Leahy to Vote Against Alito Nomination

The Associated Press reports: Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy said Thursday he will oppose Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito's confirmation, saying he did not believe the conservative judge would be independent of President Bush and the executive branch in his future rulings. "At a time when the president is seizing unprecedented power, the Supreme Court needs to act as a check and to provide balance," Leahy, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said in a speech at Georgetown University's law school. "Based on the hearing and his record, I have no confidence that Judge Alito would provide that check and balance." It is not a surprise that Vermont senator is voting against Alito. He was one of the nominee's harshest interrogators at Alito's confirmation hearings last week. Leahy also has been a critic of President Bush and the White House's actions in the war on terror, including warrantless wiretapping on...

By Lexie Verdon | January 19, 2006; 11:15 AM ET | Comments (31)

Sens. Feinstein, Graham on Alito

Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Ca., ) and Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) were interviewed by Brit Hume on Fox News Sunday this morning. Here are excerpts: On Monday, confirmation hearings begin for Supreme Court nominee Judge Samuel Alito. For a preview, we're joined by two key members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Republican Lindsey Graham, who comes to us from South Carolina, and Democrat Dianne Feinstein, who joins me here in the studio. Welcome, both. Senator Feinstein, in light of your vote against Judge Roberts, now Chief Justice Roberts, is there any chance you could vote for Judge Alito? FEINSTEIN: Well, first of all, it depends on the hearing. Let me say a couple of things. One, we know this is a conservative nominee. The question is how conservative. The question is what is his respect for individual rights, his position on the expansion of presidential powers, the carrying out the legacy --...

By Fred Barbash | January 8, 2006; 11:04 AM ET | Comments (23)

Brownback on Alito

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) was interviewed by George Stephanopoulis on ABC this morning. Here are excerpts: You heard Senator Kennedy there. He says that Judge Alito has a credibility problem. What's your response? BROWNBACK: I don't think there's a credibility problem at all. You've got a person here that served on the bench, the 3rd Circuit bench, for 15 years. I think he's got excellent credibility, and I think he has a tremendous track record that's there for us to look at. One can go out and try to fish around for a lot of issues and try to throw different things up on the wall, but at the end of the day we have 15 years of written opinions on a court of appeals in the United States. And that is really what we ought to be looking at to determine whether or not he should go on the...

By Fred Barbash | January 8, 2006; 10:58 AM ET | Email a Comment

Kennedy on Alito

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.,) was questioned this morning by George Stephanopoulos on ABC's "This Week." Here are excerpts: STEPHANOPOULOS: You really fired a shot across Alito's yesterday in The Washington Post. I want to show our readers the headline. You laid out your objections under the headline Alito's Credibility Problem. Have you decided that the only way to beat Alito's nomination is by raising questions about his character? KENNEDY: I think Judge Alito has a lot to respond to in the Judiciary Committee. I think whether his success or failure is really going to be his performance in the Judiciary Committee, not just for the members of the Judiciary Committee but for the American people. Anyone has to... STEPHANOPOULOS: But you called his credibility into question....

By Fred Barbash | January 8, 2006; 10:54 AM ET | Comments (22)

More Alito Documents

More documents pertaining to Samuel A. Alito were released this morning. To view them click here, for the National Archives site....

By Fred Barbash | December 28, 2005; 09:07 AM ET | Comments (5)

Poll Finds Support for Alito

   A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds that "a majority of Americans now support the confirmation of U.S. Appeals Court Judge Samuel A. Alito to the Supreme Court to fill the seat of retiring Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.....The survey found that 54 percent of the public say the Senate should confirm Alito while 28 percent say he should not be approved. That marks a modest increase in public support for Alito since November, when 49 percent said he should be confirmed and 29 percent said he should not. In both surveys, about one in five Americans said they did not yet know enough about the nominee to have an opinion.   Click here to read the article by Rich Morin....

By Fred Barbash | December 21, 2005; 06:21 AM ET | Comments (20)

Frist on Alito Filibuster

From the Associated Press: Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Sunday he is prepared to strip Democrats of their to ability to filibuster if they try to stall Samuel Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court. "The answer is yes," Frist said when asked if he would act to change Senate procedures to restrict a Democratic filibuster. "Supreme Court justice nominees deserve an up-or-down vote, and it would be absolutely wrong to deny him that." In recent weeks, Senate Democrats have questioned whether Alito, a federal appeals court judge, has the proper judicial temperament and ideology to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Several Democrats have said that Alito's views on issues such as voting rights and abortion could provoke a filibuster unless he allays their concerns about his commitment to civil rights. Alito's confirmation hearings begin Jan. 9 in the Senate Judiciary Committee....

By Fred Barbash | December 11, 2005; 12:06 PM ET | Comments (21)

RNC Criticizes Boxer

This is a press release from the Republican National Committee regarding Sen. Boxer's remarks in the post below. "With Senator Boxer's blatant lie this morning, Democrats once again illustrated their clear commitment to distorting Judge Alito's record. What makes today's smear regarding reapportionment particularly stunning is that it was only two days ago that Sen. Specter clearly stated Judge Alito believes that one man one vote is 'very deeply embedded' and is a 'principle which is settled and beyond attack'. Every time the Democrats desperately attempt to misrepresent Judge Alito's record, they undermine their own credibility when it comes to the nomination." -- Brian Jones, Communications Director...

By Fred Barbash | December 4, 2005; 12:24 PM ET | Comments (7)

Sen. Boxer on Alito Memos: "Very Serious."

Excerpts from interview with Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), on Fox News Sunday by Chris Wallace: WALLACE: ...[Let's] move, if we can, to the question of the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. BOXER: Sure. WALLACE: A memo he wrote when he worked for the solicitor general's office back in 1985 was released this week, and let me put up a key quote on the screen right now, if I can. He said, What can be made of this opportunity to advance the goals of bringing about the eventual overruling of Roe v. Wade and, in the meantime, of mitigating its effect? Alito now says that those were personal views, the views of an advocate, and don't reflect what he would do as a judge. BOXER: Well, look. Personal views are different than this. Personal views are whether you support the right of a woman to choose and your...

By Fred Barbash | December 4, 2005; 11:31 AM ET | Comments (11)

Excerpts from Sen. Specter's News Conference

SPECTER: Afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I met with Judge Alito for a little more than an hour this morning to get his responses to certain issues which have been raised in the news media. My job as chairman is to keep the playing field level and to be sure that there is a fair and thorough hearing for Judge Alito. I'm concerned that we not have a replay of what happened to White House Counsel Harriet Miers, who was really sort of run out of town on a rail. The process was shanghaied with the prejudicing of the position by the radio and TV talk shows and the columns. And we live in a free society and all of that is an entirely appropriate part of the process, but I do not want to see it get out of hand with respect to Judge Alito....

By Fred Barbash | December 2, 2005; 01:16 PM ET | Comments (4)

Alito's Recollections of Princeton Club

David Espo, of the Associated Press, reports on one of the disclosures Alito made in his formal response to the Senate, which also was released today: Alito stepped carefully around his one-time membership in Concerned Alumni of Princeton, a conservative organization that sparked controversy two decades ago by saying school officials had lowered admission standards to accept women and minority applicants. "A document I recently reviewed reflects that I was a member of the group in the 1980s. Apart from that document, I have no recollection of being a member, of attending meetings or otherwise participating in the activities of the group," he wrote the Senate....

By Lexie Verdon | November 30, 2005; 05:03 PM ET | Comments (5)

NARAL Response

NARAL Pro-Choice America, an abortion-rights group, has already registered its opposition to Alito. But today's disclosures about his work during the Reagan administration brought new disapproval. In a statement posted on the group's Web site, President Nancy Keenan said, "Samuel Alito's writings reflect a visceral opposition to Roe v. Wade. It is clear that his legal philosophy calls for a calculated strategy to dismantle fundamental constitutional protections for women, including the health exception issue that the Supreme Court is considering right now. Alito's memo is a litany of legal strategies designed to undermine women's reproductive health. He even confuses birth control with abortion and advocates additional restrictions on women's access to contraception. If Alito replaces Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the Court will shift in a direction that jeopardizes the fundamental values of freedom and privacy that a vast majority of Americans want protected."...

By Lexie Verdon | November 30, 2005; 04:43 PM ET | Comments (5)

Schumer Finds Memo "Stunning'

Jesse J. Holland of the Associated Press reports: Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. and a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called the memo "stunning." "These latest revelations cast serious doubt on whether Judge Alito can be at all objective on the right to privacy and a woman's right to choose," Schumer said. White House spokesman Steve Schmidt called Schumer's criticism "unfair." "Judge Alito should be evaluated on his 15 years of jurisprudence as a federal judge where he has authored hundreds of opinions," Schmidt said. "On some of those cases, he has upheld abortion rights. In other cases he has not. To leap to conclusions and try to infer future decisions from 20-year-old memos borders on the silly."...

By Lexie Verdon | November 30, 2005; 04:25 PM ET | Comments (1)

Neas's Criticism

The liberal lobbying organization People for the American Way was quick to criticize Alito over his efforts in the 1980s to get Roe v. Wade overturned.  "This new document isn't just a smoking gun. It's a smoking cannon. The American people should have no doubt that Samuel Alito is poised to change more than 25 years of reproductive rights for women in America," said the group's president Ralph G. Neas, in a statement released on the organization's Web site. "As with Robert Bork in 1987, the best evidence against his confirmation is his written record over the past quarter of a century."...

By Lexie Verdon | November 30, 2005; 04:18 PM ET | Comments (3)

Alito Pushed for U.S. Brief Suggesting Overruling of Roe

   Samuel A. Alito urged the Justice Department in 1985 to suggest to the Supreme Court that it consider overruling Roe v. Wade. (Click here for news story.)     In a memo from Alito circulated in the department, he suggested filing a friend of the court brief stating that "we disagree with Roe v. Wade and would welcome the opportunity to brief the issue of whether, and if so to what extent, that decision should be overruled."    In the memo, Alito said he found "this approach preferable to a frontal assault on Roe v. Wade. It has most of the advantages of a brief devoted to the overruling of Roe v Wade," he wrote. "It makes our position clear, does not even tacitly concede Roe's legitimacy, and signals that we regard the question as live and open.   "At the same time," Alito wrote, "it is free of...

By Fred Barbash | November 30, 2005; 11:46 AM ET | Comments (12)

Alito Documents Released

More Alito DOJ documents have been released by the National Archives, just as the Alito questionnaire is being released, just as the oral arguments in the abortion case are underway, just as Washington is reacting to the president's speech on the war in Iraq.Click here for the documents....

By Fred Barbash | November 30, 2005; 11:18 AM ET | Comments (4)

Alito Questionnaire Released

Jesse J. Holland of the Associated Press reports: Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito told senators Wednesday that federal judges must constantly guard against using judicial activism to get the results they want, especially when dealing with the nation's highest law, the U.S. Constitution. "Our constitutional system relies heavily on the judiciary to restrain itself," Alito said in a 64-page response to a Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire. "To do this, judges must engage in a continual process of self-questioning about the way in which they are performing the responsibilities of their offices," he continued. "Judges must also have faith that the cause of justice in the long run is best served if they scrupulously heed the limits of their role rather than transgressing those limits in an effort to achieve a desired result in a particular case." In some instances, Alito said, Congress can simply write a new law to blunt...

By Fred Barbash | November 30, 2005; 11:13 AM ET | Comments (1)

Alito DOJ Documents

Thomas Ferraro of Reuters reports: As a top U.S. Justice Department lawyer two decades ago, U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito backed tougher punishment for certain civil rights violations as well as keeping fingerprint records of Iranian and Afghan refugees, documents released Monday showed. The papers also showed Alito wrote that the FBI could not transfer to the National Archives confidential tax returns, grand jury and electronic surveillance materials. But Alito told the Internal Revenue Service its lawyers, with Justice Department approval, could secretly record face-to-face conversations with taxpayers....

By Fred Barbash | November 28, 2005; 07:01 PM ET | Email a Comment

Scotus Drops Facade

  Court Divided in New Schism The Associated Press reports; A basketball-sized piece of marble moulding fell from the facade over the entrance to the Supreme Court, landing on the steps near visitors waiting to enter the building. No one was injured when the stone fell. The marble was part of the dentil moulding that serves as a frame for the frieze of statues atop the court's main entrance....

By Fred Barbash | November 28, 2005; 10:54 AM ET | Comments (7)

Allito Ad Wars

  AP     A low-budget ad skirmish popped up over Samuel Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court on Thursday, liberal groups depicting him as an agent of the right wing and conservatives claiming his critics "want to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance." Three separate groups unleashed commercials while Alito's continuing round of senatorial courtesy calls produced some of the most pointed Democratic reaction to date. "Frankly, I remain very concerned about whether he understands the importance of an equal America," said Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar. "It seemed to me he wants to move the country back to the pre-Warren Court days," said the only Hispanic senator, referring to a judicial era that brought an end to public school segregation and established the election principle of one-man one-vote.  ...

By Fred Barbash | November 17, 2005; 05:33 PM ET | Comments (2)

Schumer: Not a slam dunk.

Jesse J. Holland of AP reports: Democrats said on Wednesday that Samuel Alito's confirmation was not guaranteed as senators kept the focus on a 20-year-old document in which the Supreme Court nominee asserted that the Constitution "does not protect a right to an abortion." "Anyone who thinks that this nomination is a foregone conclusion is sadly mistaken," said New York Sen. Charles Schumer, one of several Democrats who used Senate speeches to criticize Alito. "There are too many questions still to be answered, too many doubts still to be alleviated to say that this nomination is a slam dunk," Schumer said....

By Fred Barbash | November 16, 2005; 03:50 PM ET | Email a Comment

Alito and Abortion

   Jesse J. Holland of AP reports: The Samuel Alito who argued against abortion rights in 1985 was "an advocate seeking a job" with the conservative Reagan administration, the Alito who is now a Supreme Court nominee told Democrats Tuesday. The current version "thinks he's a wiser person" with "a better grasp and understanding about constitutional rights and liberties," senators said as Alito tried to play down a 20-year-old document in which he asserted "the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion." At the same time, some anti-abortion groups warned Alito not to go too far if he hopes to retain their support. "A nominee who is willing to take the seemingly mandated Roe oath, whereby they testify that it is settled law, never to be overturned, is not the type of justice worthy of pro-life support," said Stephen G. Peroutka, chairman of the National Pro-Life Action Center....

By Fred Barbash | November 15, 2005; 06:23 PM ET | Comments (3)

Alito to Feinstein: "It was different then...."

Sen. Diannne Feinstein (D-Calif.)  took some questions after meeting with  Judge Alito. Here are excerpts: QUESTION: Did you ask the judge about the job application issue with his comments about abortion? FEINSTEIN: Yes, he did. QUESTION: And? FEINSTEIN: And what he told me was this. He said, First of all, it was different then. He said, I was an advocate seeking a job. It was a political job. And that was 1985. I'm now a judge, you know. I've been on the circuit court for 15 years. And it's very different. I'm not an advocate. I don't give heed to my personal views. What I do is interpret the law....

By Fred Barbash | November 15, 2005; 11:41 AM ET | Comments (3)

Schumer: "Strongest statement we've seen...."

By Jesse J. Holland, AP:   Twenty years ago, Samuel Alito was just trying to catch the eye of Reagan administration officials looking to fill a political slot in the Justice Department. But the young conservative's boast about being "particularly proud" of his work helping to argue that "the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion" may now make it more difficult for him in his quest to join the Supreme Court. "This is the strongest statement we've seen from a nominee on this very controversial subject for a long time," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee that will hold Alito's confirmation hearing. (Document and discussion here.)...

By Fred Barbash | November 14, 2005; 08:34 PM ET | Comments (64)

Alito Opposed Right to Abortion, Warren Court Reapportionment, Religion Cases. Believed Govt. Should Protect "traditional values."

Click here for the statement by Samuel A. Alito Jr., in which he states some of his views, in 1985, on the absence of a constitutional right to abortion, his belief in the role of government in protecting "traditional values, his opposition to Warren Court reapportionment, Establishment Clause and affirmative action decisions, among other matters. This was first reported this morning by the Washington Times.  Other documents released by the Reagan library can be found here. I have copied the most relevant portions below: "I am and always have been a conservative and an adherent to the same philosophical views that I believe are central to this Administration.....I believe very strongly in limited government, federalism, free enterprise, the supremacy of the elected branches of government, the need for a strong defense and effective law enforcement, and the legitimacy of a government role in protecting traditional values. In the field of...

By Fred Barbash | November 14, 2005; 02:10 PM ET | Comments (40)

Robes Blogger Disrobed; A3G@DOJ

Jeffrey Toobin at The New Yorker has an interview with one David Lat, described as an Assistant U.S.  Attorney in Newark, who confesses to being the celebrated Article III Groupie (A3G), coquettish blogger-in-chief at Underneath Their Robes, where the nation's judges get rockstar treatment and are often described as "hotties." "She" turns out to be a "He." His elaboration can be found here. Further elaboration can be found at How Appealing....

By Fred Barbash | November 14, 2005; 09:15 AM ET | Email a Comment

Washington Times: "Alito rejected abortion as right."

The Washington Times reports obtaining a 1985 document in which it says, Alito wrote that "the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion." Here's the relevant passage from the story: "It has been an honor and source of personal satisfaction for me to serve in the office of the Solicitor General during President Reagan's administration and to help to advance legal positions in which I personally believe very strongly," he wrote.     "I am particularly proud of my contributions in recent cases in which the government has argued in the Supreme Court that racial and ethnic quotas should not be allowed and that the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion." The document is apparently a letter accompanying an application for a job in the Reagan administration, following Alito's stint in the Office of the Solicitor General. The Times also says that:The document also provides...

By Fred Barbash | November 14, 2005; 04:09 AM ET | Comments (24)

Alito Denies Conflict of Interest

Washington Post staff writer Charles Babington reports that Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the head of the Judiciary Committee, and Samuel Alito exchanged letters today and the Supreme Court nominee said he did nothing wrong in ruling on cases that involved financial companies in which he had investments. Specter's letter said that "[b]ased on the judgments of two experts in judicial ethics which have been submitted to the Judiciary Committee, it is my conclusion that there has been no impropriety on your part." But he urged Alito to quickly comment on the matter because in past Supreme Court nominations, "we have seen issues which may be minor, unmeritorious, or even non-existent, proliferate into major controversies." Here's Babington's story on the issue from the Thursday paper. Alito wrote back in a letter that he may have been "unduly restrictive in my 1990 questionnaire" for a lower court when he promised not to...

By Lexie Verdon | November 10, 2005; 06:42 PM ET | Comments (5)

Specter Asks for Alito Response on Vanguard

The AP reports: Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., called Thursday for Alito to respond quickly to the Vanguard matter to keep it from becoming a major issue -- even though Specter told Alito he thinks "there has been no impropriety on your part." "In Supreme Court nominations which are so important for so many reasons, we have seen issues which may be minor, unmeritorious and even nonexistent, proliferate into major controversies by those who are opposed for other reasons," Specter said in a letter to Alito. See previous post on this....

By Fred Barbash | November 10, 2005; 03:04 PM ET | Email a Comment

AG Gonzales worried about SCOTUS "reliance on foreign law."

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, in prepared remarks, takes on Justices Breyer and Kennedy, among others, for "reliance on foreign law" in recent opinions. He says "the use of foreign law poses a direct threat to legitimacy, including to the legitimacy of the Court itself." He cites, among other cases,  Roper v. Simmons (barring capital punishment for those under 18 at the time of the crime.) Following are excerpts of of prepared remarks by Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales at the University of Chicago Law School: Last week, when the President announced his nomination of Judge Sam Alito to be Associate Justice on the Supreme Court, Judge Alito said that he holds the Supreme Court "in reverence"; it represents to him "our dedication as a free and open society to liberty and opportunity, and, as it says above the entrance to the Supreme Court, 'equal justice under law."' Judge Alito's...

By Fred Barbash | November 9, 2005; 05:08 PM ET | Email a Comment

Frist Warning on Filbuster

The Chicago Tribune has an op-ed by Majority Leader Sen. Bill Frist, curious considering the absence of a serious filibuster threat, warning that if "members of the Democratic minority persist in blocking a vote on Alito's nomination" the Senate will have to deploy the "constitutional option."I'm willing to consider any reasonable proposal on debate: If the Democrats believe that each senator should have a full hour to speak uninterrupted about Alito's nomination, I am open to the idea. But I will not negotiate about the Senate's constitutional duty to vote on the president's judicial nominees..... If members of the Democratic minority persist in blocking a vote on Alito's nomination, the Senate will have no choice but to do what. Byrd did: exercise its constitutional rights and bring Alito's nomination up for a vote. I hope that the Senate will conduct Alito's confirmation process with customary courtesy and civility. The process...

By Fred Barbash | November 9, 2005; 04:31 PM ET | Comments (2)

Leahy Comments on Alito, Miers

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt) appared on Wolf Blitzer's "Situation Room" on CNN. He was non-committal on the filibuster question. BLITZER: You're the ranking Democrat of the Senate Judiciary Committee. You'll be holding confirmation hearings in January for Judge Samuel Alito. Joe Biden the other day, on Sunday, suggested a filibuster probably would not be appropriate right now. Do you agree with him? LEAHY: I agree we ought to have the hearing, make up the minds after the hearing. I have done this with both Democratic and Republican nominees. I've always said I'll make up my mind once the hearing is over. I think that's what we should do....

By Fred Barbash | November 8, 2005; 06:52 PM ET | Comments (2)

Alito's Senior Thesis: Have a Read

The Princeton University Library has posted a copy of Alito's senior thesis. It's entitled "An Introduction to the Italian Constitutional Court."...

By Fred Barbash | November 8, 2005; 06:08 PM ET | Email a Comment

Specter: Hearings Start Jan. 9

  WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Republican-controlled Senate will begin hearings Jan. 9 on Judge Samuel Alito's appointment to the Supreme Court, spurning President Bush's call for a final confirmation vote by year's end. "It's simply wasn't possible to accommodate the schedule that the White House wanted," said Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He outlined a schedule that envisions five days of hearings, followed by a vote in committee on Jan. 17 and the full Senate on Jan. 20....

By Fred Barbash | November 3, 2005; 05:29 PM ET | Comments (7)

Video: Bush Announces Alito Nomination

Click below to watch video of President Bush's announcement of the Alito nomination: var movieSrc = "http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/player/player.swf?whichMode=normal&justify=left&playad=no&mediatype=stream&postdir=politics&postvideo=103105-1v&cuesfile=none&autoplay=no&starttime=0&endtime=0&largerver=none&image=none" ; //URL OF WHERE .SWF MOVIE IS PUBLISHED var movieWidth = "454" ; //FLASH MOVIE AND BACK-UP GRAPHIC WIDTH var movieHeight = "275" ; //FLASH MOVIE AND BACK-UP GRAPHIC HEIGHT var backupGraphic = "no" ; // If you have a backup graphic "yes" or "no" var graphicSrc = "" ; var graphicLink = "" ; //requiredVersion: Change this to 8 to test your alternate text. var requiredVersion = 7; // version the user needs to view site (max is 7, min is 2) var useRedirect = false; // "true" loads new flash or non-flash page into browser // "false" embeds movie or alternate html code into current page // set next three vars if useRedirect is true... var flashPage = "flash.htm"; // the location of the flash movie page var noFlashPage = "noflash.htm";...

By washingtonpost.com Editors | October 31, 2005; 09:03 AM ET | Comments (1)

Text of Bush Announcement

Text of President Bush's announcement: BUSH: Good morning. I'm pleased to announce my nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. as associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Judge Alito is one of the most accomplished and respected judges in America. And his long career in public service has given him an extraordinary breadth of experience. As a Justice Department official, federal prosecutor and judge on the United States Court of Appeals, Sam Alito has shown a mastery of the law, a deep commitment of justice, and he is a man of enormous character....

By Fred Barbash | October 31, 2005; 08:31 AM ET | Comments (6)

Alito Announced: PFAW Denounces

Here is a press relese from People for the American Way:BUSH PUTS DEMANDS OF FAR-RIGHT ABOVE INTERESTS OF AMERICANSWITH HIGH COURT NOMINATION OF RIGHT-WING ACTIVIST ALITO PFAW will wage massive national effort to defeat nominee who would dramatically shift balance of Court President Bush put the demands of his far-right political base above Americans' constitutional rights and legal protections by nominating federal appeals court Judge Samuel Alito to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, said People for the American Way President Ralph G. Neas. "Right-wing leaders vetoed Miers because she failed their ideological litmus test. With Judge Alito, President Bush has obediently picked a nominee who passes that test with flying colors."...

By Fred Barbash | October 31, 2005; 08:26 AM ET | Comments (29)

Alito Bio From White House

Bush announced the nomination of Alito shortly after 8 a.m. JUDGE SAMUEL A. ALITO JR., BIOGRAPHY RELEASED BY WHITE HOUSE Samuel A. Alito, Jr., was born in April, 1950, in Trenton, New Jersey. Alito received his bachelor's degree from Princeton University and attended Yale Law School, where he served as an editor on the Yale Law Journal.  Alito clerked for Judge Leonard Garth of the Third Circuit, who is now his colleague on that court.     From 1977-1980, Alito served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the appellate division, where he argued cases before the circuit court to which he was later appointed.      From 1981-1985, Alito served as Assistant to the Solicitor General. He has argued 12 cases on behalf of the federal government in the U.S. Supreme Court and he has argued numerous others before the federal courts of appeals.    From 1985-1987, Alito served...

By Fred Barbash | October 31, 2005; 07:58 AM ET | Comments (12)

Alito Is the Choice

Peter Baker of The Washington Post reports that Bush will name Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. of the 3d Circuit to the Supreme Court....

By Fred Barbash | October 31, 2005; 06:49 AM ET | Comments (24)

Reports: Definitely Alito

The AP is reporting that two Republican officials now say Judge Samuel A. Alito is indeed the choice. CNN and Reuters say they have confirmed this report. An announcement is reported set for 8 this morning....

By Fred Barbash | October 31, 2005; 06:16 AM ET | Comments (1)

Alito, Luttig, Batchelder, Owen, Surprise

David D. Kirkpatrick in the New York Times has a longer short short list than The Post, which only mentions Alito, Luttig and Batchelder. Jan Crawford Greenburg in the Chicago Tribune says it's down to Alito and Luttig, but quoted sources cautioning that Bush "could pick someone else," such as Owen. Batchelder appears to be the new factor here. Here is an interesting profile in her hometown paper from 1999, courtesy of ConfirmThem (which, in its menu of profiles to the right of the page, will give you a sense of what GOP partisans are saying about various candidates). For excellent short profiles of some of the other contenders, see this July article by Emily Bazelon and David Newman in Slate....

By Fred Barbash | October 31, 2005; 03:25 AM ET | Email a Comment

Alito, Luttig, Batchelder

Peter Baker of The Washington Post reports that an announcement may come Monday. The short, short list is down to Alito and Judges J. Michael Luttig and Alice Batchelder. (See Tom Goldstein's take on Alito and Luttig at the SCOTUS blog.) Batchelder, 61, has served on the Cincinnati-based 6th Circuit since 1991 after six years as a district judge. She voted to uphold Ohio's partial-birth abortion ban and against the University of Michigan's affirmative action program. She also once sat on a case involving Wal-Mart even though her husband owned stock, for which she later admitted error, an issue that initially caused some White House concern about nominating her....

By Fred Barbash | October 30, 2005; 08:21 PM ET | Comments (6)

Cornyn Doesn't Expect to Be Asked

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), whose name was floated by some people after Miers withdrew last week, said today on ABC's "This Week" that he does not expect to be nominated by President Bush for the high court. He said he expects a solid conservative with judicial experience to be nominated....

By Lexie Verdon | October 30, 2005; 12:06 PM ET | Comments (6)

Report: Narrowed to Alito or Luttig

The White House appears to be floating the names of appellate judges Samuel Alito and Michael Luttig  as the two top contenders for the court in the wake of Harriet Miers withdrawal. See this report from the Los Angeles Times, this from Reuters and this from Jan Crawford Greenburg's story in theChicago Tribune....

By Fred Barbash | October 29, 2005; 09:22 PM ET | Comments (10)

White House: No SCOTUS Announcement Today

White House spokesman Scott McClellan tells reporters there will be no announcement today of a Supreme Court nominee. The Hotline, meanwhile, reports that it will come at the beginning of next week....

By Fred Barbash | October 28, 2005; 10:50 AM ET | Comments (1)

Alliance for Justice Reacts

Nan Aron, head of the Alliance for Justice, issued this statement:An influential segment of the right wing was profoundly disappointed that, with Harriet Miers, the president did not nominate a proven 'movement' conservative who would carry out their political agenda on the bench. They have been clamoring for the withdrawal of Ms. Miers' nomination for weeks. What has happened today is an ominous indication of capitulation to such pressure. An independent judiciary is the crown jewel of our democracy. It is too vital to be used as a means of placating a political party's base. "As the president makes another attempt to fill Sandra Day O'Connor's pivotal seat, we encourage him to work in good faith with members of both parties to choose a consensus nominee who is committed to equal justice. The new nominee should not merely serve the interests of the radical right. He or she must serve...

By Fred Barbash | October 27, 2005; 10:46 AM ET | Email a Comment

Sen. Reid's Reaction

Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the minority leader of the Senate, issued this response on his Web site: "The radical right wing of the Republican Party killed the Harriet Miers nomination. Apparently, Ms. Miers did not satisfy those who want to pack the Supreme Court with rigid ideologues. "I had recommended that the President consider nominating Ms. Miers because I was impressed with her record of achievement as the managing partner of a major Texas law firm and the first woman president of the Texas Bar Association. In those roles she was a strong supporter of law firm diversity policies and a leader in promoting legal services for the poor. But these credentials are not good enough for the right wing: they want a nominee with a proven record of supporting their skewed goals. "In choosing a replacement for Ms. Miers, President Bush should not reward the bad behavior of his...

By Lexie Verdon | October 27, 2005; 09:43 AM ET | Comments (52)

Sen. Frist's Reaction

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) released this statement on his Web site: "Harriet Miers has asked the President to withdraw her nomination to the Supreme Court. I respect her decision and appreciate her service to our country. "I look forward with anticipation to the President naming the next nominee quickly. "We remain ready to fulfill our duty to provide advice and consent on judicial nominees.  And the Supreme Court still awaits its next justice--a highly qualified nominee who is committed to upholding the Constitution and who believes in the limited role of a judge to interpret the law and not legislate from the bench."...

By Lexie Verdon | October 27, 2005; 09:36 AM ET | Comments (13)

Bush's Official Response to Miers

Here is the official text of President Bush's announcement about Miers's withdrawal. STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT Today, I have reluctantly accepted Harriet Miers' decision to withdraw her nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States. I nominated Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court because of her extraordinary legal experience, her character, and her conservative judicial philosophy. Throughout her career, she has gained the respect and admiration of her fellow attorneys. She has earned a reputation for fairness and total integrity. She has been a leader and a pioneer in the American legal profession. She has worked in important positions in state and local government and in the bar. And for the last five years, she has served with distinction and honor in critical positions in the Executive Branch. I understand and share her concern, however, about the current state of the Supreme Court confirmation process. It is clear that...

By Lexie Verdon | October 27, 2005; 09:26 AM ET | Comments (7)

Miers's Letter to Bush

Here's the text of the letter from Harriet Miers to President Bush: Dear Mr. President: I write to withdraw as a nominee to serve as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. I have been greatly honored and humbled by the confidence that you have shown in me, and have appreciated immensely your support and the support of many others. However, I am concerned that the confirmation process presents a burden for the White House and our staff that is not in the best interest of the country. As you know, members of the Senate have indicated their intention to seek documents about my service in the White House in order to judge whether to support me. I have been informed repeatedly that in lieu of records, I would be expected to testify about my service in the White House to demonstrate my experience and judicial...

By Lexie Verdon | October 27, 2005; 09:24 AM ET | Comments (3)

Miers Withdraws

By Fred Barbash Washington Post Staff Writer Harriet Miers withdrew this morning as a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court. In announcing the decision, Miers and President Bush cited their concern with the requests of members of the Senate Judiciary Committee for documents dealing with her work as White House Counsel that the administration has chosen to withhold as privileged. But the Miers nomination to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was in deep trouble, with little support in the Senate, open criticism from many Senators of both parties, and an outpouring of opposition from conservative activists and intellectuals. Miers told the president in a letter of withdrawal that she was "concerned that the confirmation process presents a burden for the White House and our staff that is not in the best interests of the country." Bush responded that he was "reluctantly" accepting the decision. "I nominated Harriet Miers to...

By Fred Barbash | October 27, 2005; 09:23 AM ET | Comments (14)

Miers Withdraws

Harriet Miers has withdrawn as a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, the White House says....

By Fred Barbash | October 27, 2005; 08:57 AM ET | Comments (9)

Specter Questions

By Amy Goldstein and Charles Babington in The Washington Post: The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee warned Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers Wednesday that he intends during confirmation hearings to probe her views of the Bush administration's detention of suspected terrorists in the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, making clear he remains uncertain of her command of complex constitutional issues. Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., dispatched a letter to Miers, the White House's top lawyer, saying that she must also convince the Senate that as a justice she would be independent of President Bush and would not give him "any special deference" on cases before the court. In particular, Specter said, he will press her to disclose her personal views of three recent Supreme Court rulings that detainees in the terrorism fight have somewhat greater rights than the administration has wanted to give them. The new pressure from Specter,...

By Fred Barbash | October 26, 2005; 09:40 PM ET | Comments (2)

Senators Press on Locke Liddell Shelters

Jonathan Weisman reports in The Washington Post: Senators from both parties are pressing Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers about her former Texas law firm's lucrative business helping to promote tax shelters that were subsequently deemed abusive by the Internal Revenue Service. The actions of the firm Locke Liddell and Sapp, which Miers headed for much of the 1990s, received glancing scrutiny early this year, when the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released a scathing report on the tax shelter industry. The report quoted the legal adviser of a potential investor as blasting the firm for effectively signing off on a "classic 'sham' tax shelter."...

By Fred Barbash | October 26, 2005; 09:36 PM ET | Comments (1)

New Questions for Miers

Jesse J. Holland of the Associated Press wrote this afternoon that the Judiciary Committee chairman, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), sent a letter to Harriet Miers telling her to expect questions about the White House's policies on the war on terror and about whether she can be independent of the Bush administration. Specter's letter to Miers asked whether there were "any limitations" as to how long Guantanamo Bay detainees could be held. He also told Miers to expect to be asked the long-running question about Congress's ability to declare war versus the president's ability to send troops into a military action, the AP reported. "Was the Vietnam conflict a war which should have, as a matter of constitutional law, required a declaration of war by Congress?" Specter asked....

By Lexie Verdon | October 26, 2005; 03:40 PM ET | Comments (2)

HEM May Give Speech

By Charles Babington and Amy Goldstein report in The Washington Post: The Bush administration, concerned that vocal critics are wounding Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers while she quietly prepares for her Senate hearing 12 days from now, is considering ways to fight back -- possibly by having her make a speech -- sources familiar with the discussions said yesterday....

By Fred Barbash | October 26, 2005; 03:11 AM ET | Comments (1)

HEM on 'Self-Determination'

Jo Becker reports in TWP:Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers said in a speech more than a decade ago that "self-determination" should guide decisions about abortion and school prayer and that in cases where scientific facts are disputed and religious beliefs vary, "government should not act." In a 1993 speech to a Dallas women's group, Miers talked about abortion, the separation of church and state, and how the issues play out in the legal system. "The underlying theme in most of these cases is the insistence of more self-determination," she said. "And the more I think about these issues, the more self-determination makes sense." In that speech and others in the early 1990s when she was president of the Texas Bar Association, Miers also defended judges who order lawmakers to address social concerns. While judicial activism is derided by many conservatives, Miers said that sometimes "officials would rather abandon to the...

By Fred Barbash | October 26, 2005; 03:08 AM ET | Email a Comment

TV ad against Miers

Jesse J. Holland of the AP reports: A conservative group opposing Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers announced plans Tuesday to broadcast a TV ad calling for President Bush to withdraw her nomination. The White House said it was standing behind Miers. "She is going to be going before the Senate Judiciary Committee in less than two weeks," Bush spokesman Scott McClellan said. "She looks forward to answering their questions. And I think that people should not try to rush to judgment on it." The ad, by Americans for Better Justice, is the first anti-Miers television ad, and it demonstrates the ongoing battle the White House is facing over her nomination. A relatively small purchase, it will air for a week on a single cable station....

By Fred Barbash | October 25, 2005; 06:30 PM ET | Email a Comment

Bush Comments on Miers Today

Here are excerpts from the president's comments today on the Miers nomination. QUESTION: Mr. President, as a newspaper reported on Saturday, is the White House working on a contingency plan for the withdrawal of Harriet Miers' nomination? BUSH: Harriet Miers is an extraordinary woman. She was a legal pioneer in Texas. She was ranked one of the top 50 women lawyers in the United States on a consistent basis....

By Fred Barbash | October 24, 2005; 12:49 PM ET | Comments (69)

Bush: No Miers WH Records Released

AP reporting via The Washington Post: President Bush said Monday that he will not release any records of his conversations with Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers that could threaten the confidentiality of the advice that presidents get from their lawyers. "It's a red line I'm not willing to cross," Bush said. Both Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are demanding more documents on Miers, including from her work at Bush's counsel. "People can learn about Harriet Miers through hearings, but we are not going to destroy this business about people being able to walk into the Oval Office to say, Mr. President, this is my advice," Bush said after a meeting with his Cabinet. Bush did not directly answer the question that was posed to him by a reporter at the end of the meeting _ whether the White House is working on contingency plans to withdraw Miers...

By Fred Barbash | October 24, 2005; 12:26 PM ET | Comments (6)

White House Confident

AP reports: The White House said Monday that President Bush is confident Harriet Miers will be confirmed to the Supreme Court, even though a Democrat on the Senate panel that will hold hearings on her nomination said she doesn't have the votes. Republicans countered that Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., cannot predict how the GOP-controlled Senate will decide Miers' fate. Many Republicans have yet to commit to approve President Bush's second nominee to the high court. Presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush is committed to sticking with Miers until the Senate vote. "He's confident that she will be confirmed because as senators come to know her like the president knows her, we're confident that they will recognize she will make an outstanding Supreme Court justice," McClellan said....

By Fred Barbash | October 24, 2005; 11:18 AM ET | Comments (8)

Dobson Likely to Be Summoned

Charles Babington reports in Monday's Washington Post: The Senate Judiciary Committee is likely to summon a leading conservative Christian to explain the private assurances he says he received from the White House about Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, the committee's chairman said yesterday....

By Fred Barbash | October 23, 2005; 08:32 PM ET | Comments (13)

Specter, Feinstein on 'Face the Nation'

Excerpts from CBS's "Face the Nation" with host Bob Schieffer and guests Sens. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), members of the Senate Judiciary Committee: Well, Senator Specter, you are the chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Let me just put it to you, how much trouble do you think this nomination is in now? SPECTER: I don't think the nomination is in trouble. I believe the that critical part's going to be when she testifies before the committee. We have a Constitution. People ought to follow it. Instead of having all of this prejudgment. Even if you are charged with a crime, you have a right to be heard. And the constitution leaves it up to the Senate. And we're going to have hearings, and Ms. Miers will have a full and fair opportunity to present herself. She has a very, very strong record as a civil lawyer. As...

By Fred Barbash | October 23, 2005; 12:30 PM ET | Comments (7)

Knight Ridder Report on Miers Land Transaction

AP reports: Texas officials paid Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers' family more than $100,000 for a small piece of land in 2000 - 10 times the land's worth - despite the state's objections to the way the price was determined, Knight Ridder Newspapers reported Saturday. The three-member committee that determined the price included Peggy Lundy, a friend of Miers, and property-rights activist Cathie Adams, Knight Ridder reported. They were appointed to the panel by state District Judge David Evans, who had received at least $5,000 in campaign contributions from Miers' law firm....

By Fred Barbash | October 22, 2005; 09:53 PM ET | Comments (2)

Cornyn vs. Specter

David D. Kirkpatrick writes in the NYT: Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican on the Judiciary Committee and a former judge, took exception on Friday to comments by Senator Arlen Specter, the committee chairman, that Harriet E. Miers, the Supreme Court nominee, needed a "crash course on constitutional law."...

By Fred Barbash | October 21, 2005; 09:57 PM ET | Comments (2)

Brownback: Hearings Will Be 'Tough for Her'

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), in an interview with Fox News' Britt Hume, says he asked Miers about Griswold and the right to privacy it established. His comments are confusing, but he seems to be saying that he got the impression, at least, that she considers the privacy doctrine in Griswold  "not settled." There's some suggestion that she may have given this answer as a reason not to answer a question about Griswold, but in the course of doing so, she did indeed answer -- perhaps inadvertently. "I did talk with her about Griswold," Brownback says. "... She looked at it as the factual setting of Griswold is unlikely to come back up. But the legal issue, I interpreted from what she was saying, is not a settled doctrine." Later, on the same subject, Brownback says " I don't know what particularly she is saying.... " Recall now that Sen. Arlen...

By Fred Barbash | October 20, 2005; 08:23 PM ET | Comments (2)

Nomination Stalled

Jesse J. Holland of AP reports:The Senate may find it tough to meet President Bush's timetable to confirm Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, with lawmakers complaining anew Thursday about incomplete answers to their questions and demanding more information about her work for the president. The White House wants her confirmed by Thanksgiving, and senators plan to begin her Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings on Nov. 7. But problems like Miers' failing to mention on her Senate questionnaire that her Texas law license had been temporarily suspended -- and her being criticized by the committee's two top senators for incomplete answers on a questionnaire -- keep popping up, making it unlikely the Senate will rush her nomination through. "I would say that to this point Ms. Miers' efforts to win support have not been successful," said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., a member of the Judiciary Committee. "I think that those of us...

By Fred Barbash | October 20, 2005; 06:04 PM ET | Comments (1)

Bush Looking for a 'Fresh Outlook' on the Court

At a brief White House news conference today, President Bush was asked about the criticism of the Miers nomination process voiced yesterday by Sens. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). Bush acknowledged that it was an "unusual nomination because she's never been a judge." But he said that was one of the reasons he chose Miers. "I thought it made a lot of sense to bring a fresh outlook of somebody who has actually been a very successful attorney." He also said Miers would address issues about the Senate's questionnaire that were raised by Specter and Leahy....

By Lexie Verdon | October 20, 2005; 01:30 PM ET | Comments (41)

Miers Also Failed to Pay Bar Dues in Texas

Harriet Miers has reported a second incident in which she failed to pay Bar dues, resulting in a short suspension. Miers, in a letter to Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), said her Texas Bar license was "administratively suspended" for several weeks in 1989 due to late payment of her bar dues. The suspension, she said, was lifted as soon as her dues were received, she told Leahy. "I understand I was restored to former status" then, she wrote. This is the second reported incident of failure to pay bar dues. On her questionnaire submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Miers noted that she had a similar problem with theD.C. Bar. In her letter to Leahy, she also said she neglected to list her affiliation with two entities, specifically, she was a director and shareholder of Priority Enterprises from 1983 to 2000, which she descried as a "for-profit consulting and personnel placement...

By Fred Barbash | October 19, 2005; 07:14 PM ET | Comments (25)

Specter-Leahy letter to Miers

Click here to see the letter sent by Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) to Harriet Miers requesting more information than she provided in her initial responses to the Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire. Among the requests: Please explain in greater detail exactly when, and under what circumstances, you were suspended from the D.C. Bar for non-payment of dues.  Include any documentation, notices from the Bar, cancelled checks, or correspondence, which would help us understand the facts and circumstances of your suspension.  Also inform the Committee whether, during the time of your suspension, you appeared in any courts in the District of Columbia. In answer to question 17, you explained that as Counsel to the President you are regularly faced with issues involving constitutional questions, but gave us no specifics about the issues themselves, or the work that you personally did.  Please provide the Committee with details concerning the...

By Fred Barbash | October 19, 2005; 06:59 PM ET | Comments (3)

Specter, Leahy Excerpts

Sens. Patrick Leahy (Vt.) and Arlen Specter (Pa.), the ranking Democrat and the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, respectively, held a news conference this afternoon. Here are some excerpts on the subject of HEM's responsiveness. Q Senator Leahy, are you insulted personally by her lack of responsiveness? SEN. LEAHY: I have seen an incomplete questionnaire. We've sent out -- I thought -- a very good questionnaire. I was satisfied with the questionnaire that went out. Democrats and Republicans on the committee -- and you know this is a committee that goes across the political spectrum -- were satisfied with it. I don't know of anybody who would tell you in that committee, that they were satisfied with the responses. So I would describe myself as unsatisfied, and I have to be satisfied before I'll vote for anybody, Republican or Democrat....

By Fred Barbash | October 19, 2005; 04:10 PM ET | Comments (3)

Specter, Leahy: HEM Responses Incomplete

Reuters reports: U.S. Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers was asked by the top Republican and Democrat on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday to clarify some of the answers she provided this week in a questionnaire their panel sent to her. At a news conference, Chairman Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, and Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, ranking Democrat, described many of her written responses as "incomplete" and "insufficient." "Please prepare a supplement to your responses" in a number of areas "with as much detail, particularity and precision as possible," they wrote in a letter to Miers. Specter also announced that despite complaints by some Democrats that more time was needed to evaluate Miers her confirmation hearing will begin Nov. 7....

By Fred Barbash | October 19, 2005; 04:04 PM ET | Email a Comment

Report: Hearings to Start Nov. 7

Reuters reports: Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers' confirmation hearings will begin on Nov. 7, congressional aides said Wednesday. Though at least some Democrats had sought more time before the proceedings begin, Sen. Arlen Specter, the Judiciary Committee Chairman and a Pennsylvania Republican, decided to start the hearings on Nov. 7 and plans to announce it later on Wednesday, aides said. The Republicans' goal is to have a confirmation vote by the full Republican-led Senate before the Nov. 24 Thanksgiving Day holiday. But Democrats may try to push that back if they believe more time is needed to evaluate President Bush's nominee to the nation's highest court, aides said....

By Fred Barbash | October 19, 2005; 10:16 AM ET | Email a Comment

Seattle PI Urges Miers Withdrawal

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer says in an editorial today that "President Bush should withdraw the nomination of Harriet Miers to the U.S. Supreme Court."...

By Fred Barbash | October 19, 2005; 10:12 AM ET | Comments (3)

Leahy on Miers 'Lack of Responsiveness'

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, has issued the following statement regarding Harriet Miers's answers to the committee's questions:"These answers do not help the Senate much in reaching an informed decision about this nomination.  In order to conduct a fair and thorough review, the Senate needs information about Ms. Miers, including her experience, her judgment, her views on the Constitution, and her independence.  So far, these answers heighten, rather than lessen, concerns about whether, as a Supreme Court justice, she would be able to maintain independence from this administration and future administrations.  Lack of responsiveness only adds to the burden she will have in the hearings."...

By Fred Barbash | October 19, 2005; 10:03 AM ET | Email a Comment

PFAW's Neas Seeks Hearing Delay

People for the American Way has issued the following press release:Following news reports that the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court candidate Harriet Miers will begin November 7th, only five weeks after her nomination, People For the American Way President Ralph G. Neas issued the following statement: "It's wrong to rush a hearing on this nominee for a lifetime appointment. The Senate and the American people need more time to assess a candidate who is so little known, who has never served as a judge, and whose answers to the Senate's written questionnaire were as illuminating as a 25-watt bulb.   Her role as President Bush's personal lawyer, and as an influential voice in critical White House decisions over the past four years must be examined closely to see whether she can make the fair and independent judgments required of the Supreme Court. "Justice O'Connor has graciously agreed to serve until...

By Fred Barbash | October 19, 2005; 09:52 AM ET | Comments (1)

Miers Questionnaire

Click here for the questionnaire submitted by Harriet Miers to the Senate Judiciary Committee....

By Fred Barbash | October 18, 2005; 11:20 AM ET | Comments (5)

Miers Backed Abortion Ban

Jesse J. Holland of AP reports:Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers pledged support in 1989 for a constitutional amendment banning abortions except when necessary to save the life of the mother, according to material given to the Senate on Tuesday. "If Congress passes a Human Life Amendment to the Constitution that would prohibit abortion except when it was necessary to prevent the death of the mother, would you actively support its ratification by the Texas Legislature," asked an April 1989 questionnaire sent out by the Texans United for Life group. Miers checked "yes" to that question, and all of the group's questions, including whether she would oppose the use of public moneys for abortions and whether she would use her influence to keep "pro-abortion" people off city health boards and commissions. The survey was part of the material sent to the Senate with Miers' Supreme Court questionnaire, according to two sources,...

By Fred Barbash | October 18, 2005; 11:03 AM ET | Comments (14)

Harriet Miers Financial Disclosure Available

Click here and here for the completed financial disclosure forms submitted by HEM to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Questionnaire will be available shortly....

By Fred Barbash | October 18, 2005; 10:28 AM ET | Email a Comment

GOP Wants Hearings to Start Nov. 7

David Espo of the AP reports:Senate Republicans hope to begin confirmation hearings on Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers the week of November 7, officials said Monday as President Bush sought to bolster support for her troubled appointment. Officials in both parties said Republicans have proposed a schedule for Miers' confirmation process that calls for a vote in the full Senate before Thanksgiving. It was not clear whether Democrats would agree or seek changes. Miers arranged personal meetings during the day with Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York and Dianne Feinstein of California. Both are members of the Judiciary Committee, which will hold hearings and take the first vote on the nomination....

By Fred Barbash | October 17, 2005; 12:19 PM ET | Comments (4)

Rice on Miers

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was asked about Miers by Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday": WALLACE: Another new subject. I know that you're a close friend of Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, who's come under fire from conservatives in the last couple of weeks as an unqualified crony. Laura Bush said this week that she believed it's possible that sexism was behind some of these attacks. What do you think? RICE: I know Harriet Miers very well, worked with her now for five years. She is a woman with extraordinary integrity and talent. She is the kind of person who if there have been four arguments given, Harriet's going to look for the fifth. She's got a very probing mind and a probing intellect. And I think the problem is that people haven't gotten to know her. I think that when they get to know her in the...

By Fred Barbash | October 16, 2005; 10:48 AM ET | Comments (13)

Scott McClellan on Bush's Miers Comments

After Bush's comments (see previous post), White House spokesman Scott McClellan was questioned repeatedly by reporters. Here is an excerpt: QUESTION: ... When you say that Ms. Miers understands that religion has no role in the business of the court -- at the same time, the president has said he knows her heart, her beliefs, her character, talked today about people wanting to know about her life and, therefore, her religion -- how are we not to interpret that her religion was one of the factors in her selection? MCCLELLAN: The president makes selections based on the potential nominee's qualifications and experience and judicial temperament. That is what he has done in each and every instance when it comes to appointing people to the bench. He has a long track record of appointing people who have a conservative judicial philosophy, one that is based on interpreting our Constitution and our...

By Fred Barbash | October 12, 2005; 02:41 PM ET | Comments (6)

Bush on Miers's Religion

President Bush today again sought to quell the controversy about his newest choice for the Supreme Court, Harriet Miers; but he may have created some new questions by referring to her religion as something people "want to know...." Here is the excerpt from a brief question-and-answer period at the White House: QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President. Why do people in this White House feel it is necessary to tell your supporters that Harriet Miers attends a very conservative Christian church? Is that your strategy to repair the divide that has developed among conservatives over her nomination? BUSH: People are interested to know why I picked Harriet Miers. They want to know Harriet Miers' background. They want to know as much as they possibly can before they form opinions. Part of Harriet Miers' life is her religion. Part of it has to do with the fact that she was a pioneer...

By Lexie Verdon | October 12, 2005; 12:45 PM ET | Comments (40)

What Dobson Could Not Reveal...Revealed

In an advance transcript of his radio broadcast scheduled for Wednesday, James Dobson, of the Family Research Council, says that before the nomination was announced, Karl Rove tipped him to it and informed him Miers was from "a very conservative church which is almost universally pro-lfe."   Dobson says he did not explicitly discuss Miers's views on Roe v. Wade with Rove.    Dobson says Rove told him that some administration candidates for the court had taken themselves off the short list because they did not want to go through the confirmation process.   Dobson says he is now free to talk "because Karl Rove has now given me permission to go public with our conversation."What did Karl Rove say to me that I knew on Monday that I couldn't reveal? Well, it's what we all know now, that Harriet Miers is an Evangelical Christian, that she is from a...

By Fred Barbash | October 11, 2005; 07:45 PM ET | Comments (10)

Specter: Hearings in a Month

From the AP:Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter said Tuesday he hopes to start the confirmation hearing on Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers within a month and to wrap it up within a week. The nomination has drawn growing criticism from conservatives who say Miers lacks proven conservative credentials and a judicial background. Specter, in an interview with reporters and editors from The Associated Press, said Miers' professional qualifications are excellent but that she lacks experience in the area of constitutional law. "The hearings will be focused on how she approaches constitutional issues, her capacity to handle them," the Pennsylvania Republican said. Asked if President Bush had chosen the best candidate, the senator said: "He has picked a candidate and our job is to determine not whether she's the best qualified, but whether she's qualified." The president nominated Miers, his White House counsel, to succeed retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on...

By Fred Barbash | October 11, 2005; 05:57 PM ET | Comments (1)

Laura Bush on Harriet Miers

Joining her husband in defense of Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, Laura Bush today called her a "role model for young women around the country" and suggested that sexism was a "possible" reason for the heavy criticism of the nomination. "I know Harriet well," the first lady said. "I know how accomplished she is. I know how many times she's broken the glass ceiling.... She's very deliberate and thoughtful and will bring dignity to wherever she goes, certainly the Supreme Court." The president and Laura Bush commented on Miers during an appearance on NBC's "Today Show" from Covington, La., where they participated in a home-building project with Habitat for Humanity volunteers. Asked by host Matt Lauer if sexism might be playing a role in the Miers controversy, she said, "It's possible. I think that's possible.... I think people are not looking at her accomplishments."...

By Fred Barbash | October 11, 2005; 08:10 AM ET | Comments (39)

NYT Editorial

NYT Editorial:The nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court has turned the usual partisan debate about judicial nominations inside out. Republicans have insisted for nearly five years that the president should have broad discretion in choosing judges. Now, charter members of the hurry-up-and-confirm-them crowd, like Senators Sam Brownback, Republican of Kansas, and Trent Lott, Republican of Mississippi, are already talking about voting no, even before Ms. Miers's confirmation hearings have begun.... If Ms. Miers's nomination has caused Republicans to suddenly acquire standards, it may be causing Democrats to forget theirs. Many appear to have calculated that Ms. Miers would be a more moderate justice than anyone the Bush administration would nominate if she were defeated. Perhaps as a result, Senate Democrats have been remarkably restrained about criticizing Ms. Miers's close ties to the president and the thinness of her résumé....

By Fred Barbash | October 11, 2005; 03:07 AM ET | Comments (3)

Dobson to Talk About Secret Info

From the GJ Sentinel:COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Focus on the Family founder James Dobson plans to talk about the information he has been given about Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers on two of his radio shows this week, the organization said Monday. Dobson, founder of the Colorado Springs-based Christian ministry, endorsed Miers last week, partly because of a discussion he had had with President Bush's political adviser, Karl Rove. Dobson didn't disclose that information, touching off criticism from some senators who said they had a right to have that same information. Sen. Arlen Specter and the Senate Judiciary Committee's top Democrat, Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, have been considering having Dobson testify at Miers' confirmation hearings. Dobson plans to talk about the information in his broadcasts on Wednesday and Thursday. "Dr. Dobson is being deluged by requests from national media to talk about Harriet Miers and talk about what Karl Rove...

By Fred Barbash | October 11, 2005; 03:03 AM ET | Comments (2)

Texas records on Miers

AP reporting from Austin, Tx: Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, who once owned a .45-caliber revolver, is not licensed to carry a concealed handgun in Texas. State officials refused Monday to reveal whether she has ever been licensed....

By Fred Barbash | October 10, 2005; 08:08 PM ET | Comments (7)

Hecht, Graham, Bauer on 'Fox News Sunday'

Judge Nathan Hecht, a Miers friend, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) of the Judiciary Committee and social conservative Gary Bauer appeared on "Fox News Sunday." Here are some excerpts: WALLACE: Let's start with some advice that Senator Graham had for critical conservatives after he met with Harriet Miers this week. Let's watch. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GRAHAM: Just shut up for a few minutes and just give the lady a chance to find out who she is. You know, people are not really -- people want their 15 minutes of fame. This ain't about Harriet. It's about them. (END VIDEO CLIP) WALLACE: Gary Bauer, is this all about wanting your 15 minutes of fame, and are you going to take the advice from Senator Graham and shut up? BAUER: Well, again, in all due respect to my friend Senator Graham, give me a break. I mean, talking about 15 minutes of...

By Fred Barbash | October 9, 2005; 10:25 AM ET | Comments (2)

Specter, Leahy Excerpts: ABC

Excerpts from comments by Sens. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the chairman and the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, appearing on ABC this morning. Among the highlights: Specter says there's a "lynch mob" on the Miers nomination; Leahy says Miers did mention Warren Burger as a favorite justice but does not recall her saying, simply, "Warren"; questions raised about completing the confirmation process by Thanksgiving; questions raised about executive privilege. (George) STEPHANOPOULOS: And, Senator Specter, let me begin with you. And I want to begin with a yes/no question. President Bush said when he chose Harriet Miers that she was the best-qualified person he could find for the Supreme Court. Do you agree? SPECTER: Well, I think she may well turn out to be the best- qualified person he could find once we give her a chance to be heard. STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, sir, excuse me, that...

By Fred Barbash | October 9, 2005; 10:09 AM ET | Comments (3)

Specter on Miers

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Sunday he plans to vigorously question Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers about her qualifications because she has not proved to him she can handle the weighty issues that come before the high court. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said he has questions about Miers' grasp of privacy and abortion law. Miers, a corporate lawyer from Texas, is now White House counsel and has never served as a judge....

By Fred Barbash | October 9, 2005; 09:59 AM ET | Comments (1)

Bush Pushes for Miers in Radio Address

In his weekly radio address today, President Bush again praised Harriet Miers. He told listeners, "I chose Harriet Miers for the Court both because of her accomplishments, and because I know her character and her judicial philosophy. Harriet Miers will be the type of judge I said I would nominate: a good conservative judge." The entire text of the address can be found here at the White House Web site. ...

By Lexie Verdon | October 8, 2005; 12:07 PM ET | Comments (4)

Bush: She Will Be Confirmed

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush Friday predicted White House lawyer Harriet Miers would be confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court despite a chorus of criticism from conservatives and some calls for him to withdraw her nomination. Asked if he planned to withdraw Miers' nomination, which must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Bush said: "She's going to be on the bench. She'll be confirmed and when she is on the bench, people will see a fantastic woman who is honest, open, humble and capable of being a great Supreme Court judge." Since nominating her for a lifetime appointment on the highest U.S. court, Bush has faced criticism from conservatives within his own Republican Party for not picking an experienced judge with clear-cut conservative credentials who would firmly move the court to the right....

By Fred Barbash | October 7, 2005; 11:34 AM ET | Comments (14)

Group of 14 Meeting on Miers

washingtonpost.com's Chris Cillizza is reporting on his blog, "The Fix," that the bipartisan group of 14 senators who averted a showdown over President Bush's judicial nominees earlier this year is planning to meet later today to discuss Miers's nomination. You can see his posting here....

By Lexie Verdon | October 5, 2005; 02:17 PM ET | Comments (1)

Bush Defends Miers Appointment

    Click here for transcript of President's news conference.      President Bush, respondin