief Justice. What pondscum he was!

[The Witch]

1. Be a luv and reference your source.

[djg21]

2. Oops. Refresh your browser (NT)

[sinkingfeeling]

3. Guess he never did lose those 'bizarre ideas and outrageous thoughts'.

[MidwestTransplant]

6. No kidding. Perhaps they weren't drug induced after all since

he continued with them.

[saigon68]

21. Rehnquist expressed “bizarre ideas and outrageous thoughts.

The AssClown loved to see the death penalty and other outrages carried out

He was an evil criminal

[monarch]

4. Placidyl was a sleeping pill, not a painkiller. n/t

[The Witch]

5. self-delete

self-delete

[Lone_Star_Dem]

7. I believe you're correct

My grandmother was prescribed that when my grandfather died as a sleeping aid. If she used it the night before she was still out of sorts until near noon the next day.

[Dr Fate]

25. It was also Elvis Presley's favorite drug. n/t

n/t

[Warpy]

8. Dependence and addiction are separate phenomena

and I wish the ignoramuses in this country would learn the difference.

Dependence means a person is on a substance for a condition, takes it strictly by the prescription directions, but who suffers physical symptoms of withdrawal if the drug is discontinued suddenly. Examples are not only narcotics, but also insulin, the cortisols, and many antidepressants. Withdrawal symptoms range from the troublesome to the fatal. The medication can easily be weaned off, and the patient experiences no drug cravings.

Addiction, on the other hand, arises when a person exceeds the prescription dosage and craves the drug constantly. Physical withdrawal is accompanied by intense cravings as well as physical symptoms. Addicts need intensive therapy and, in some cases, chemical support to get them through the detoxification process.

Dependence on sleeping pills is almost a given, since most folks take them to prevent insomnia rather than treat it. Escalating the dose is also common, as most lose effectiveness after the first week or two.

I don't think it's quite time to call Rehnquist an addict.

[The Witch]

10. He was taking 3x the max prescribed amount . . .

(0.o)

[Warpy]

11. Second to last paragraph, please

Thank you.

[The Witch]

14. ?_?

I was just pointing out that he met one of your criteria, not trying to disprove your point.

[noonwitch]

17. Doctors can be very irresponsible about painkillers

I had a friend who's doctor prescribed barbituates for migraines, and gave her pretty much unlimited refills. He didn't monitor closely how frequently she was getting those refills. When he retired, the doctor who took over his practice was very different, cut her off with enough pills to slowly withdraw, and made sure she got a full assessment to find the source of her headaches. It was allergies, all along.

[johnlal]

19. Don't jump to conclusions

Maybe he was just selling the extras.

[EST]

9. This drug was used as a euphoric and was known as

"jelly-bellies."

In other words, people used them to get high.

So now we know Rehnquist was a druggie and a nasty republican activist who was guilty of voter intimidation.

Add that to the things we know about Sandra Day O'Connor, specifically that she wanted to retire earlier than she did, but would not because she did not want her successor to be picked by a democrat. What a motivation that gives to her collusion with other SC wingnuts to select poochie for prez in 2000.

The more I learn, the more I detest these people. No wonder they want to keep people stupid and uninformed.

[Pastiche423]

12. That's flash from the past

Are Placidyls still manufactured?

[anotherdrew]

28. no they stopped being made in 1999, so where'd he get his supply?

was he importing from Canada or something?

Not sure if it's manufactured elsewhere in the world anymore.

[Pastiche423]

30. Maybe Mexico?

Like they did w/Quaaludes after U.S.'s Rorer, Lilly and Lemon quit making them?

Weren't Placidyls in large orange/blue capsules?

[anotherdrew]

31. here's some pics

[Pastiche423]

32. Then I must be thinking of a different drug

Afterall, it's been a few decades since I took saw them. What I was thinking of were a lot larger than Tuinals and Seconals.

[Miss Chybil]

13. Think of all the jobs he would have not qualified for due to his

drug dependency. Think of all the lowly folks who've battled with the same problems earlier in their lives who are still sweeping floors because of their "past."

[Springster]

34. You make a great point - federal justices, judges and members of congress do

not have to meet security clearance criteria for access to classified material. This should be changed immediately.

[jazzjunkysue]

15. NPR said reagan's staff privately investigated anyone who might

not approve the old geezer. Nasty GOP tactics don't seem to change.

What is it about the GOP and drugs and sexual deviancies? What is their problem?

[anotherdrew]

27. what's with? "GOP and drugs and sexual deviancies?" it's their control system n/t

[hollowdweller]

16. And yet he voted FOR drug testing for people

Can you imagine if he had been a Dem? That stuff would have all been on page 1. He'd have never got confirmed.

[johnlal]

18. Rehnquist’s bizarre ideas and outrageous thoughts blamed on drugs.

What's Scalia's excuse? Maybe they had the same doctor. Is there an antidote? Maybe we can synthesize an airborne antidote and pipe it through the ventilation systems in the Supreme Court, the Capitol Building and the White House. That's what Captain Picard would do.

[The Witch]

22. Mahaha! You win.

"Relax and breathe deeply..." :smoke:

[anotherdrew]

29. Scalia's excuse? he's all hopped up on goof-balls n/t

[gratuitous]

20. "The FBI did not offer . . . a clear conclusion"

I remember Mr. Renchler's (Nixon's garbling of his name) 1986 confirmation hearing, and the minor dust-up over his voter intimidation tactics in Arizona a quarter century earlier. I remember thinking that the incident itself was probably not the defining moment in Mr. Rehnquist's life, but that in and of itself was sufficient to disqualify anyone from serving as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, a position that should be occupied by only the best of the best.

And the point about punitive drug policies upheld by the Rehnquist court is well taken. Would Rehnquist have survived his own inquisition if he had been subject to it? Probably not, but because he was that greatest of our species, the well-connected white guy, he was given a pass for life on conduct that ruined millions of others.

[Judi Lynn]

23. Defective, looney guy. His daughter was bizarre, as well.

What a shame.

Democratic Presidents have never stuck it to the American public with such shabby, self-serving tricks. Republicans are simply single-minded, and determined to control as much as possible, any way possible, as long as possible, and it shows.

They ALL have pitched their "moral compasses."

[damntexdem]

24. Hey, maybe the pharmaceutical industry will name something after him:

'Rehnquist' -- hmm, sounds like a tranq to me.

[anotherdrew]

26. street slang for Ethchlorvynol aka Placidyl was "jelly-bellies"

chief justice was hooked big-time on Jelly-Bellies

what was ray-gun's fav snack?

and the drug was last produced in the US in 1999, so where did he get his supply after that?

[hang a left]

35. The hospitalization was in the early 80's

almost all barbituates, like placidyls, seconal, tuinal, nebutal, have been replaced with benzos, like valium and ativan. Which can be just as strong at higher doses. He probably used halcyon until it was outlawed but you can still get it in Mexico, and then probably oxycontin.

[UTUSN]

33. An unneeded SEVENTH K&R n/t

[seafan]

36. NYT: F.B.I. Lent Help on 2 Occasions to Nomination of Rehnquist

F.B.I. Lent Help on 2 Occasions to Nomination of Rehnquist

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: January 5, 2007

WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 (AP) — The F.B.I.’s file on former Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, made public more than a year after his death, indicates that the Nixon and Reagan administrations enlisted the bureau’s help in blunting criticism of him at Senate confirmation hearings.
Administration officials apparently hoped to prevent any surprises from derailing his confirmation, both when he was nominated an associate justice by President Richard M. Nixon in 1971 and when he was named chief justice by President Ronald Reagan in 1986.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation released 1,561 pages of Rehnquist documents on Wednesday to The Associated Press, other news organizations and scholars in response to requests that were made under the Freedom of Information Act after the chief justice’s death in September 2005. An additional 207 pages were withheld under federal law, and the bureau said an entire section of his file could not be found.

In 1971, the papers show, Deputy Attorney General Richard G. Kleindienst directed the F.B.I. to investigate witnesses who were planning to testify against the Rehnquist confirmation at a Senate hearing. Fifteen years later, during the Reagan administration, the bureau was enlisted to conduct similar background checks.

Senator Strom Thurmond, Republican of South Carolina, was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee when Justice Rehnquist was nominated to be chief justice, and John R. Bolton was an assistant attorney general. In a memorandum found in the file, a Justice Department official told a counterpart at the bureau, “Thurmond just gave these names to Bolton they will testify for the Democrats and we want to know what they are going to say.”

snip

(Emphasis added)


And another little nugget from these files:

Nixon, Reagan Ordered Spying on Rehnquist Witnesses. January 4, 2007 Democracy Now


The documents also show the FBI was aware in 1971 Rehnquist owned a home in Phoenix that was only allowed to be sold to whites. The clause was only disclosed fifteen years later and Rehnquist claimed he was unaware.

It's just par for the course that these right wingers will lie and obfuscate to advance to the Supreme Court.

We will be paying for this one for a very long time.