No promises and no one above law, Supreme Court pick says

WASHINGTON Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch declared Tuesday he’s made no promises to Donald Trump or anyone else about how he’ll vote on abortion or other issues and testified he’ll have no trouble as a justice holding anyone accountable, including the president who picked him.

Gorsuch also called Trump’s attacks on federal judges “disheartening” and “demoralizing.” During the long second day of his Senate confirmation hearings, Gorsuch made two other notable statements in response to questions from members of the Judiciary Committee, and both also related to Trump, who nominated him.

Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina asked Gorsuch whether Trump had asked him to overturn Roe v. Wade, the case establishing a right to abortion, and what he would have done had Trump asked him to do so.

“Senator, I would have walked out the door,” Gorsuch replied. “That’s not what judges do.”

When Vermont Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy asked Gorsuch if a president is free to ignore laws on national security grounds, Gorsuch replied that “nobody is above the law in this country, and that includes the president of the United States.”

Some Democratic senators who are not on the Judiciary Committee called for a pause in the confirmation process after FBI Director James Comey said Monday that the bureau is investigating Russian meddling in last year’s election and potential ties between Trump associates and Russia.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said on Twitter that while the investigation continues, “lifetime court appointments can wait.”

Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley dismissed the idea as ridiculous.