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.
I am surprised.
Republicans to press ahead with Kavanaugh confirmation despite National Archives delay.
Rules, schmules. We want what we want, and we don’t let little things like rules, laws, or the Constitution get in the way. By the way, you’re scum for disagreeing.
Well time to make things and leak it ,LOL
Hate to spoil the party, but both Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski are committee chairs. Would they??
This article says it's the Republicans who are requesting the documents:
Republicans to press ahead with Kavanaugh confirmation despite National Archives delay.
I think that this means that the very peole who are stonewalling and delaying and hiding and refusing to hand over demanded documents are “out of their minds” mad because documents THEY have requested are being stalled, refused, stonewalled and they are dis-respected.
Oh, the extreme pain some must suffer.
Love it - NAGC used to work for me as an Air Force reservist and this sounds just like him. “Change the law and I’ll consider changing my answer”...
The Repubs have okayed the request for 1 million docs but the Dems want an additional 3 million.
Up yours Chuckie!
They’re both idiot RINOs but I doubt they’d go over Chairman Grassley’s head on this.
According to the article this issue is a “lightning rod”. Because Democrats, who are going to vote no anyway, want something? I don’t think so.
To translate:
Dems don’t like the nominee (regardless of who it is)
Dems want to derail the nomination process
Dems create a records request that they know is unreasonable
When the agency cant respond to the unreasonable request,
Dems wail and cry about not having enough time to fully vet the nominee.
Political Kabuki theater designed to give the Dem Congress critters cover with their base and an attempt to score points against the GOP.
Tell the dems he needs to be confirmed to see what’s in there. They should love that phrase...
They are with Hillary, Comey and the IRS emails and documents. As soon as you find them you found them all.
“Elections have consequences.” - Barry Obama
Amen. :^)
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