Democrats dismiss Roberts documents [View All]

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http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20050727-100353-1600r

Democrats dismiss Roberts documents

The Washington Times

WASHINGTON -- Senate Democrats yesterday dismissed an offer by the White House to hand over up to 75,000 pages of documents pertaining to Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr.'s tenure as a lawyer in the Reagan White House.

"This in no way satisfies any potential document request," said one Democratic aide, generally reflecting the sentiments of Senate Democrats. "The White House has artfully made it look like they are saying yes to our requests, when they are actually saying no."

Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee wrote President Bush late yesterday saying they are "disappointed" in the decision to cut off access to "important and informative documents written" by Judge Roberts. Those documents, they said, may be necessary to "evaluate Judge Robert's judicial philosophy and legal reasoning."

The White House has refused to release federal Judge Roberts' papers from his time as deputy solicitor general in the first Bush White House, saying that doing so would violate attorney-client privilege and set a dangerous precedent for judicial nominees. The Solicitor General's Office is the federal government's lawyer in cases that come before the Supreme Court.

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