http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/28/sessions-pushes-for-release-of-kagan-papers/?ref=politics
The senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee suggested on Friday that the White House is foot-dragging on the release of 160,000 pages of documents relating to Solicitor General Elena Kagan’s days in the Clinton White House.
The National Archives has said it is working to release the information, and will begin making some documents available as early as June 4. But the Republican, Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, wants assurances that all the documents will be released by June 28, when confirmation hearings are to set begin.
Republicans claim the Democrats may be trying to hide things, and threaten to derail the nomination if the Kagan information is withheld.
In a letter to White House Counsel Bob Bauer on Friday, Mr. Sessions suggested that Mr. Obama’s failure to issue a formal waiver for release of the documents is slowing the process down. Writing that he was ‘’concerned by certain ambiguities,’’ Mr. Sessions asked the White House to state in writing that Mr. Obama does not intend to assert executive privilege. A spokesman for the president said Mr. Obama has already made his intentions clear.
The letter comes on the heels of Mr. Sessions’ warning earlier this week that without full access to the documents, he will not allow confirmation hearings to go forward. Mr. Sessions does not have a say in the timing, but if Republicans raise enough of a fuss – and if the records are in fact not available by the hearing start date — the public clamor could make it difficult for Democrats to move ahead.
By now, you'd think that the leader of the "most transparent administration in history" would realize that living up to that includes releasing information on your SCOTUS nominations.
Regardless of the posturing by Senator Sessions, who has been demagogic with regard to this nominee from the beginning, I am sure the Democrats will have a majority of Senators that "consent" to Mrs. Kagan's placement on the the Supreme Court. Now whether Senator Sessions will live up to his own rhetoric with regard to blocking judicial nominees by filibuster is a whole other matter entirely.
ReplyDeleteThink about this for a second. Nobody has yet to admit they read the 2,700 health care bill that was passed. So, there are 160,000 pages of text relating to Kagan? And Sessions thinks that thinks that some idiots (even a hundred guys) can read all this and release by the end of June? And then, some other idiots from the Republican party can read these and prep their Senators by mid-July?
ReplyDeleteThis has turned into some Mel Brooks comedy with comedians from both parties.