Democrats Seek Additional Roberts Records
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
WASHINGTON – Frustrated Senate Democrats struggled to unearth Supreme Court nominee John Roberts’s elusive views on abortion, civil rights, and other controversial issues yesterday, digging through newly released government documents while criticizing the White House for refusing access to thousands more.
“It’s more than what they need,” President Bush’s spokesman said of the material being turned over.
One week after Mr. Bush nominated Judge Roberts to succeed Justice O’Connor on the high court, the 50-year-old appeals court judge seemed to float above the fray as he continued courtesy calls on senators.
At the same time, Senate Republicans and the White House worked in tandem to try to assure a confirmation vote in time for him to don the robes of a justice before the court begins a new term. “Our duty is to have a justice seated by the first Monday in October, which is October 3,” said Senator Specter, a Republican of Pennsylvania and the chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
Senate Minority Leader Reid, a Democrat of Nevada, said he saw no need to rush. “I think the key to all this is to make sure that there’s ample time for the committee to do its work,” he said.
Democrats said documents already in their possession, dating from Judge Roberts’s time in the White House counsel’s office in the Reagan administration, give them reason for concern.
“From what we know now, John Roberts had a hand in some of the most aggressive assaults on civil rights protections during the Reagan administration,” Senator Kennedy, a Democrat of Massachusetts, said in a statement. “The White House should make all relevant documents available so that the Senate can make an informed decision.”
The White House said no. Instead, it arranged for the midafternoon release of records from Judge Roberts’s time at the Reagan Justice Department and said it would expedite the availability of certain documents at the Ronald Reagan Library. It invoked attorney client privilege, though, in withholding legal writings by Judge Roberts when he was principal deputy solicitor general under the first President Bush.
