[Mb-civic] Letter-Judge John Roberts Nomination

[Lyle K'ang]

Dear Senator Specter,

I recently sent you an email expressing some of my concerns regarding the fact 
that the White House is seeking to exercise Attorney/Client privilege with 
regards to releasing documents during Judge Roberts' tenure as Deputy Attorney 
General during the previous President Bush administration.

I realize that most of your emails are from various people across the country 
and that you must give priority attention to the people of the state that you 
represent.

However, It is important that as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee that will 
be conducting hearings on the nomination of Judge John Roberts to the Supreme 
Court, that you also hear from people throughout the country and their support 
or their concerns.  

The Supreme Court Represents all of the people of this country and in many ways 
all Senators also represent all of the people of this 
country.  I hope that you will take the time to review the following:

The Senate has the responsibility to throughly review and vet any nominee that 
the President of the United States sends to them for appointment to the Supreme 
Court.

 Today I learned that the White House is limiting access to documents involving 
Judge John Roberts' memos, briefs, opinions etc. during the time that he  served 
as a Deputy Solicitor General during the Presidential term of the first 
President Bush. 

The current White House rationale is that it would violate "attorney client 
privilege". This is rather strange to me. 

1. The office of the solicitor general works for the PEOPLE of the United 
States. The office is not the personal attorney for the White House and its 
personnel.

 2. Attorney Client Privilege was invoked by President Bill Clinton during the 
special prosecutor investigations of Clinton. At that time Senator Orin Hatch 
castigated President Clinton for invoking attorney client privilege saying that 
attorneys in government service were attorneys for the people. 

3. The matter of Attorney Client Privilege with regard to the President and the 
Executive branch when the privilege was claimed with regard to the relationship 
between the president and government attornys went to court and the court ruled 
that the Executive Branch could not claim attorney client privilege between the 
executive and government attorneys.

 I assume that the President knows this and that is why he hired a PERSONAL 
attorney for the current investigation of the Valeri Plame matter.

 Consequently, I urge you to insist that all documents relating to all work that 
Judge John Roberts did for ALL administrations in his capacity as an attorney 
for the government in any capacity be released to you.

 Since his court records are sparse, I do not see how without review of all of 
these documents the Senate can throughly, wisely, carefully and objectively 
review his nomination, his temprament, his history of how he regards 
constitutional law, settled law and the constitution. 

Please be careful about this. No matter where on the political spectrum and 
ideology the individual senators reside, if they do not KNOW based on 
documentation...not just rhetoric then they cannot make calm, judicious 
recommendations as to whether the nominee should ascend to a life long 
commitment to the Supreme Court.

 I appreciate your consideration of this view. 

Versa Kang