White House not releasing full Roberts file News
White House not releasing full Roberts file

[JURIST] The White House said Sunday that it will not release US Supreme Court nominee John Roberts' [Wikipedia profile] entire file during his tenure in two Republican administrations because of privacy and precedential reasons. Former US Senator Fred Thompson [Wikipedia profile], who is overseeing Roberts' journey through the nomination process, said on Sunday's "Meet the Press" [program transcript] that documents falling under attorney-client privilege would be withheld, as done in prior Republican and Democratic administrations. But Senator Patrick Leahy [official website], senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee [official website], called that reasoning a "total red herring" in an ABC "This Week" interview saying, "of course there is no lawyer-client privilege. Those working in the solicitor general's office are not working for the president. They're working for you and me and all the American people." The Judiciary Committee has not yet put in a formal request for the Roberts documents, but Senator John Kerry urged the White House [JURIST report] to release his entire file last week. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

No lynchings reported in US for first time

On December 30, 1952, the Tuskegee Institute reported that 1952 was the first year of no lynchings of African Americans in the United States in the 71 years it had kept records. Learn more about lynching and listen to Billie Holiday's jazz recording of the 1938 protest song Strange Fruit.

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On December 30, 1922, representatives of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and the Transcaucus approved the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR and the Declaration of the Creation of the USSR, creating the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). During World War II, the USSR would also annex Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Moldova. Learn more about the history of the USSR from the BBC.