Miers to face questioning on abortion views, qualifications for Supreme Court News
Miers to face questioning on abortion views, qualifications for Supreme Court

[JURIST] US Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers [official profile; JURIST news archive] is likely to face intense questioning from both parties on her views on privacy rights and her qualifications for the job, Sen. Arlen Specter [official profile], chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] said Sunday. Specter told ABC's "This Week" program that he expects Miers to demonstrate that she can handle complex legal issues and will not make "back room deals" with the White House. Ranking Democrat on the Committee, Patrick Leahy [official profile; statement on Miers nomination], said Miers told him she had not made any promises on how she would vote on abortion issues and said that he would reject anyone who made assurances on how they would vote in an upcoming case. Senate Democrats are also hoping the White House will release documents created during Miers' tenure as staff secretary, deputy chief of staff and White House counsel, however, Specter opposes the release of such documents saying "if somebody is going to function as White House counsel to the president of the United States, that person is going to have to be free to give advice without worrying that someday that advice is going to be scrutinized by some Senate committee." AP has more.