WP: Roberts Papers Being Delayed

[kskiska]

Bush Aides Screen Pages for Surprises

Wednesday, August 10, 2005; A01

Thrown on the defensive by recent revelations about Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr.'s legal work, White House aides are delaying the release of tens of thousands of documents from the Reagan administration to give themselves time to find any new surprises before they are turned into political ammunition by Democrats.

Before Roberts's July 19 selection by President Bush, there was no comprehensive effort to examine the voluminous paper trail from his previous tours as an important legal and political hand under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, administration officials said.

Three weeks later, these officials say they recognize that Roberts's record is going to be central to Senate confirmation hearings scheduled to begin Sept. 6, and lawyers and political aides are urgently reviewing more than 50,000 pages -- at the same time denying requests from Democrats for an immediate release.

While the White House plays catch-up in studying Roberts's past, it is facing complaints from some of its conservative supporters about what they feel has been a stumbling campaign for the nominee.

Sean Rushton, director of the conservative Committee for Justice, said in the days after the nomination "there was a drop-off of message and focus."

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/09/AR2005080901232.html

[VegasWolf]

1. Gotta hide those records where he says gays are really people. nt

[despairing optimist]

2. "Hey, how did my Texas Air National Guard files get mixed up in there?"

"I thought they were all burned. I burned my old driver's license right proper back in Austin."

White House hissy fit ensues.

[spanone]

3. How convinient that Bush* changed the law in 2001 allowing withholding

of former Presidential documents. This is one slimey administration. These bastards cheat whenever possible.

[Dudley_DUright]

4. Talk about burying the lead

Paragraph 15-16:

But the White House's delay in releasing Reagan-era documents has angered Senate Democrats, coming as it has on top of the refusal to disclose documents they have requested from Roberts's 1989-1993 tenure as principal deputy solicitor general in the first Bush administration.

Citing attorney-client privilege, the administration similarly has declined to release roughly 7,700 pages of documents from the same era that The Washington Post requested under the Freedom of Information Act. The requested documents cover advice Roberts gave then-Solicitor General Kenneth W. Starr on cases including public school prayer, abortion, affirmative action and voting rights.

The important point is they refuse to release ANY records from Robert's time as deputy solicitor general, and the attorney client privilege excuse is totally bogus.

[Journeyman]

5. ...and BushCo incompetence pushes it up a notch...

"Before Roberts's July 19 selection by President Bush, there was no comprehensive effort to examine the voluminous paper trail from his previous tours as an important legal and political hand under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, administration officials said."

I thought the BushCo word was "to vet. The Harken deal was completely "vetted." The Energy bill was "completely vetted." The CIA "vetted" the State of Union address. All Iraqis hired by the US are sent through a "vetting" process.

Now, when it's something exceptionally important that they get right, they can't be bothered to take even a cursory look at the guy's past.

As Inigio Montoya wryly observed: ""I do not think that word means what you think that means."


On edit: Put the quotes in quote marks.

[hunter]

7. How far can they go? How many notches has their head-up-ass ratchet got?

These guys have been doing dirty deals for so long they didn't quite realize Roberts must be dirty too.

Ah, I remember it all so well, starting with the invasion of Grenada in 1983... Roberts was such a sweet young man, so very skilled at putting out the fires and cleaning up the messes these pickleheads make.

And now they just realized it's all in writing.

Click...Click...Click...

[wli]

6. doubtless it'll all be censored if ever released

[WildClarySage]

8. Thing is, all this obfuscation means that dems

have more and more reason to block the nomination. The more they stall, the more they piss of the democratic portion of the senate. And the republican base has to wonder if they're hiding stuff that would make Roberts unpalatable to them. It's a win-win as long as our side doesn't cave in.

[bearfan454]

10. "It's a win-win as long as our side doesn't cave in."

We usually DO cave in. The band of 14 will fuck us again.

[WildClarySage]

15. well, hell, I'm trying to be optimistic here.

:)

[bearfan454]

16. Yes we can hope that things turn out good in our favor.

That would be nice for a change.

[DeepModem Mom]

9. kick

[Ambrose]

11. Remember all the hyperbole about Clinton...

"hiding" documents? Where is the voice for the democrats asking what Bush is "hiding" by not releasing the documents? If they can stir up crap minded pukes when it comes to Clinton we should be able to make their crap boil in this case!

We need Dean or someone to keep asking the press "What is the White House trying to hide about this nominee?"

[Supersedeas]

12. Playing catch-up b/c the Dim Som didn't do his homework (Dog ate it)

[gratuitous]

13. Bolton nomination redux

What, did the corrupt Bush administration think that the Senate wasn't going to take a look at Roberts' record in considering his nomination to the Supreme Court? And as famously "on task" and thorough as these thieves are, it's astonishing that they don't have a package of material all ready.

I'm guessing that this is just a little more of Bush's pathology. Remember all the speculation about who might be O'Connor's replacement, and how smug Bush was about being the only one who really knew? He played a little cat-and-mouse with the media and was having a high old time baiting them. Now it appears that he kept the secret of Roberts' nomination from his own staff, and they didn't check this guy over very carefully.

Senate Democrats have an easy reason to oppose Roberts: We won't confirm a lifetime appointment without a full examination of the man's entire record. So bone simple, even a CNN talking chucklehead can understand it.

[callous taoboy]

14. These dimwits never look before they leap. So many parallels

from Iraq to NCLB to inaction on health care and economy. Just toss in a hand grenade and hope for the best, which means worst, of course.