Sen. Doug Jones said Wednesday he won't let the pressure from both sides of the political spectrum factor into his decision on whether to approve Brett Kavanaugh for the U.S. Supreme Court. Alabama's junior senator has been the target of statewide ads from the lobbying arm of the National Rifle Association, which started running earlier this week. Meanwhile, Democrats who propelled Jones to victory in the December special election against Roy Moore would feel betrayed if he votes against their interests. "The issue for me is simply that I am going to do what I think. I'm doing my homework. I'm going to do everything I can. I'm working on the Brett Kavanuagh thing, I know there's a lot of interest in that. I haven't made up my mind yet. It could go either way, I don't know," Jones told the Birmingham Rotary Club at the Harbert Center. "Because I believe that the Senate of the United States has a shared responsibility for Supreme Court nominations. It's an independent, shared … [Read more...] about Doug Jones: ‘I’m working on the Brett Kavanaugh thing’
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Democrats File Freedom Of Information Act Requests For Brett Kavanaugh Documents
POLITICS 08/08/2018 01:01 pm ET “This extraordinary step is really a last resort — unprecedented and unfortunate — but necessary to fully review Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination," Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said. By Igor Bobic WASHINGTON ― Senate Democrats said they filed a series of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests seeking documents tied to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s work as staff secretary for George W. Bush, calling the effort “unprecedented” and a “last resort.” Republicans have dismissed demands for thousands of the documents, which correspond to Kavanaugh’s time in the Bush White House, as a “fishing expedition” and a stalling tactic. They maintain that documents from Kavanaugh’s later work in the White House Counsel’s Office for Bush, as well as his lengthy trial record as a D.C. appellate court judge, will allow senators to sufficiently evaluate … [Read more...] about Democrats File Freedom Of Information Act Requests For Brett Kavanaugh Documents
Is SCOTUS Nominee Brett Kavanaugh Required to Answer Tough Questions?
Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Alex Wong/Getty Images With speculation that a conservative majority may result in Roe v. Wade being overturned, all eyes are on what Judge Brett Kavanaugh has to say about the key abortion decision. His upcoming Senate confirmation hearing, however, may be very anti-climactic. We largely know where everyone in the Senate stands on the Supreme Court nominee, and Kavanaugh is unlikely to divulge any earth-shattering information about his ideological leanings.The Ginsburg StandardIn recent years, Supreme Court nominees have become less forthcoming when testifying before the Senate. Last time around, Justice Neil Gorsuch refused to weigh in on Brown vs. Board of Education.There is even a term for it—the Ginsburg standard. The name references a response provided by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg during her confirmation hearing.She said: “A judge sworn to decide impartially can offer no forecasts, no hints, for that would show not … [Read more...] about Is SCOTUS Nominee Brett Kavanaugh Required to Answer Tough Questions?
Brett Kavanaugh SCOTUS Approval and Reproductive Rights
With the confirmation hearings for President Donald Trump’s conservative Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh expected to begin next month, the future of Roe v. Wade and other rights hang in the balance.Brett Kavanaugh is Trump’s second Supreme Court nomination, one that, if approved, would bring the president closer to making good on his campaign promise to overturn Roe v Wade.Kavanaugh would replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, who has served as a swing vote at critical times the 1973 landmark abortion rights case was threatened. With his expected confirmation, the Center for Reproductive Rights said on its website that “we may now face the greatest risk to the future of reproductive rights in the United States.”To elaborate further on what confirming Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court would really mean for the future of Roe v. Wade, we spoke to Amy Myrick, staff attorney for judicial strategy at the Center for Reproductive Rights.“Brett … [Read more...] about Brett Kavanaugh SCOTUS Approval and Reproductive Rights
NRA targets Doug Jones in Brett Kavanaugh ad blitz
The lobbying arm of the National Rifle Association began airing ads in Alabama on Tuesday with the intention of persuading Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., to vote to confirm U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. The ad, which is scheduled to run for two weeks, portrays Kavanaugh as the potential decisive vote on gun rights issues facing the court. "Your right to self-defense depends on this vote," the ad's narrator tells Alabamians. "Tell Sen. Jones, defend our right to self-defense." Jones, one of a handful of Democratic senators in red states that have face pressure from right-leaning groups over the Supreme Court pick, has said that he would weigh the totality of Kavanaugh's record before making a decision. At a town hall meeting late last month in Hoover, Jones said that he lamented that Supreme Court confirmation battles have turned political in recent years, adding that he would not succumb to pressure from conservatives. "We're looking at that objectively," Jones said, pointing … [Read more...] about NRA targets Doug Jones in Brett Kavanaugh ad blitz