Two senators want Roberts to answer a question before hearing starts

[Judi Lynn]

Two senators want Roberts to answer a question before hearing starts
08/24/2005 01:57:29 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two Democratic senators said Wednesday that they want Supreme Court nominee John Roberts to explain before his confirmation hearings why he continued to judge a lawsuit against the Bush administration while being interviewed to be a justice.

"It is clear that you have long understood the ethical issues raised by continuing to work on a case in which a party is considering you for another position," Judiciary Committee Sens. Charles Schumer of New York and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin said in a letter to Roberts.

Roberts, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, was nominated by President Bush to the nation's highest court on July 19.

That month, Roberts sat on a three-judge panel that refused to block military tribunals for terror suspects. A lawsuit against the administration was brought by Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a Yemeni who once was al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden's driver.
(snip/...)

http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2005/08/24/news/latest_news/bafaa0bc735181908625706700664ee3.txt

[LSparkle]

1. Feingold is becoming the John Conyers of the Senate

Speaking up while others wimp out ...

[Wetzelbill]

2. yeah, Russ is one impressive dude

I like him more and more every day.

[LSparkle]

4. Feingold/Conyers in '08

or Feingold/Boxer!

[Wetzelbill]

7. oh you know you want McCain/Clinton in any order...

oh, I just made myself ill. Remind me not to do that again. :)

[LSparkle]

10. I can't decide which of those makes me more ill

Sorry but Hill is looking more and more like the "Goldwater girl" she used to be by the day ...

[EST]

13. Uh, don't do that again, puhlease!

[UpInArms]

22. ewwww!

:puke:

stop that!

[fujiyama]

30. Ooh ooh

Better yet as Biden suggested on the Daily Show, Biden/McCain or McCain/Biden.

[madokie]

11. Russ has potential

I've been catching a lot of cspan the last few months and I am very impressed with him. I get the impression that he is a real down to earth type person, very pleasant. He feels our pain.

[DoYouEverWonder]

3. This is a serious breach of ethics

and a future SC Justice is supposed to know better.

This alone should be enough to disqualify Roberts.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

6. In order to get Justice John Ashcroft?

Be careful what you wish for...

[DoYouEverWonder]

15. The Senate has dozens of ways

to stall and drag this process out. There are too many unanswered questions about Roberts and Leahy has already voiced his concerns. Roberts is not going to have an easy confirmation. Bush blew it by announcing his nomination a month too early, in order to get Rove out of the news. Now it's going to come back to bite them.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

16. No, it won't be easy.

But do you really have hopes he'll nominate someone "better"?

[DoYouEverWonder]

17. He won't nominate anyone else

because he will be too stubborn to withdraw Roberts. O'Connor has promised not to leave until someone is approved to take her place. The Senators know they there is no real hurry. Beside the shit is hitting the fan for BushCo. The Roberts' nomination is going to get stalled for a number of reasons. Don't worry.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

18. I can buy that.

I just know too many people here have some kind of hope that we're going to get rid of Roberts and somehow get someone better to replace him. It just ain't gonna happen. The best that we can hope for is such a serious set of delays that we're still talking about it this time next year (aka, election season). With nuclear hanging around, I'll be surprised if it gets that far though.

[punpirate]

9. And that's why the Democrats should have...

... kept quiet and sprung it on Roberts during the hearings while he was under oath. This probably gives him some weasel room without perjuring himself.

[mom cat]

24. Republicans and ethical breaches...I'm shocked!

[unhappycamper]

5. That's an interesting article from such a red city.

The Sioux City Journal is pretty much to the right.

[FormerRepublican]

8. This is excellent!

We need to start holding the BushCo corruption feet to the fire.

This reason alone is enough to prevent Roberts from ascending to the Supreme Court, IMO. The Justices should be above reproach, not judges with questionable ethics whose escapades undermine the authority of the Supreme Court.

[Generator]

12. Well of course it should

It should be enough. But we live in a time when "conflict of interest" "serious breach of ethics" no longer apply. There is no justice left in this country. I've haven't seen any since this MAFIA has taken over. If you find some, let me know. Watch my words-of course he will get a pass. When you start to realize your country is just as corrupt as any third world one, you start to wonder..why be here? The cheap gas? It's over. America is over. This is just the beginning of the awareness. Quote me in twenty years. The courts will be stacked with far right-religious people that back the interests of the rich and only the rich. They are the last bastion of the constitition and of justice. And one more justice is certainly going to be gone and Bush will get to appoint two. And then, you will have a "Democrat" tell you how he's better than the worst. Great..Roberts ain't a neo-Nazi, and plus.. he's likeable..and plus we can't win and plus..America is over.

[stevedeshazer]

14. Recommended - great find

Excellent question. Where's the media on th...nevermind.

[badgervan]

19. Russ

Russ Feingold is one of my senators, and I can proudly say that he has never lied or misled us - ever. I can think of no higher praise for a politician. The guy is a decent, honest, caring progressive - and he gets things done. The country desperately needs a leader of honor right now, and we could do a lot worse than Senator Russ.

[stevedeshazer]

20. I agree, you've got an excellent senator there.

Welcome, badgervan :hi:

[Judi Lynn]

21. He's an excellent senator, badgervan. Democrats are lucky to have him.

Welcome to D.U.! :hi: :hi: :hi:

[CityDem]

23. We are kidding ourselves

I hate to say it, but Roberts will be confirmed with 70+ votes. Our dem leaders will put up a meager fight to appease the base, but over 15 dems will vote with the repubs.

[Dr Fate]

29. I dont mind a little base appeasing- I'd love to see some for once.

If it means some tough questions get asked to a Repub on TV for once, it can only be a good thing.

[BQueen]

25. Glad some Sens picked up on this - Recommended

This shouldn't be brushed off -- it's important.

need to get this on Greatest page...

[Judi Lynn]

26. Kicking!

[DeepModem Mom]

27. kick

[Dr Fate]

28. Just ask him the question - what is this "want" business? ASK IT.

n/t

[fujiyama]

31. I'm glad they brought this up

When I first read about it when first hearing about Roberts, I found it very troubling.

Feingold is a good guy (I've been a fan for a while now) and I liked Schumer's response immediately after Bush's announcement.

[rateyes]

32. Someone needs to ask the ABA..

about the ethics of this....we all know how unethical it is...if we can get an official position on it, it would help, IMHO.

[cal04]

33. Leahy: Democrats Will Question Roberts

Democrats plan to question Supreme Court nominee John Roberts about a disavowed Justice Department memo that critics say led to torture in foreign prisons, top Senate Judiciary Democrat Patrick Leahy of Vermont said Monday.

Leahy said he gave Roberts a copy of the so-called "Bybee memo" during a meeting Monday in the Senate's Russell office building. It was the second meeting between the two men since July, when President Bushnominated Roberts to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Then-Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee argued in a Jan. 22, 2002, memo that the president has the power to issue orders that violate the Geneva Conventions as well as international and U.S. laws prohibiting torture.

"It will be raised, partly on the question of to what area — if any — can a president be considered above the law," Leahy told reporters.The meeting came as the National Archives released more documents from Roberts' time as a government lawyer in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations. In one document, Roberts suggested that a conservative supporter of President Reagan "go soak his head" after he criticized the White House for avoiding a friend's fight with immigration officials.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050829/ap_on_go_su_co/roberts