President Bush has announced that he will not release papers on the embattled
Harriet Miers.
Via
Reuters:
Bush says won’t release papers on Miers
President George W. Bush, citing confidentiality, said on Monday he would
refuse to release documents showing what U.S. Supreme Court nominee Harriet
Miers recommended to him as a White House lawyer.“That would breach very important confidentiality, and it’s a red line
I’m not willing to cross,” Bush told reporters.Senate Democrats and Republicans have sought White House documents
related to Miers’ work for Bush as they prepare for her confirmation
hearing, set to begin on November 7.At the start of a Cabinet meeting, Bush again praised his embattled
nominee. Miers has come under fire from Democrats for once backing a
constitutional amendment to ban abortion, and has been challenged by
conservatives who see the appointment as cronyism and fear she may fail to
move the Supreme Court to the right.“Harriet Miers is a fine person, and I expect her to have a good, fair
hearing,” Bush said.Bush has refused to turn over the internal documents before, including
many requested in the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court Chief Justice
John Roberts.In this case, both Democrats and Republicans had asked for the additional
information, arguing little is known about Miers, who was Bush’s personal
attorney in Texas and who has never served as a judge.“Requests … have been made by Democrats and Republicans about paperwork
out of this White House that would make it impossible for me and other
presidents to be able to make sound decisions,” Bush said.“People can learn about Harriet Miers through hearings, but we are not
going to destroy this business about people being able to walk into the Oval
Office and say, ‘Mr. President, here’s my advice to you. Here’s what I think
is important,”‘ he added.Bush did not answer a question about a weekend report that the
administration was preparing possible contingency plans to withdraw the
Miers nomination.A White House spokesman said earlier on Monday that Bush remained
committed to the Miers’ nomination. “Absolutely,” said press secretary Scott
McClellan.
Now we need to ask ourselves “What is he hiding?”. It seems like Bush would
want to cooperate and give any positive image he could of his nominee. Instead
he has chosen not too and I am sure the Senators who question the qualifications
of Miers will think so also. I expect we can see a new nominee in the near
future, most likely after the confirmation hearings end.