Bush administration says many Roberts documents "out of bounds" News
Bush administration says many Roberts documents "out of bounds"

[JURIST] The White House reiterated [JURIST report] Monday that extensive requests by Democrats for legal writings produced by Supreme Court Justice nominee John Roberts would be met with opposition. During a White House press briefing, Press Secretary Scott McClellan told reporters [transcript] that although the Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] has not made a request for any specific documents, the administration is committed to ensuring that the nomination process does not become stalled. Some Democrats have hinted that Roberts' limited tenure on the bench would require the release of memos, briefs and other documents he wrote during his career to shed light on his views on key issues such as abortion, the environment and federal jurisdiction. Recent reports on several Democratic websites allege Roberts was a member of the conservative Federalist Society, a charge neither Roberts or the White House will confirm. Roberts has remained tight-lipped since President Bush announced his nomination, meeting briefly Monday with Judiciary Committee members Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). Senator Lieberman has urged Senate members to remain flexible, and stated that he would "hate to see [the Senate] get into a battle over whether the administration was going to share documents instead of the basic question of is Judge Roberts deserving of confirmation". AP has more.