United States Senator Jeff Sessions

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Sessions Concerned by Reports that Kagan's Clinton Docs Won't Be Produced in Time for Review

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Sessions Concerned by Reports that Kagan's Clinton Docs Won't Be Produced in Time for Review

“I am trying to make clear to my colleagues that we are heading toward what could be a train wreck… The public record of a nominee to such a lifetime position as Justice on the Supreme Court is of such importance that we cannot go forward without these documents. I hope we will get those in a timely fashion. If not, I think we will have no choice but to ask for a delay in the beginning of the hearings.”

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, delivered the following comments on the Senate floor yesterday following reports that documents from Elena Kagan’s time in the Clinton Administration may not be produced in time for the June 28th hearing date.

To view video of Sessions’ remarks, please click here. A text of the remarks follows:

“During her time in the Clinton White House, 1995 to 1999, Dean Kagan, now Solicitor General Kagan, served in the White House Counsel's Office and later as Director of Domestic Policy Council in the White House. That is one of the few extensive public records she has. We need to obtain the documents relating to that service in advance of the hearings that now have been set for June 28. I think it is a rush to get ready for June 28, but I told Senator Leahy, our chairman, that he is the boss, and we will try to be ready by the 28th. But we both know it is important to have these documents in time to examine them before the committee hearing because so little other documents exist as to her record.

All the documents that have been requested I believe the committee is entitled to see. Senator Leahy has joined with me. We worked together on this. It appears President Obama has decided not to assert any claims of Executive privilege that would block the production of any of these documents. We received a letter from the Clinton Library on Friday where these records are held indicating that they understand President Obama will not make any claims of privilege.

The White House recognizes these documents are an important part of Ms. Kagan’s record. In fact, after she was nominated, the White House sent a public letter to the National Archives asking for release of documents relating to her service in the Clinton White House. They included all of her e-mail documents in their request. But the White House request and media requests under FOIA are different from the committee request.

So last week, Chairman Leahy and I sent a letter to the Clinton Library requesting these documents.

I appreciate the leadership of Senator Leahy, who has been through so many of these confirmation matters--this is consistent with our history--and I appreciate his efforts on the letter and to get this information. But I would note there are important distinctions between the Obama White House's request and the committee's request.

First, the restrictions that apply to run-of-the-mill Freedom of Information Act requests do not apply when the committee requests document. Second, under the Presidential Records Act, President Clinton would normally be able to block the release of certain documents for up to 12 years. But under the PRA, the committee's request overrides any attempt by President Clinton to block the release of these records. Faced with a committee request, the only basis for withholding documents is executive privilege, and President Obama has apparently decided not to do that.

So the concern is that last week the director of the library was quoted in the Los Angeles Times as saying that it would be ‘very difficult’ for them to comply by the June 28 hearing date. The director said, ‘there are just too many things here,’ and that ‘these are legal documents and they are presidential records, and they have to be read by an archivist and vetted for any legal restrictions. And they have to be read line by line.’

In the letter we received on Friday, the library indicated they will start delivering documents by June 4--3 weeks before the hearing--and then they will make additional deliveries on a rolling basis. They did not tell us by when they will provide all the documents. I know they have a hard job. Maybe they have to do all these things, but the fact is we have a deadline that has been set by Chairman Leahy to start the hearing on June 28, and we are not able to, in my view, conduct a good hearing if we don't have the documents.

So I am trying to make clear to my colleagues that we are heading toward what could be a train wreck. I don't believe this committee can go forward without these documents in the request and have an accurate hearing. The public record of a nominee to such a lifetime position as Justice on the Supreme Court is of such importance that we cannot go forward without these documents. I hope we will get those in a timely fashion. If not, I think we will have no choice but to ask for a delay in the beginning of the hearings.

I thank the Chair, and I yield the floor.”




May 2010 News Releases


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