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WASHINGTON — Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, has asked federal prosecutors to help review the government documents of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, according to a letter obtained by The New York Times on Wednesday. Mr. Rosenstein’s request was an unusual insertion of politics into federal law enforcement. While the Justice Department has helped work on previous Supreme Court nominations, department lawyers in Washington typically carry out that task, not prosecutors who pursue criminal investigations nationwide. But in an email sent this week to the nation’s 93 United States attorneys, Mr. Rosenstein asked each...

On Saturday, conservative talker Mark Levin offered his top three picks to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court left by the retirement of Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy. In a Facebook post, Levin named Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) as his first choice, followed by 11th Circuit U.S. Appeals Court Judge William Pryor as his second choice and Seventh Circuit U.S. Appeals Court Judge Amy Barrett as his third choice.

Judge Raymond Kethledge, by some reports now the frontrunner to receive President Donald Trump’s nomination to replace Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, could put Trump’s “America First” policies in jeopardy if he were to become the swing vote on the nation’s highest court. Since President George W. Bush appointed Kethledge to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, he has consistently demonstrated interpretations of immigration law at odds with the conservative wing of the Supreme Court and, more broadly, the notion that American immigration laws exist for the benefit of Americans. He has also shown a willingness to...

During a Wednesday MSNBC panel about who Trump will choose to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, Roberts warned that any conservative judge will severely limit access to abortion and even jail women who have miscarriages or still births. Roberts complained that “black women, primarily” were prosecuted for using drugs during their pregnancies and added, “prosecutors [are] already putting women in jail for still births, for miscarriages, and for botched abortions.” “It’s a very thin line between putting a woman in prison for a still birth or a miscarriage that she’s blamed for, for something she did during her pregnancy, and criminalizing...

People of Praise was founded in 1971 in South Bend, Indiana, with a core group of 29 people. The group is part of the Catholic “Charismatic Renewal” movement, which arose in the late 1960s as a blend of Catholic traditions and Protestant Pentecostalism. By the late 1980s, according to the World Christian Encyclopedia, up to 10 million people in the United States were participating in the movement in some way. Some simply participated in prayer groups. But others started groups that emphasized a more holistic kind of intentional community living: not necessarily living under the same roof but committing to...

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) attacked Judge Amy Coney Barrett of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on Monday, indicating that Democrats fear her appointment could be politically problematic. Sens. Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Joe Manchin (D-WV), and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) are all from states that Trump won, and all are facing re-election this year. All three voted to confirm Justice Neil Gorsuch last year. Barrett is also from Indiana, the home state of Donnelly — and of Vice President Mike Pence. Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowsi (R-AK) are both considered moderate votes. Schumer may...

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y, on Monday slammed federal judge Amy Coney Barrett, one of the front-runners to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court, by calling her an “activist judge” who could put abortion rights and the Affordable Care Act at risk. “Amy Coney Barrett is a judge on the Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit & on @realDonaldTrump’s pre-approved list for SCOTUS. She passed his ‘litmus test’ on overturning Roe v. Wade & striking down the ACA. Here’s where she stands on Americans' big issues,” Schumer said in a series of tweets Monday. “Barrett attacked the...

On Wednesday’s “Hannity” opening monologue, a list of judges on President Trump’s list to replace retiring Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy was presented in a fast-running backdrop. A complete list can be found here. Kennedy’s retirement, announced earlier on Wednesday, immediately spurred discussion as to who Trump might nominate to his seat. Constitutionally, all potential cabinet members and federal court nominees must be confirmed by a majority of the U.S. Senate. The Senate currently consists of 51 Republicans, 47 Democrats, and two Independents. In November, one-third of the chamber will face re-election or replacement. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is unlikely to...

Brett Kavanaugh (2.5:1) Amul Thapar (3.6:1) Amy Coney Barrett (4.0:1) Raymond Kethledge (5.0:1) Kevin Newsom (6.0:1) Patrick Wyrick (8.0:1) Britt Grant (8.0:1) Thomas Hardiman (9.5:1) Mike Lee (9.5:1) William Pryor (10.0:1)

President Trump said Wednesday that he intends to select a replacement for retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy from a pre-existing White House list of candidates. Kennedy announced Wednesday that he will retire from the Supreme Court effective July 31, giving Trump the opportunity to select his replacement. The president told reporters moments after the announcement that he'll begin the selection process for Kennedy's replacement "immediately." Trump told reporters that he met with Kennedy this afternoon. The two discussed potential replacements, Trump said. “There are certain names that are just outstanding, names that you already know, to be honest with...

Amy Coney Barrett of Indiana, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Keith Blackwell of Georgia, Supreme Court of Georgia Charles Canady of Florida, Supreme Court of Florida Steven Colloton of Iowa, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Allison Eid of Colorado, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Britt Grant of Georgia, Supreme Court of Georgia Raymond Gruender of Missouri, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Thomas Hardiman of Pennsylvania, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Brett Kavanaugh of Maryland, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Raymond...

MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews said on Wednesday that Democrats shouldn't even take meetings with President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee – who is yet to be named – to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy. "I don't think the Democrats should allow even meetings to occur with Trump's nominee to fill this vacancy by Justice Kennedy," Matthews said. Kennedy announced Wednesday he would retire, giving Trump the opportunity to make two appointments in two years to the nation's highest court. The vacancy sets up a bitter confirmation fight right before the midterm elections, where Republicans only have a single vote majority in...

Justice Anthony Kennedy has announced that he’s retiring from the Supreme Court. And if you thought post-Janus liberal Twitter was lit, well, brace yourselves: WARNING GRAPHIC OBSCENE LANGUAGE AT LINK. CELEBRITIES LOSE THEIR COLLECTIVIST MINDS!..................

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy announced Wednesday that he is retiring from the Supreme Court, a move that gives President Trump the chance to replace the court’s pivotal justice and dramatically shift the institution to the right, setting up a bitter partisan showdown on Kennedy’s successor. Loading... “It has been the greatest honor and privilege to serve our nation in the federal judiciary for 43 years, 30 of those years on the Supreme Court,” Kennedy, who is stepping down July 31, said in a statement. Kennedy informed the president of his decision in a letter.

I just heard on the radio this very second that Justice Anthony Kennedy announced he will retire soon.

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy will retire from the highest U.S. court, giving President Donald Trump another chance to fundamentally reshape the top of the judiciary. In a letter to Trump dated Wednesday, Kennedy said he would step down. "For a member of the legal profession, it is the highest of honors to serve on this Court," he wrote. "Please permit me by this letter to express my profound gratitude for having had the privilege to seek in each case how best to know, interpret and defend the Constitution and the laws that must always conform to its mandates and...

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) on Wednesday lamented the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy as “a disaster” for “We the People.” The 81-year-old Kennedy, an appointee of former President Ronald Reagan's, who has long been considered a “swing vote” on the court, announced his retirement on Wednesday. “This is a disaster for everyone who believes in the 'We the People' vision of the Constitution,” Merkley tweeted. In a follow-up tweet, Merkley noted that he was “worried” about the standing of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. Kennedy’s retirement opens the door for President Trump...

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) used Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) own words defending his decision to block the nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court to argue that Americans "should have a voice” in selecting the next justice. Duckworth on Wednesday tweeted out a screenshot of McConnell’s 2016 tweet saying the “American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice” and captioned it with the same language, but replaced #Scalia with #Kennedy. McConnell blocked the nomination of Garland, President Obama’s Supreme Court pick, after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in 2016,...

A senior White House official says President Trump will push for the swift confirmation of a Supreme Court justice "before the midterm elections." A list of well-established conservatives is in place, so a nomination is expected to come "within weeks," the official said. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has announced he's retiring. Here's how the White House is reacting so far. pic.twitter.com/I6vWcAbZPK — Meg Wagner (@megwagner) June 27, 2018

McConnell: Vote Coming This Fall MCCONNELL: "We will vote to confirm Justice Kennedy’s successor this fall." 11:34 AM - 27 Jun 2018