GOP, White House at Odds on Sotomayor Documents

Source: ABC News/AP

A top Republican pressed for more information Thursday about Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's ties to a Puerto Rican civil rights group he said took extreme positions on race, as the White House argued that the material was irrelevant to the judge's nomination.

White House Counsel Greg Craig told Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., in a letter that board meeting minutes and other papers detailing the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund's activities while Sotomayor was an outside adviser shouldn't impact her nomination because she had no role in writing or approving them. But Sessions, the top Republican on the Senate committee that will consider her nomination, said the papers could shed light on Sotomayor's judicial approach, particularly her view of racial preferences in hiring.

"During her time there, the organization took extreme positions on legal issues ranging from the death penalty to abortion to racial quotas," Sessions said in a statement. He said it was "absurd" for the White House to call the documents irrelevant.

The battle over the papers isn't likely to damage Sotomayor's chances of confirmation, since Democrats have more than enough votes in favor of President Barack Obama's first high court nominee, and Republicans have shown little appetite for trying to block her.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=7992431

Fuck Jeff sessions..racist little turd n/t	pkdu	Jul-03-09 01:21 AM	#1
What the hell is an "extreme position" on the death penalty?	BobTheSubgenius	Jul-03-09 01:44 AM	#2
Why is what the GOP thinks even an issue?	niceypoo	Jul-03-09 02:14 AM	#3
We got Six Ty Sen A Tors... We Got Six Ty Sen A Tors....	WCGreen	Jul-03-09 11:05 AM	#4