Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),
Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee,
On President Bush’s Formal Withdrawal Friday
Of The Nomination Of Harriet Miers
To Be An Associate Justice Of The U.S. Supreme Court
Friday, October 28, 2005

“When I spoke with Ms. Miers yesterday, I wished her well.  Those from the extreme right who hounded her nomination from the outset and forced the President to withdraw it should not now be rewarded by being put in charge of choosing her successor. 

“It is a sign of how upside down the process has become that even now the White House is spinning this withdrawal as if the possibility that the Senate might ask questions about Ms. Miers’s work at the White House were enough to frighten them into withdrawing the nomination in advance.  Ironically, rather than withdrawing this nomination in defense of presidential power and prerogatives, this withdrawal signals that this President has allowed his choice to be vetoed by an extreme faction within his party, before hearings or a vote.  He has ceded presidential authority to the extreme right.  With turmoil engulfing the White House, with no way out of the disastrous and deadly occupation of Iraq, and with a worsening federal debt, it is unfortunate that the President feels he is in such a weak position that he has to cater to a narrow but vocal faction of his political base.  The Supreme Court should be above partisan politics.  Many have previously bemoaned the influence of outside groups who advocate on each side during the confirmation process, but this takes that influence to a new level -- to the nomination itself.  The extreme right has demanded and gotten an ‘extra-constitutional’ veto over President Bush’s nomination and infected the process designed by the Founders. 

“Along with other Democratic senators, I urged that we withhold judgment until after her hearings, and that is what Democratic senators have done.

“The Senate Friday received the President’s withdrawal of this nomination, and now he has a third opportunity to nominate someone to succeed Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.  I strongly urge him not to reward those who unfairly criticized Ms. Miers but, instead, to consult with senators on both sides of the aisle and nominate someone who will unite the country and win overwhelming approval in the Senate and from the vast majority of the American people.  This is a time for the President to honor his first pledge to the American people to be a uniter and not a divider. 

“It has been an eye-opening experience for the country to see what a vocal faction of the Republican Party really wants.  They do not want an independent federal judiciary.  This experience exposed the right-wing litmus test that they insist be used, rather than selecting judges and justices who will be fair and impartial in applying the law.  They, in fact, demand judges who will guarantee the results that they want.

“When in the past they promoted nominees by saying that they should not have to answer questions or provide information and documents, they did so because they believed private assurances or because they thought they knew exactly how the nominee would rule from the bench.  From Harriet Miers, the President’s lawyer and choice, they have demanded more.  They wanted assurances and had questions about personal beliefs and demanded to see a documentary paper trail. 

“They have pretended to be against so-called activist judges.  But what they really demand is the appointment of activist judges who will rule their way.  They do not seek fairness and independence but toe-the-line, ends-oriented decisions from the nation’s independent judiciary.

“It is too bad that the President gave into their demands to withdraw this nomination before the hearings proceeded.  Harriet Miers was denied the equivalent of her day in court and of any fair opportunity to make her case.  The President should not now compound this mistake by rewarding those who forced him to withdraw her nomination by allowing them to dictate the next nominee.  Instead, he should think about the country.  The Supreme Court is the guarantor of the rights of all Americans.  The nomination should be made in the nation’s interest, not to serve the interests of any partisan faction.”

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