Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh told Democratic senators that he would not give journalists the go-ahead to speak openly about off-the-record conversations he had with them 20 years ago.
Democratic Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, R.I., and Richard Blumenthal, Conn., asked Kavanaugh to release reporters from any arrangement not to identify him as a source, but in written answers on Wednesday, Kavanaugh declined, according to his written reply.
“It would be inappropriate in this context to disregard that foundational privilege and protection for the press,” Kavanaugh wrote in his answer, claiming he was protecting the journalists’ First Amendment rights by keeping the conversations off-the-record.
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The two senators were looking for journalists to be able to share background conversations from two decades ago that they had with Kavanaugh while he was working as a prosecutor for independent counsel Kenneth Starr, who was investigating President Bill Clinton.
“As I stated at the hearing, I spoke with the reporters at the direction or authorization of Judge Starr,” Kavanaugh said in his response to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The judge also said he did not provide reporters with any protected grand jury information.
Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings were held last week, and the committee is expected to approve his nomination by next week. Republicans are hoping to confirm him on the Senate floor later this month, before the start of the Supreme Court’s next term on Oct. 1.
