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.