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Posted on 08/03/2018 10:31:39 AM PDT by jazusamo
The Democratic push to get documents from Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's work in the George W. Bush administration ran into a new roadblock on Friday.
The National Archives, in a letter to Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), said it will only respond to a request for documents under the Presidential Records Act (PRA) if they come from a committee chairman, who are all Republicans.
The National Archives and Records “remains unable to respond to PRA special access requests from ranking minority members,” wrote Archivist David Ferriero, who was appointed by former President Obama.
Schumer and Ferriero spoke on the phone earlier this week about how the National Archives handles documents request from committee Democrats, who are in the minority in the Senate.
“In our conversation, you noted that the minority staff of the Judiciary Committee believe that the special access section of the PRA could be interpreted to include requests from the ranking minority member. You then asked if I would seek a new interpretation of this provision,” Ferriero noted in his letter to Schumer.
But Ferriero added that after consultations between the National Archives general counsel and the Justice Department they determined that a documents request “must be from the chair (or the committee itself), unless specifically delegated by the committee to the ranking minority member.”
A spokesman for Schumer didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter.
The rebuff from the National Archives comes as the fight over work from Kavanaugh's time in the George W. Bush White House has emerged as a lightning rod in the Supreme Court fight.
Democrats want the National Archives to release documents and emails from Kavanaugh's time as staff secretary, arguing it would shed light on his thinking about issues such as torture and surveillance.
But Republicans have refused to include the three-year period in their own requests to the National Archives. Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) sent a letter late last week on behalf of the panel only requesting documents from Kavanaugh's time as a White House counsel.
The move incensed Democrats, who have accused Republicans of trying to hide damaging information about Kavanaugh.
Judiciary Committee Democrats, led by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), requested all paperwork from Kavanaugh's time in the White House, including any emails sent and received by Kavanaugh.
But the National Archives previously warned Feinstein that a committee’s power to request documents under the Presidential Records Act rests with the panels' chairmen.
Feinstein fired back, saying the agency has to respond to Democrats as well.
“Your unduly restrictive reading of the law results in one political party having complete control over what records the Senate will be able to see,” she wrote, adding that “a biased denial of document requests to one half of the Committee is unsupported by the law.”
The Archives's stance makes it unlikely that documents from Kavanaugh's time as staff secretary will be handed over to lawmakers unless Republicans agree to request them, something they have been unwilling to do so far.
Wednesday I called Schumer's office, and spoke to one of the girls in his office. I live in NY State. I asked her, if the Democrats weren't interested in Kavanaugh's White House records when he was being considered for a Judgeship, especially in light of the fact that he had never sat as a Judge before, why were they interested in stuff from that far back now. After all, they already have access to all his decisions as a Judge to refer to.
Yesterday I called Grassley's office and reiterated the same thing. I don't know if the Dems ever requested his White House records at the time he was nominated by Bush, but the morons had three years to do so, and I doubt that they did.
Democrats want the National Archives to release documents and emails from Kavanaugh’s time as ***staff secretary***,
” Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) sent a letter late last week on behalf of the panel only requesting documents from Kavanaugh’s time as a ***White House counsel***.”
Yep...This is plainly a delay tactic, his 300 plus decisions are really all that’s needed.
The Republicans requested documents, but not the ones from Kavanuagh’s White House days. Those are the ones the Dems want to see.
Wah wah waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah...
:^)
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That picture you posted...
THAT’S ME RIGHT NOW!!!!!!
BWAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!
“...in a letter to Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer ...”
BITE ME, CHUCK!!!!!!!
BWAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!
Yep, that’s the link. :^)
“:^)
“The Archivist shall have an affirmative duty to make such records available to the public as rapidly and completely as possible consistent with the provisions of this chapter.”
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/44/2203
“The Archivist shall establish procedures whereby any person denied access to a Presidential record because such record is restricted pursuant to a determination made under this paragraph, may file an administrative appeal of such determination. Such procedures shall provide for a written determination by the Archivist or the Archivist’s designee, within 30 working days after receipt of such an appeal, setting forth the basis for such determination.”
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/44/2204
“(2) subject to any rights, defenses, or privileges which the United States or any agency or person may invoke, Presidential records shall be made available—
(A) pursuant to subpoena or other judicial process issued by a court of competent jurisdiction for the purposes of any civil or criminal investigation or proceeding;
...
(C) to either House of Congress, or, to the extent of matter within its jurisdiction, to any committee or subcommittee thereof if such records contain information that is needed for the conduct of its business and that is not otherwise available”
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/44/2205
Never underestimate the RINO leadership’s propensity to cave in on this and go along with the Democrats’ request.
The real funny thing is the gif came off a Russian website.
NANER NANER NANER NANER
NANER NANER NANER NANER
Even better!
They need to go back before Kavanaugh was in the Bush Administration, but they won’t. https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2018/08/wapo_calls_facts_of_vince_foster_and_kavanaugh_newsworthy_then_distorts_and_omits_facts.html
The DemonRats who have already decided to vote against the nominee can ask him pretty much anything in the hearing.
And this is just The Hill trying in their usual slanted way to make a big deal out of a non-issue.
As stated by a prior poster in Obongo's own words: "Elections have consequences."
Judicial nomination is one of the greatest powers bestowed upon an elected President.
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