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Sessions rebukes White House on Sotomayor documents
By: Susan Ferrechio
Chief Congressional Correspondent
07/03/09 9:25 AM EDT
The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee is calling "absurd" an assertion by the Obama administration that some of the documents Republicans have requested relating to Supreme Court nominee Sonya Sotomayor are not relevant to her upcoming hearings.
Sen. Jeff Sessions, of Alabama, and other Republicans have accused Democrats of rushing the hearings, slated to begin July 13 in the Judiciary Committee. Republicans want more time to acquire and review documents related to Sotomayor's dozen years at the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF). The group delivered 300 pages of requested material in recent days and the papers, said Sessions, "may provide insight into her judicial approach" used when she upheld a lower court decision to throw out the New Haven Fire Department's promotional exams because blacks did not earn qualifying scores.
The documents showed that during Sotomayor's time with the PRLDEF, the group used race to contest the test scores of municipal employees in other states.
Sessions said Thursday that the PRLDEF has reviewed only three of more than 300 boxes of materials and Republicans want to see more, with help from the White House.
"Rather than simply defend PRLDEF, the White House should respect the Judiciary Committee's important bipartisan request that these documents be delivered to the Committee in a timely manner so they can be reviewed before Judge Sotomayor's hearing, which is now just five legislative days away," Sessions said in a statement.
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