Kerry statement: American People Must Know Roberts' Record on Civil Rights

Kerry: American People Must Know Roberts' Record on Civil Rights


http://kerry.senate.gov/v3/cfm/record.cfm?id=241368

On civil rights record, questions can't be answered without documents

Washington, D.C. -- As the Senate prepares for confirmation hearings on Judge John Roberts to fill the Supreme Court vacancy, and news reports today indicate that materials on the Roberts' civil rights record may be withheld from Congress, Senator John Kerry issued the following statement:

"Our country has traveled an incredible journey in the fight to guarantee civil rights to all Americans. From the days when Thurgood Marshall took Brown vs. the Board of Education to the Supreme Court through the present, an important part of this battle has taken place in the federal court system. The American people should know whether John Roberts will protect their consitutional rights if confirmed as a Justice to the Court.

I hope that both Judge Roberts and the Bush Administration will release all documents related to his professional record, including memoranda written during his time in the Justice Department. These documents should be released to the Congress in their entirety. The Senate has a challenge to meet its constitutional responsibility in the months ahead, and we can not do our duty if either Judge Roberts or the Bush Administration hides elements of his professional record. The Senate,and the American people, need to know the truth about Judge Roberts' record to make a proper judgment."

unless, there was something in there that the Bushies wanted to hide.

...Roberts was not a civil rights champion.