Merkley files lawsuit to halt Kavanaugh's confirmation

The Oregon senator will ask the courts to intervene

By: KOIN 6 News Staff

Posted: Sep 26, 2018 08:08 AM PDT
Updated: Sep 26, 2018 10:29 AM PDT

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- Sen. Jeff Merkley filed a lawsuit Wednesday to stop Judge Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation process, citing what he believes to be unconstitutional presidential interference.

Merkley said via Twitter that he plans to sue President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

[snip]

YCMTSU.

Tell this moron to look up "separation of powers"

From the COMPLAINT (draft) at 11-12:

LEGAL BACKGROUND

28. Article II, Section 2 of the United States Constitution states that the President “shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint . . . Judges of the [S]upreme Court.”

29. The doctrine of separation of powers in the Advice and Consent Clause is clear: The President alone is responsible for nominating Supreme Court Justices, and the Senate alone is responsible for advice and consent.

30. The Advice and Consent Clause “is among the significant structural safeguards of the constitutional scheme.” Edmond v. United States, 117 S. Ct. 1573, 1579 (1997) (Scalia, J.). It is “designed to ensure public accountability for both the making of a bad appointment and the rejection of a good one.” Id.

31. “Through the confirmation process, the public, individuals, and interested organizations alike have an opportunity to inform the decision-making process and scrutinize the President’s nominee.” Washington Legal Foundation v. Department of Justice, 691 F. Supp. 483, 492 (D.D.C. 1988). The purpose of the Senate nomination hearing is for “the public and Congress [to] have a full opportunity to evaluate the actual nominee and to probe more deeply.” Id. at 495.

32. Charles Mathias, Jr. explained the importance of exacting Senate scrutiny of Presidential nominees when he was a Republican Senator from Maryland:

[T]he full Senate should have the opportunity to consider each nomination on a complete record. . . . The paramount constitutional duty of the Senate in the process of advice and consent is to satisfy itself that the nominee before it is fully qualified, by virtue of education, experience, integrity, and character, to be granted a lifetime commission to sit in judgment upon the liberties and the legal rights of the American people. . . . [O]f course, in the case of nominations to the Supreme Court, which has the ultimate authority to interpret and apply the Constitution, the Senate’s scrutiny must be exacting in every respect. Only with vigorous review can the Senate carry out the role envisioned for it by the framers of the Constitution.

Charles Mathias, Jr., Advice and Consent: The Role of the United States Senate in the Judicial Selection Process, 54 U. Chi. L. Rev. 200, 206-07 (1987).

https://twitter.com/esaagar/status/1045024256122400768

Saagar Enjeti
@esaagar

Dr. Christine Ford's hand written statement included in her polygraph says the party where the alleged assault by Kavanaugh occurred had "4 boys and a couple of girls." In her original letter to Feinstein she said the gathering was her "and four others"

I expect the results will be the same.

In a US court, or maybe a Russian court?

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

I expect the results will be the same.

No doubt. This is only for public relations.