Merkley on Kavanaugh Documents: What Are They Trying to Hide?

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), upending decades of bipartisan tradition, requested only a narrow portion of documents related to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s work at the George W. Bush White House:

“The Senate’s job is to act as an independent check on the other two branches of government, not as a blank check for the White House. Right now, Republicans on the Judiciary Committee are utterly failing that constitutional standard. Instead, they’re conspiring to hide Brett Kavanaugh’s record from inspection.

“When President Obama nominated Justice Kagan to the bench, Democrats and Republicans worked together to insist on releasing her entire White House record, comprising hundreds of thousands of documents. Elena Kagan had no problem releasing her full record, and she went on to secure strong bipartisan support. Republicans clearly think it’s necessary to hide Brett Kavanaugh’s record to secure his confirmation. As Justice Brandeis said, sunlight is the best disinfectant. What are they trying to hide?”