Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said Wednesday he has not decided whether to support Thomas Farr’s nomination to the federal bench in North Carolina, and he wants to talk to the people who drafted a memo outlining Farr’s involvement in an initiative decades ago that may have suppressed the black vote.
“I want to talk to the person who wrote the DOJ memo that came out in the Post,” Scott said, referring to a Washington Post article outlining a Department of Justice memo that names Farr.
Scott earlier Wednesday voted to advance Farr’s nomination to a final vote in the Senate, which could take place later this week. Without Scott’s support, Farr’s nomination is all but certain to fail, as Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., is also a “no” vote.
According to the Post, the Department of Justice memo outlines actions taken in 1990 by then-Sen. Jesse Helms’ campaign and the North Carolina Republican Party to distribute 120,000 postcards that Justice Department officials said were aimed at discouraging black voters from turning out at the polls.
Farr was an attorney for Helms at the time and worked on the campaign.
“At the meeting, Farr told others that there were a limited number of ballot security initiatives that the groups could undertake at that point in the race, according to the memo,” the Post article reported. “He also said because the current Republican governor could tap a majority of county election officials statewide, the need for a ballot security program that year was lessened because ‘they would ensure a fair election process for Republican candidates.’”
Farr has denied any involvement in sending the postcards.
A final vote on Farr could take place as early as Thursday, but it may also slip until Monday, Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, told the Washington Examiner.
Scott told reporters he doesn’t know how he’ll vote until he gets more information about the DOJ memo.
“I want to talk to the actual drafters,” he said.
