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A4 U.S. NEWS
Saturday 4 auguSt 2018

Shifting strategy, Democrats to begin meeting with Kavanaugh

By KEVIN FREKING posed Judge Kavanaugh's
WASHINGTON (AP) — Af- nomination, while continu-
ter weeks of refusing to ing to disingenuously de-
meet with Supreme Court mand millions of pages of
nominee Brett Kavanaugh, documents from former
Democrats in the Senate President Bush that are ir-
plan to begin meeting with relevant to evaluating the
him when they start return- judge's judicial thinking,"
ing to Washington in mid- said White House spokes-
August, a senior Democrat- man Raj Shah.
ic aide said Friday. Meanwhile, David Ferri-
The aide said Senate Minor- ero, archivist of the United
ity Leader Chuck Schumer States, told Schumer that
and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the National Archives can-
the top Democrat on not provide Democrats
the Judiciary Committee with non-public records
tasked with holding hear- covering Kavanaugh's time
ings for Kavanaugh, will be as staff secretary. He said
among those meeting with such a request must come
him. from the Republican chair-
Only one Democratic sen- man of the Judiciary Com-
ator, Joe Manchin of West mittee, or the committee
Virginia, has met with Ka- itself. He said in a letter to
vanaugh as lawmakers Schumer dated Thursday
sparred over access to re- that the practice is based
cords from the nominee's on a 2001 Justice Depart-
time as White House staff ment legal opinion.
secretary under President Ferriero said the National
George W. Bush. Archives declined to pro-
Kavanaugh's lengthy pub- cess similar requests from
lic record has emerged as the lead Republicans on
a key battleground as sen- the Judiciary Committee in
ators scrutinize the 53-year- connection with the nomi-
old appellate judge, a nations of Attorney Gener-
conservative whose views al Eric Holder and Supreme
on gay marriage, abor- Court Justice Elena Kagan
tion and executive power during the administration of
could move the court right- President Barack Obama.
ward for a generation. The National Archives holds
The National Archives and In this July 16, 2018, file photo, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks to reporters millions of pages of records
Records Administration is on Capitol Hill in Washington. related to Kavanaugh, sig-
compiling records from Ka- Associated Press nificantly more than for
vanaugh's time in the White also intend to demand that ments saying there are es as an appellate judge. prior Supreme Court nomi-
House counsel's office. But Kavanaugh call for and plenty of other files on his The White House greet- nees who worked in the
leaders of the Senate Ju- support the release of all of record. Already the com- ed the news that Senate White House.
diciary Committee are at his files from his time in the mittee is poised to release Democrats would begin Republicans have been
odds over what records White House, and to urge more than 125,000 pages meeting with Kavanaugh pressuring Democratic
should be turned over from the National Archives and from Kavanaugh's time in by saying its requests for senators up for re-election
Kavanaugh's time as Bush's former President Bush to ad- the White House counsel's meetings between Kava- this year to meet with Ka-
staff secretary. here to the same standard office during the Bush years, naugh and Schumer and vanaugh, particularly in
A senior Democratic aide used in Supreme Court Jus- and on Friday it requested Feinstein have remained states that President Don-
said the senators will de- tice Elena Kagan's confir- another 20,000 from his time unanswered for more than ald Trump won in 2016. The
mand the records in dis- mation. The aide spoke on on the Kenneth Starr team three weeks. office of Sen. Claire Mc-
pute from Kavanaugh di- the condition of anonymity investigating President Bill "While we look forward to Caskill, D-Mo., confirmed
rectly and question him to speak freely on strategy. Clinton. Earlier, some 17,000 potential meetings, both Friday that she has a meet-
about their contents during Republicans have fought pages were released from of these Democratic sena- ing scheduled with Kava-
their meetings with him. the release of all the Bush- his questionnaire as well as tors and many of their col- naugh on Aug. 21. Trump
The aide said Democrats era staff secretary docu- more from his 300-plus cas- leagues have publicly op- won Missouri in 2016.q