Kennedy demands CAP archives

[Algorem]

http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2006/01/11/news/14217.shtml

Rusher says he has 'no recollection' of Alito affiliation with conservative group

Chanakya Sethi
Princetonian Senior Writer

Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), the second-ranking Democrat on the judiciary committee, is calling for the release of documents to shed light on the involvement of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito '72 with a conservative Princeton alumni group.

In a Dec. 22 letter to committee chairman Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), Kennedy asked that the private documents of William Rusher '44, a former leader of Concerned Alumni of Princeton (CAP), be made public. Rusher's private papers are currently held in the Library of Congress.

"In view of CAP's troubling opposition to equal educational opportunity for women, minorities and the disabled, it is important for the committee to learn more about Judge Alito's involvement in this organization," Kennedy wrote, adding that he wanted Alito to answer questions about his involvement with the group during confirmation hearings, which began Monday.

"In 1975 an official report by a committee of Princeton alumni that included William Frist <'74>, now Senator Frist, concluded that CAP's 'distorted, narrow and hostile view of the University' had 'misinformed and even alarmed many alumni' and 'undoubtedly generated adverse national publicity,' " Kennedy wrote...



CAP critic pulled from Democratic witness list
Dujack '76 regrets controversial op-ed, will not testify before Senate committee

http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2006/01/11/news/14206.shtml

Mark Stefanski
Princetonian Staff Writer

An alumnus tapped by Democrats to testify in this week's Senate hearings on Samuel Alito '72 will no longer appear, removing the only witness slated to speak specifically about a controversial conservative alumni group of which Alito was a member.

Stephen Dujack '76, an environmental writer, has been outspoken in his condemnation of the group, Concerned Alumni of Princeton, which criticized the University's move to coeducation and adoption of affirmative action during the 1970s. Opponents of Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court seized on his membership in the group to show that he is out of step with mainstream America on core issues.

Though it wasn't immediately clear why Dujack — a former layout editor for The Daily Princetonian — was removed from the Democrats' witness list last week, some observers believe he was vulnerable to attacks over an April 2003 Los Angeles Times column he wrote that compared animals killed in slaughterhouses to victims of the Holocaust.

On Friday, the office of Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), a strong Alito backer, circulated copies of the column. By that evening, Dujack's name had been removed from a full list of witnesses released by the judiciary committee...



Alito '72 faces the fire
In first day of questioning, nominee is grilled on abortion, executive powers and CAP

http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2006/01/11/news/14213.shtml

Mark Stefanski
Princetonian Staff Writer

WASHINGTON, D.C. — After weeks of allowing politicians, pundits and the press to speculate about his views, Samuel Alito '72 finally took the stage this week and spoke for himself.

In opening remarks Monday and responses to senators' questions Tuesday, Alito sought to portray himself as a man of humble origins who has a deep devotion to the law. He fielded questions Tuesday about issues that are expected to dominate the hearings: abortion, executive powers, civil rights and his membership in a conservative Princeton alumni group.

Speaking publicly for the first time about his membership in the Concerned Alumni of Princeton (CAP), Alito said couldn't recall his reasons for joining the group, but said he probably did so to protest the ROTC's expulsion from campus in 1970. Alito was a member of Army ROTC at the time.

The previous day, Alito said in a largely biographical opening statement that he had no agenda and would follow the "rule of law."...

[acmejack]

1. He's getting them!

Specter said that Kennedy's Staff would be given access to the records by Rusher.

[still_one]

2. excellent

I called Specter's office this morning after the scuffle he had with Kennedy, expressing my dissapointment if Specter wouldn't allow those records to be reviewed or accessible

[NVMojo]

3. if they worked that hard to damage this man's credibility, then we need

to know more about Alito and CAP cuz where there is smoke, there is fire ...