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January 11, 2006
Kennedy and Specter Lock Horns (VIDEO)
Topics: Supreme Court
VIDEO: High Resolution (Low)
Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) has done his level best to defame the upright character and good reputation of Supreme Court nominee Judge Samuel Alito. During the hearing today, Kennedy locked horns with Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter over Kennedy's demand for an immediate executive session to subpoena documents related to Alito's membership in what has become a controversial Princeton group. Here is the final portion of the transcript - check out the video below:
KENNEDY: Mr. Chairman, I'd appeal the ruling of the chair on this.VIDEO: High Resolution (Low)SPECTER: There has been no ruling of the chair, Senator Kennedy
KENNEDY: Well what is the -- my request is that we go into the executive session for the sole purpose of voting on a subpoena for these records that are held over at the Library of Congress -- that purpose and that purpose only.
And if I'm going to be denied that, I'd want to give notice to the chair that you're going to hear it again and again and again and we're going to have votes of this committee again and again and again until we have a resolution.
I think it's...
SPECTER: Well, Senator Kennedy, I'm not concerned about your threats to have votes again, again and again. And I'm the chairman of this committee and I have heard your request and I will consider it.
And I'm not going to have you run this committee and decide when we're going to go into executive session.
We are in the middle of a round of hearings. This is the first time you have personally called it to my attention, and this is the first time that I have focused on it. And I will consider in due course.
Now we'll move to Senator Grassley for 20 minutes.
Update: Ed Whelan at Bench Memos writes:
I have been informed by a very reliable source that Senate Judiciary Committee staffers have reviewed the entirety of William Rusher's CAP documents at the Library of Congress and have determined that those documents make no mention at all of Alito.HT: Volokh ConspiracyThis should be no surprise, as New York Times reporter David Kirkpatrick reviewed the same documents in late November 2005 and made the same determination.
Kathryn Lopez writes:
David Kirkpatrick wrote about them in November in the NYTimes (November 27, 2005, "From Alito's Past, a Window On Conservatives at Princeton") and concluded: "Those records and others at Mudd Library at Princeton give no indication that Judge Alito, who sits on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, was among the group's major donors. He was not an active leader of the group, and two of his classmates who were involved and Mr. Rusher said they did not remember his playing a role."Finally, WaPo reports
The great postal debate proved moot after lunch, when Specter announced that the custodian of the Princeton papers would turn them over without a subpoena. He scolded Kennedy for starting a "tussle."Yep, Kennedy drew blood with a non-issue ...
Posted by tim at January 11, 2006 11:33 PM
Your articles and commentary on the hearing are interesting and very informative. Thanks
Posted by: Max at January 12, 2006 1:04 AM
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