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Supreme Court candidate Brett Kavanaugh is back at the witness table on Thursday. The session began with the democratization of the Senate Judiciary Committee in open revolt over the handling of documents from Kavanaugh's mandate to the George W. Bush White House. Some documents have been completely removed. Others were provided to the committee in "confidential" terms, meaning that senators can see them, but they can not be made public.
Democrats object that the confidential label has been applied to a wide range of documents, many of which contain no personal or sensitive information. They also complain that the ranking decisions were made by former President George W. Bush's lawyer, William Burck, former Kavanaugh MP.
Senator Cory Booker, D-N.J., Published some of the confidential documents in what he described as civil disobedience, although he acknowledged that such action could result in expulsion from the Senate.
In addition, the New York Times reported leaked emails from the "confidential" file. One is an email written by Kavanaugh in 2003, in which he wondered if the Supreme Court of 1973 Roe v. Wade The decision to legalize abortion must be described as "established law of the country".
Pressed on this email by Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., On Thursday, Kavanaugh explained that he was simply summarizing the views of the jurists, not offering his own point of view.
Earlier, Kavanaugh said he understood the weight that many attach to roe. But refused to say if this case was correctly decided.
Kavanaugh also avoided Booker's questions Wednesday night about circumstances in which the government can and can not use race-sensitive measures to deal with past discrimination.
He conceded that the hopes he has expressed nearly two decades ago for a color-blind society have not been fulfilled.
"We see on a too common basis that racism still exists in the United States of America," Kavanaugh said. "Our long march towards racial equality is not over."
Kavanaugh said on Wednesday he would have no problem pronouncing against the president who appointed him to the high court, praising the judges who had done so in the past. But he declined to comment on President Trump's recent tweets, criticizing Attorney General Jeff Sessions for prosecuting two GOP lawmakers.
"I do not think we want the judges to comment on the latest political controversy," Kavanaugh said. "This would eventually lead people to doubt that we are independent, whether we are dressed politicians."
Kavanaugh is expected to submit a second, shorter series of questions to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. Barring surprises, it seems likely that he will get confirmation in time to take his place on the bench when the Supreme Court begins its fall term next month.
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