Add your name to our Freedom of Information Act request to get the facts about John Roberts' record:

http://www.democrats.org/foia

I'm the General Counsel for the Democratic National Committee, and I'm writing to you about a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that the DNC will be submitting to the Justice Department on Monday.

John Roberts, the nominee to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court, worked in the Solicitor General's office in the early 1990s under the first President Bush. During that time he worked on nearly 80 cases that were eventually argued before the Supreme Court.

His work on these cases offers the American people a realistic snapshot of his approach to the law and his regard for our fundamental rights and freedoms. (So far, the information that has come out has given us reason to question whether he will be a justice for everyone or advance the activist, partisan agenda of a few.)

Senators who will vote on his lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court have requested documents pertaining to 16 of those cases. These were cases Roberts worked on as a senior political appointee in the first Bush administration. The cases (which are listed in the FOIA request linked below) deal with important legal issues like civil rights, equal opportunity for all, women's rights, our right to privacy, and access to justice.

The Senators' request for these documents has gone unanswered, despite the fact that the Justice Department has previously released similar records on other nominees.

So on Monday we will submit a formal request under the Freedom of Information Act from Governor Howard Dean and anyone else who wishes to be a part of it. You can read the formal request and add your name to it here:

http://www.democrats.org/foia

The Freedom of Information Act mandates a response within 20 working days. That date will fall just as the Roberts hearings take place next month, in time for Senators to ask substantive questions about his record.

Government agencies will sometimes create excuses to not respond to these requests. Administrations with secrets to hide find any way they can to avoid disclosing incriminating information or "slow walk" the release of critical information. This Bush administration continues to be one of the worst in history when it comes to making sure that people have free and open access to information about the business of government and responding to legitimate questions.

But there is too much at stake to let that happen. Senators have said they will reserve a decision until they can review these documents and question Roberts about them. The simplest way for the White House to address concerns and answer the important questions that are being raised is to release the record of Roberts's work on these 16 cases. This is a lifetime appointment to a court that can fundamentally reshape our rights and freedoms.

Reviewing the Roberts record on these 16 important cases will shed light on whether or not he can separate partisanship and ideology from his responsibilities to the law. Our Senators need the information the White House is withholding to do their Constitutional duty and evaluate whether or not Judge Roberts will be an advocate for the basic rights and freedoms of every American, or an activist for an extreme ideology.

You can read more about the 16 cases and why they are important, and add your name to a formal request for the documents, by clicking here:

http://www.democrats.org/foia

It's rare that a federal agency receives a Freedom of Information Act request from large numbers of citizens acting together. It is unfortunate that the Bush administration's penchant for secrecy requires tens of thousands of Americans to demand access to important information.

But the Senate has a Constitutional duty to examine John Roberts's full record before deciding to place him on the Supreme Court. We want to ensure that our Senators have the information they need to fully evaluate Judge Roberts.

If you choose to be a part of the formal request, I will update you on its status as we move forward.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Joseph E. Sandler
General Counsel
Democratic National Committee


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Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee, www.democrats.org. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.


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This is the automated message after you sign the petition: I am disappointed that the democrat senators do not push for all of his Bush1 records. He worked for the people so the records are ours. At least this is something. Even if Bush 2 releases the records, the democrats won't get them until right before the hearing.

Hi,

I just signed up to file a Freedom of Information Act Request to force the adminstration to release the records of Supreme Court nominee John Roberts.

Roberts worked for the Justice Department on 16 key Supreme Court cases -- the records will give the best perspective of his view on crucial issues.

What are they hiding? Let's find out -- join me and file a Freedom of Information Act request:

http://www.democrats.org/page/petition/foia/fqesdc

Thanks!

Tomm Hartmann radio just reported that the Roberts records released today are hard copy, and will only be allowed to be viewed at the site. No copies can be made. 100 news organizations will each get to view one box.

No CDs, no xerox copies, no total review of all boxes.

Bush is not a friend of freedom.

Roberts' Reagan-Era Documents Scrutinized

Updated 1:12 PM ET August 18, 2005
http://dailynews.att.net/cgi-bin/news?e=pr...8c2c3080&src=ap

By JESSE J. HOLLAND

WASHINGTON (AP) - Supreme Court nominee John Roberts criticized state-level efforts to battle sex discrimination, calling programs aimed at promoting affirmative action and comparable pay "highly objectionable" while working as a Reagan administration lawyer.

Roberts, who has been nominated by President Bush to replace the retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, worked as associate counsel in the Reagan White House in the early 1980s during Reagan's first term.

In a Jan. 17, 1983, memo, Roberts was responding to a "Fifty States Project," which he described as addressing "perceived problems of gender discrimination" and which was to be sent to state leaders and women's groups.

He advised the White House to exercise caution in showing support for the proposals.

"Many of the reported proposals and efforts are themselves highly objectionable," Roberts wrote in a memo to then-White House counsel Fred Fielding, his boss.

"The California section of the report, for example, points to a passage of a law requiring the order of layoff to reflect affirmative action programs and not merely seniority (contrast our position in the Boston layoff case) and a staggeringly pernicious law codifying the anti-capitalist notion of 'comparable worth' (as opposed to market value) pay scales."

He also said that a Florida plan to charge women less tuition at state schools because they have less earning potential was "presumably unconstitutional."

On Wednesday, the American Bar Association, the nation's largest lawyers group, called Roberts "well qualified." Republicans cheered the announcement.

"Judge Roberts is a mainstream nominee, and extremely well qualified, despite the efforts by some to mischaracterize him," said Senate Judiciary Committee member John Cornyn, R-Texas.

But Democrats pointed out that the ABA never got the chance to see nearly 50,000 pages of records related to Roberts' time as associate counsel to President Reagan, or documents relating to his work in the solicitor general's office under the administration of President George H.W. Bush.

Although the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and the National Archives released more than 38,000 pages of Reagan-era documents Thursday, the White House has refused to release any documents from his time in the solicitor general's office.

"Its regrettable that they were not able to take the time to review the documents that now have been provided to the Senate," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who will lead the Democrats' questioning of Roberts at his confirmation hearing. "Nor have they or the Senate yet had access to work papers from Judge Roberts' most substantive earlier post, in the solicitor general's office."

More than 1,700 Roberts documents are still being kept from the Senate and the public by the National Archives and the Reagan Library, officials said Wednesday.

Those documents were reviewed by the National Archives staff to protect material deemed sensitive for national security, privacy and law enforcement reasons and have been withheld under Freedom of Information Act exemptions.

Leahy said the Reagan Library agreed Wednesday to re-review an additional 478 documents after Democrats' complaints. Even if the library agrees to release the records in redacted form, the White House and a Reagan administration representative will still have to approve their release before senators can see them.

"The Judiciary Committee and the Senate need and deserve a complete record on this important nomination to ensure a full and fair review process," Leahy said. "I hope the White House now will promptly comply, because time is running out."

Roberts' confirmation hearings will begin Sept. 6. Each senator on the committee will get at least 50 minutes to question Roberts and listen to his answers: 30 minutes in a first round and 20 minutes in a second round. The chairman, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Leahy informed committee members that more rounds could be scheduled if necessary.

Roberts will be able to give an opening statement on the first day of the hearings, after the 18 senators give 10-minute opening statements. The questioning is to begin Sept. 7.

The committee will also hold one hearing that will be closed to the public. Specter had said earlier that he might keep the public out if confidential information were to be discussed.

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C-span pointed out today that on the first day of hearings, Roberts will get to speak about 4:30 to 5PM -- just in time for the major news networks to tune in.

The ABA (American Bar Association) today announced support for Roberts without looking at any records.

The NBA (National Bar Association) and other black legal groups were on C-span today and decried the ABA for not looking at the records. They also discussed how to stick up for civil rights while not coming across as a left wing attack. Some said the republicans have more money for ads and propaganda messages and will not fight "clean" as they want the democrats to.

Contact the DNC to ask the WH to release the Bush 1 records on Roberts.

http://www.democrats.org/foia

This is a good FOIA request -- I hope that it is granted and the documents are released early enough so that they can be reviewed before the confirmation hearings!