WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.), along with fourteen other senators, joined Democratic colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee in calling on the White House to make Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s complete White House record available to the Senate and the public.
In a letter led by U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and U.S. Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) , the senators implored White House Counsel Donald McGahn to make the documents available for review before they proceed any further with the nomination process. They also rebuked the White House for its decision to release 42,000 additional pages of Kavanaugh’s record mere hours before confirmation hearings began.
“Access to a Supreme Court nominee’s full record is necessary for the Senate to fulfill its constitutional duty to advise and consent,” the senators wrote. “More important, it is essential for the American people to have confidence in our confirmation process.”
“The rush and secrecy has left us to wonder what the White House is withholding from the American people,” the senators continued. “It should make the documents available for review.”
Their letter follows a similar demand sent Monday by all 10 Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
In addition to Udall, Cortez Masto and Bennet, the letter was also signed by U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Doug Jones (D-Ala.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Angus King (I-Maine), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
A copy of the letter is available here and below.
Donald F. McGahn, II
Counsel to the President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. McGahn:
We write to support and reiterate the request made by our colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee to make Judge Kavanaugh’s White House records available to the Senate and the public. Access to a Supreme Court nominee’s full record is necessary for the Senate to fulfill its constitutional duty to advise and consent. More important, it is essential for the American people to have confidence in our confirmation process.
The lack of complete information associated with this nomination is unprecedented and threatens to undermine the public’s confidence in a fair and impartial judiciary. To date, members of the Judiciary Committee have seen only 7% of Judge Kavanaugh’s White House record. In comparison, the Senate had access to 99% of Justice Kagan’s White House record prior to her confirmation. Last week, a Bush White House attorney directed over 100,000 pages from Judge Kavanaugh’s work in the White House Counsel’s Office to be withheld based on “constitutional privilege.” And just hours before this week’s hearing, the White House released 42,000 additional pages of his record to the Judiciary Committee. Meanwhile, 186,000 pages of documents that were made available to the Senate are being withheld from public view.
The rush and secrecy has left us to wonder what the White House is withholding from the American people. It should make the documents available for review.
We owe it to the American people to evaluate Supreme Court nominees in an open, transparent, and fair process. Unfortunately, the process so far has been anything but. We urge you to make Judge Kavanaugh’s full record available immediately before we proceed with his confirmation.
Sincerely,
