Campaign Action
Senate Democrats are demanding that Russian asset Donald Trump cough up the huge amount of documents amassed in his Supreme Court nominee's career in public service. For good reason. That nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, has some troubling views on the unitary executive, the untouchable president. He also has served as staff secretary to former President George W. Bush, the guy who lied us into a war and whose administration committed war crimes. Kavanaugh was the guy in charge of what Bush saw on his desk every day, and was in the room when decisions were made. So those documents are worth seeing, and Democrats want them.
As of now, no Democrat has yet had a courtesy meeting with Kavanaugh, though two red-state Democrats up for re-election this year say they'll meet with him. Joe Manchin (WV) has one scheduled next week and Heidi Heitkamp (SD) is in the process of setting one up. The remainder are waiting to see these documents, and are using the "Kagan standard" (because everything having to do with Supreme Court nominations has to be a "standard" or a "rule") as an equivalent.
When Justice Elena Kagan was nominated, she had served as President Obama's solicitor general and thus had reams of documents related to that service. All of that was released, and Obama did not invoke executive privilege to withhold any of it. Democrats are demanding the same of Kavanaugh, led by minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and ranking Judiciary Committee member Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).
"We want the same procedure that was used for Justice Kagan," Ms. Feinstein said Monday. "That was the Republican procedure, and for some reason there’s opposition to that now."
Republicans, who nearly unanimously refused Merrick Garland—President Obama's blockaded nominee even a courtesy meeting—are of course condemning Democrats. The horrible Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and number two Senate asshole says the Democrats are "chasing after irrelevant records." Trump's press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, lies about it. Because that's what she does. The document request and delay is "unprecedented" she says. No. Elena Kagan for one and Merrick Garland for two. She also says "Senator Schumer should stop these political games and meet with Judge Kavanaugh."
Merrick. Garland.
Democrats have nothing to lose by making this demand. Public support for Kavanaugh is historically weak and the public is very concerned about the threat Kavanaugh could pose to civil rights, women's rights and health care. Democrats insisting on a full examination of his record is not going to be a problem for any voter not already in the bag for Republicans.