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NEWS ABOUT: Senate Judiciary Committee

Obama Loses 'Empathy' Line After GOP Sullies Phrase

(Newser) - “Empathy” was a key part of President Obama’s vocabulary when he first started talking about his Supreme Court nominee, Sheryl Gay Stolberg writes in the New York Times, but the word has disappeared. “Conservatives have hijacked empathy and turned it into an epithet,” Stolberg writes. When... More »

Sotomayor Vote Carries Risks for These Senators

Judiciary committee members share spotlight with nominee

(Newser) - Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation looks likely, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be some drama between here and there. Politico runs down which senators have the most to win—and the most to lose:  
  • Patrick Leahy: Facing his first nominee as judiciary chairman, Leahy’s eager to
... More »

After Seniority Flap, Specter Lands Plum Gig

Durbin engineers Judiciary shuffle, giving newest Dem a gavel

(Newser) - Dick Durbin has yielded his seat atop the Senate Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on crime and drugs to Arlen Specter, a consolation prize after Democrats stripped their new colleague of his seniority, Politico reports. In exchange, Durbin will take the helm of a newly reconstituted human-rights subcommittee. The move should help... More »

For Sessions, Confirmation Hearings May Feel Familiar

Specter's far right replacement once rejected by same committee

(Newser) - Even if Al Franken is seated, President Obama's Supreme Court nominee isn't guaranteed an easy confirmation process. The reason is Jeff Sessions, the Alabama Republican who inherited Arlen Specter's seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. The fiery Sessions knows the committee well: It blocked his bid to become a federal... More »

Dems Stoked Over GOP's Judiciary Pick

Accusations of racial insensitivity continue to dog Sessions

(Newser) - Democrats are hoping Arlen Specter’s replacement on the Senate Judiciary Committee, a white Southerner with a history of racial provocation, will help paint the Republican image into a corner, Politico reports. As the GOP’s chief questioner of President Obama’s first Supreme Court nominee, Jeff Sessions will “... More »

Coleman Gaffe Costs Specter Seniority on Senate Panels

Dems disappoint defector with junior slots after he speaks up for Coleman

(Newser) - Party-switcher Arlen Specter's comment that Republican Norm Coleman should be Minnesota's senator cost him seniority on Senate panels yesterday, a source told Politico. His gaffe was the final straw for Senate Dems already angry about the prospect of being bumped from senior positions by the 29-year senator. A resolution last... More »

How the Justice Confirmation Game is Played

Prepare for a spectacle as the 3 branches, special interests collide

(Newser) - The process of replacing David Souter has begun in earnest, so get ready for “Washington at its best (or worst, depending on your perspective),” writes Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post. All three branches of government, and a boatload of special interests and egos, will brawl it out... More »

Obama Tells GOP's Hatch He'll Pick a Pragmatist

Senate Judiciary Committee member expects choice to be made this week

(Newser) - President Obama has told him he won't be picking a radical to fill Justice Souter's spot on the Supreme Court, Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch tells Politico. Hatch—who believes the president will make his choice before the end of this week—said he raised his concerns in a phone call... More »

Dems in a Snit Over Specter's Cozy Deal

Senate honchos fume as newbie prepares to leapfrog to top jobs

(Newser) - Some top Democratic senators are rebelling against the deal that brought Arlen Specter into the fold, the Hill reports. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told the aisle-crosser he could keep the 28 years of seniority he gained as a GOP senator, infuriating long-serving Democrats whom Specter will now likely leapfrog... More »

Passport Security Easy to Breach: Govt. Probe

(Newser) - A US passport is easy to obtain using fake or fraudulent documents, even with extensive post-9/11 security reforms, the AP reports. At the request of a Senate committee, a government investigator went undercover and quickly obtained multiple passports, using the identities of a dead man, a 5-year-old, and two fictitious... More »

Leahy Calls For 'Truth Commission' on Bush Abuses

Republicans say it's a waste of time

(Newser) - Sen. Patrick Leahy called today for a "truth commission" to investigate alleged abuses by the Bush administration in the name of the war on terror, CNN reports. Detention and interrogation practices at Gitmo and Abu Ghraib “have seriously eroded fundamental American principles of the rule of law,"... More »

Senate Committee OKs Holder for Attorney General

Cornyn, Coburn dissent in 17-2 vote; full body could confirm tomorrow

(AP) - Senate Republicans did little to stop the progress of Barack Obama's choice for attorney general, with the Judiciary Committee voting 17-2 today to endorse Eric Holder; John Cornyn of Texas and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Republicans both, were the lone dissenters. The Senate could vote as early as tomorrow to... More »

GOP Questions Put Brakes on Holder Vote

Committee will wait week on AG nominee, infuriating chair Leahy

(Newser) - The Senate Judiciary Committee delayed today’s scheduled vote on Eric Holder’s confirmation by another week, CNN reports. Republican members engineered the move, saying they have questions about the attorney-general nominee’s stance on interrogation techniques. Chairman Patrick Leahy, who said he was “extremely disappointed,” banged down... More »

Republicans Picking a Fight Over Holder

Dems need one GOP vote to move AG pick out of committee

(Newser) - Senate Republicans seem to have settled on attorney-general-designate Eric Holder as their main target for a tough confirmation hearing. Thanks to his liberal leanings and his role in the Clinton administration—especially the controversial 11th-hour Marc Rich pardon—Holder will get a grilling in the Judiciary Committee. Ranking Republican Arlen... More »

GOP: Hold Up on Holder

GOP plans a fight over Obama's AG nominee

(Newser) - Senate Republicans are laying a speed bump on Eric Holder’s route to confirmation as attorney general, Politico reports. Joined by a key Democrat, they're objecting to Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy’s plan to fast track Holder's confirmation, scheduling hearings as early as Jan. 8. Republicans note that more... More »

Todd Palin Defies Subpoena

Refuses to testify in Troopergate probe

(Newser) - Sarah Palin's husband will not comply with a subpoena demanding he testify before a panel of Alaska lawmakers investigating Troopergate. He and anyone else who refuses to compy with the subpoena cannot be held in contempt until the full state Senate reconvenes in January—after the presidential election.  More »

Specter Presses NFL Commish on Spying Flap

Senator calls Pats case 'analogous to the CIA destruction of tapes'

(Newser) - Arlen Specter wants to know why the NFL destroyed evidence of spying by the New England Patriots, the New York Times reports. The Republican senator from Pennsylvania says commissioner Roger Goodell will eventually be called to answer for the tapes' destruction in the context of the league’s antitrust exemption.... More »

Senate Grills Mukasey Today on Waterboarding

Mukasey warns he'll stonewall on questions about legality

(Newser) - A high-noon face off is looming today between Attorney General Michael Mukasey and the Senate Judiciary Committee over waterboarding, the simulated drowning interrogation technique that many consider torture. Committee chair Patrick Leahy said Mukasey faces "serious questions" on the issue at today's hearing. But Mukasey has warned Leahy in... More »

CIA to Surrender Tape Records

House will get secret documents on destroyed water boarding videos

(Newser) - The CIA will provide documents on the destruction of interrogation videotapes to the House Intelligence Committee and allow the agency's top attorney to testify, the New York Times reports. It's unclear whether the man who ordered the videos destroyed, clandestine service chief Jose Rodriguez, will also testify. The tapes showed... More »

Committee Votes to Hold Rove, Bolten in Contempt

Act challenging executive privilege may stall before full Senate

(Newser) - The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to hold Karl Rove and Josh Bolten in contempt today, the AP reports, for ignoring subpoenas on the US attorneys scandal. The White House, however, says the citations will likely die on the Senate floor. “I vote knowing that it’s highly likely to... More »

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