Senate Committee Moves to Vote on Kavanaugh with White House Records on Mass Surveillance Still Secret
Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) has scheduled a vote today on the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, though records of Kavanaugh's White House role in the Patriot Act, warrantless wiretapping, and other programs of mass surveillance remain secret. EPIC filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the National Archive for release of these records and then moved for a preliminary injunction so that the records could be made available prior to Senate consideration of the nominee. In an earlier statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee, EPIC warned that Kavanaugh, both as a top-level White House aide and then as a federal appellate judge, has shown little regard for the Constitutional privacy rights of Americans. In Klayman v. Obama, he backed the warrantless collection of the telephone records of all Americans under the "special needs" doctrine, a view endorsed by no other judge in the federal judiciary. In a second letter, EPIC urged postponement of the Senate vote, pending release of these documents. Yesterday, the American Bar Association called for postponement of the vote, pending an investigation of charges concerning sexual assault.
September 28, 2018| Share:
