Kavanaugh’s paper trail becomes flashpoint
WASHINGTON — Judge Brett Kavanaugh has a long record of judicial and executive branch service to recommend him as President Donald Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court. And that’s part of the problem in getting him confirmed by the Senate.
Democrats are demanding to see the conservative appellate court judge’s lengthy paper trail before they even start meeting with him, let alone casting their votes on a lifetime appointment that could shift the court rightward.
The documents extend far beyond the 53-year-old’s nearly 300 rulings as a judge on the circuit court of appeals.
The Democrats are demanding access to paperwork from Kavanaugh’s tenure as staff secretary in the George W. Bush White House, on the 2000 election presidential recount and on Special Counsel Kenneth Starr’s probe of Bill Clinton. The tally could stretch at least 1 million pages.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wants to have Kavanaugh confirmed for the start of the Supreme Court session Oct. 1 and to serve up a midterm election boost for Republicans in November. But the Democratic search for documents could complicate that timeline.
With Republicans holding just a slim 51-seat majority, they are under pressure from conservatives to confirm the nominee. He would take the place of retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, often a swing vote.
“We’ve already begun to hear rumblings from our Democratic colleagues that they’re going to want to see every scrap of paper that ever came across Brett Kavanaugh’s desk,” the No. 2 Republican, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, told reporters.
But the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, said in light of this week’s “disturbing events” — namely, Trump’s Helsinki summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin — it’s all the more important to thoroughly vet the president’s nominee.
“It is, ultimately, the Supreme Court that will have the last word on whether a sitting president is above the law,” she said.
At particular issue in the document fight are the years the Yaleeducated Kavanaugh spent at the White House as staff secretary for Bush, as well as his work during the Clinton probe and the Florida election recount.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, promised the “most transparent and thorough process” of any of them.
But he also warned against dragging it out. “I will not allow taxpayers to be on the hook for a government-funded fishing expedition,” Grassley said.