Democratic criticisms grow over disclosures

WASHINGTON — New disclosures about Judge Samuel Alito Jr.’s positions on abortion are stiffening Democratic resistance and complicating the nomination for moderates in both parties as the Senate moves toward a Supreme Court confirmation fight in a charged electionyear atmosphere.

Senators and senior aides said Thursday that a newly released Reagan administration memo from 1985 laying out Alito’s strategy for weakening the Supreme Court’s Roe vs. Wade abortion ruling has intensified Democratic skepticism toward the nominee not just on abortion rights, but also on whether he is being forthcoming.

‘‘Certainly the chance of a filibuster is greater today than it was the day Alito was nominated because of so many new revelations,’’ said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., a member of the Judiciary Committee, which will convene Alito’s confirmation hearing Jan. 9.

Schumer also said Thursday that he sent Alito a letter asking him to explain why his participation in the Supreme Court case while working in the Justice Department was not disclosed in his responses to a Senate questionnaire.

New information continued to surface Thursday as past speeches by Alito that became public showed among other things a strong deference to presidential power.

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., chair of the Judiciary Committee and one of the handful of Republicans who support abortion rights, said Thursday that he did not think this week’s disclosure of the abortion memo ‘‘materially or significantly changes the political dynamics of the Senate.’’

But, in a sign of Republican nervousness about the criticisms, Specter scheduled a meeting with Alito for today, after which the senator will speak to reporters. The Washington Post contributed to this report.