Court Pick Deflects Questions On White House Controversies

[cal04]

As White House staff secretary, Brett M. Kavanaugh has a desk near the Oval Office, and he sees most letters and documents that go in there before President Bush does. But Kavanaugh, nominated by Bush to an appellate court judgeship, testified yesterday that he knew nothing about the administration's warrantless surveillance program, a now-rescinded memo on torture and White House visits by former lobbyist Jack Abramoff until they were in the newspapers.

In a 3 1/2- hour hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Kavanaugh frustrated Democrats' efforts to link him, even tangentially, to the administration's biggest controversies. As have many other judicial nominees, he declined to answer some questions, cited forgetfulness in sidestepping others, and gave little insight into his political and philosophical views.

Some Democrats say that Kavanaugh, 41, is too closely tied to GOP politics -- and too unwilling to answer questions -- to deserve a lifetime appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. But Republicans, who heatedly defended him, predicted that is where he will land after the committee vote scheduled tomorrow and a subsequent confirmation vote by the full Senate, where Republicans hold 55 of the 100 seats.

Democrats did manage a few concessions from Kavanaugh yesterday. He said Bush political adviser Karl Rove has been a regular participant in weekly meetings of about 15 administration officials who discuss which potential nominees should be pushed for the federal bench. Sen. Charles E. Schumer said Rove's participation disproved Kavanaugh's earlier claims that political considerations play no role in judicial appointments.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/09/AR2006050901042.html?nav=rss_email/components

[yourout]

1. Of all the damage Bushco has wrought on the US.....

The damage to the judicial branch will be the hardest to fix.

[NewJeffCT]

3. Alito, Roberts...

and all those hard RW folks on the next tier of Federal Courts.

[struggle4progress]

5. Don't forget torture memo author Bybee.

[rodeodance]

4. I agree. Decades of decisions to come.

[lovuian]

2. Congress is responsible for letting this Dictator run amok

We have your names Congressmen!!!

[Gman]

6. One of the first statements my Constitutional Law professor made

was that the Supreme Court, and all federal courts are political. EVeryone does it, and yes, that does make it right. This is one of the penalties we pay for losing in '00, '02 and '04.