Court Nominee Gave False Data, Text Shows

Law License Was Suspended Despite Early Denial

Thomas B. Griffith, President Bush's nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, appeared to provide inaccurate information to Utah bar officials about his legal work and lapses in obtaining law licenses over the past year, according to documents released yesterday at his nomination hearing...

Here's a funny statement by someone who supposedly knows the law.

Griffith added that because his license was suspended for administrative reasons, he never considered it a true suspension or disciplinary matter, and did not report it to Utah officials. "The thought never crossed my mind that it was related," he said.

Okay, I'm lost there. What does the word suspension mean?

1) A temporary abrogation or cessation, as of a law or rule.

2) A temporary debarment, as from school or a privilege, especially as a punishment.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), a longtime friend of Griffith's pledged to "do everything in my power" to help him win confirmation.

I guess lying about being suspended is OK with Orrin.

The Battle Begins between Dobson and Specter!

James Dobson attacks Arlen Specter for his words about judicial court nominees and begins to apply the pressure from the Christian right on President Bush. Also when Stephanapoulos questioned a hate remark he made, Dobson replied:

"Do you think you ought to lecture me on what a Christian is all about?"

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Arlen Specter responds to Dobson's charges on Face the Nation, also explaining his moderate stances on stem cell research.

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Considering the current makeup of the court -- and the long-established propensity of Arthur Kennedy to lean right on civil-rights cases -- this probably isn't a surprise, just deeply unfortunate:

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ruled Monday that white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., were unfairly denied promotions because of their race, reversing a decision that high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed as an appeals court judge.

New Haven was wrong to scrap a promotion exam because no African-Americans and only two Hispanic firefighters were likely to be made lieutenants or captains based on the results, the court said Monday in a 5-4 decision. The city said that it had acted to avoid a lawsuit from minorities.

The ruling could alter employment practices nationwide and make it harder to prove discrimination when there is no evidence it was intentional.

"Fear of litigation alone cannot justify an employer's reliance on race to the detriment of individuals who passed the examinations and qualified for promotions," Justice Anthony Kennedy said in his opinion for the court. He was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.

In dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said the white firefighters "understandably attract this court's sympathy. But they had no vested right to promotion. Nor have other persons received promotions in preference to them."

Justices Stephen Breyer, David Souter and John Paul Stevens signed onto Ginsburg's dissent, which she read aloud in court Monday.

You can read the ruling here [PDF]. Ginsburg's dissent is especially worth reading, since she thoroughly eviscerates the skewed logic the conservatives applied here. The key graf:

By order of this Court, New Haven, a city in which African-Americans and Hispanics account for nearly 60 percent of the population, must today be served as it was in the days of undisguised discrimination by a fire department in which members of racial and ethnic minorities

are rarely seen in command positions. ... The Court's order and opinion, I anticipate, will not have staying power.

There's also a lot of speculation about how this will affect Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Court, since the ruling overturned here was hers. However, what's clear also is that if anyone is being an "activist judge" here, it is the Court's right-wing faction.

As People for the American Way observed in its statement:

Sotomayor and her panel colleagues were bound by longstanding precedent and federal law. They applied the law without regard to their personal views and unanimously affirmed the district court ruling. To do anything but would have been judicial activism.

Talk2Action:

It's easy for some to assume that Bush's nods to the religious right are a matter of lip service over substance. But on matters of Supreme Court nominees, for one, it is clear that the President did more than that.

From evangelism at the Pentagon to the selection of judicial appointments, it is increasingly obvious that the conservative Christian, Establishment-Clause-hating influence on our nation's executive branch is in fact very real.

One has to wonder if the next Attorney General will be friendly to the religious right. Nevermind.

Read more...

There's a big split happening in the GOP (primarily over political positioning) and it was magnified by Hastert's view of the "port deal" who did take questions from reporters and Bill Frist-who turned his back on them.

Download | play -WMP Download | play -QT

(transcript from Lou Dobbs)

HENRY: But the Republican revolt against the president is not yet a full-scale uprising. While Hastert is pushing to block the port deal, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist wants the 45-day review to go forward before considering any legislation in his chamber. The Republican split was on display in an event celebrating renewal of the Patriot Act. As Hastert answered a question about the port controversy, Frist ignored reporters.

HASTERT: Well, we want to protect Americans. We have a point of view of this ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Frist? Senator Frist?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Frist?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senator Frist?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Frist?

DOBBS: Now I'm a little confused. I'm confused. Ed, this is the same Republican leadership in the Senate who wanted an up-and-down vote out of Judiciary on court nominees, but is refusing to accord that courtesy and apparently extend the leadership's patience to an up-and-down vote on something as important as the Dubai Ports deal?

"Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito wrote in a June 1985 memo that the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling legalizing abortion should be overturned...read on"

The Reaction: Scalitovision 2005...Michael has another excellent roundup of information and opinion, from across the political spectrum, on Bush's latest Supreme Court nominee.

Attytood: Alito: Where were you in '72? Yet another chickenhawk added to the BUSHCO roster? And the Liberal Avenger wants to know WHO "bequested" a quarter-million dollars worth of Exxon-Mobil stock to Alito and wants to know WHY.

King of Zembla: There's a ton of speculation in the wake of the Libby indictment. Is Fitz in the tank? Will Cheney testify? Will Scooter roll? Simbaud is all over it like ham on a hog.

The well-rounded folks over at Martini Republic inform us that, in addition to his bad memory, Scooter is guilty of bad writing. The prudish Bill O'Reilly may wax eloquent about a falafel, but the lascivious Libby unabashedly explores, incest, homoeroticism, and--Jaysuz! call Santorum--sex with deer!

King of Zembla: There's a ton of speculation in the wake of the Libby indictment. Is Fitz in the tank? Will Cheney testify? Will Scooter roll? Simbaud is all over it like ham on a hog.

The well-rounded folks over at Martini Republic inform us that, in addition to his bad memory, Scooter is guilty of bad writing. The prudish Bill O'Reilly may wax eloquent about a falafel, but the lascivious Libby unabashedly explores, incest, homoeroticism, and--Jaysuz! call Santorum--sex with deer!

Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. said yesterday that he did nothing improper when he ruled in cases involving two financial firms in which he held accounts, although he had told the Senate 15 years ago that he would step aside in matters involving the companies...read on

When is a lie not a lie? Let's ask judge Alito. Can I have a ruling please? He's using a technicality to justify his actions. If you're a judge you can't even hint at the possibility of something like this. Tom Delay's lawyer got Judge Robert Perkins removed because of some small money dealings and the slightest hint of impropriety. What's the difference here?

Fox News is refusing to air an ad critical of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, citing its lawyers' contention that the spot is factually incorrect. A spokesman for the groups sponsoring the ad said the network's decision reflects the political right's effort to shield President Bush's choice for the high court....read on

Here's the ad.

I don't think FOX minded running all those negative John Kerry and Swift Boat ads as often as they did. John O'Neil practically had a sleeping bag under Sean Hannity's desk.

CNN's "Situation Room" just reported that Rick Santorum is expressing reservations about President Bush's Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers...read on

Little Ricki is jumping ship too.