Senate Republicans found a clever way to illustrate what they describe as unreasonable demands from Democrats regarding the records of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Earlier this week, Chuck Schumer stood beside a scattered pile of boxes labeled “Missing Records” and accused Republicans of obstruction for not requesting enough documents from the National Archives.
On Thursday, GOP members of the Judiciary Committee stood in front of 167 cardboard boxes labeled “Kavanaugh Files” in an effort to exhibit the amount of records that will be provided to the committee—and make the case that the Democrats’ request is a stalling tactic.
“If you were to stack up all these pages, it would be taller than the Big Ben, taller than the Statue of Liberty, taller than the Capitol Dome, and taller than the Taj Mahal,” North Carolina senator Thom Tillis said of the incoming Kavanaugh files. “Here’s the reality: The same people that are asking for the documents oppose Judge Kavanaugh.”
At issue are files from Kavanaugh’s time as staff secretary in the Bush administration, a role that Judiciary chairman Chuck Grassley has described as “the inbox and outbox for the president of the United States.” Republicans say the files are, as Grassley described them last week, “both the least relevant to Judge Kavanaugh’s legal thinking and the most sensitive to the Executive Branch.”
“Roughly 1 million pages already, or in the process of, being made available,” Grassley said Thursday. “The committee is already reviewing more than 8,500 pages of cases that he participated in.”
By comparison, Grassley has noted, the Senate received roughly 170,000 pages related to then-nominee Elena Kagan’s time in the White House. She did not have a judicial record at the time. Kavanaugh has written around 300 opinions.
Last week Grassley asked for emails and other records related to Kavanaugh’s years in the White House Counsel’s office under the Bush administration. The chairman has said that the Senate will also receive documents related to his 2006 D.C. Circuit Court nomination, as well as from his time working for independent counsel Ken Starr.
“Somehow, the minority leader thinks that this is not good enough,” Grassley said Thursday. “But the truth is he and many on his side have already voiced their opposition to the nominee … so I question the sincerity of demands for more documents.”
Democrats say that staff secretary is a “top White House adviser” and records from that time could shed light on Kavanaugh’s views on issues like the CIA’s detention and interrogation program.
They have made multiple requests for more records. A Tuesday letter led by Judiciary Committee ranking member Dianne Feinstein asked the Bush Library for the staff secretary records, as well as all emails sent or received by Kavanaugh during his time in the White House.
That letter further requested “all records containing documents written by, edited by, prepared in whole or part by, under the supervision of, or at the direction” of Kavanaugh, and any documents referencing his name, initials, or title.
Grassley on Tuesday described that ask as absurd.
“They essentially want access to every document that ever went through the Bush White House,” he said in floor remarks. “This is beyond unreasonable—and it’s not a serious proposal.”
He also said that the staff secretary documents contain sensitive information—similar to records from then-nominee Elena Kagan’s tenure as solicitor general, which were not requested due to sensitivity issues.
Utah senator Orrin Hatch on Thursday said that he is “tired of the partisanship” pervading the confirmation process.
“We can’t keep going down this partisan, picky, stupid, dumbass road that has happened around here for so long,” he said. “Frankly, we didn’t treat their candidates for these positions the way they’re treating ours.”
