May 13, 2005
VIA FACSIMILE & HAND DELIVERY:
The Honorable George V. Voinovich
The Honorable Pat Roberts
The Honorable Craig Thomas
The Honorable Tim Johnson
The Honorable Daniel Akaka
The Honorable Mark Pryor
Select Committee on Ethics
220 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Re: Ethics Complaint Against Senator Harry Reid of Nevada
Dear Distinguished Members of the Committee:
The Center for Individual Freedom hereby submits this complaint against Senator Harry Reid of Nevada for violating the Standing Rules of the Senate.
In discussing one of President George W. Bush’s nominees to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Senator Reid stated on the Senate floor: “Henry Saad would have been filibustered anyway. He is one of those nominees. All one needs to do is have a Member go upstairs and look at his confidential report from the FBI, and I think that we would all agree that there is a problem there.” (Cong. Rec., May 12, 2005, p. S5030) (emphasis added).
According to Section 5 of Rule XXIX of the Standing Rules of the Senate:
Any Senator, officer, or employee of the Senate who shall disclose the secret or confidential business or proceedings of the Senate, including the business and proceedings of the committees, subcommittees, and offices of the Senate, shall be liable, if a Senator, to suffer expulsion from the body; and if an officer or employee, to dismissal from the service of the Senate, and to punishment for contempt.
Senator Reid explicitly violated Section 5 of Rule XXIX when he made reference to what he considers negative marks contained in Judge Saad’s “confidential report from the FBI.”
Indeed, it is unclear why Senator Reid would have been privy to information contained in a confidential FBI report on Judge Saad. It is our understanding that only Members of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and home-state Senators and their staffs who possess relevant clearance have access to such confidential FBI reports. Senator Reid is not a member of the Committee on the Judiciary, nor was he elected by the people of Michigan where Judge Saad resides and where he is a state appellate judge. Nonetheless, irrespective of the propriety of Senator Reid’s access to Judge Saad’s confidential FBI report, Senator Reid clearly violated the Senate Rules the minute he publicly made reference to the contents of that confidential report. Section 5 of Rule XXIX of the Standing Rules of the Senate leaves no room for debate on this issue, as it expressly prohibits any Senator from “disclos[ing] the secret or confidential business or proceedings of the Senate.” Senator Reid did just that.
Moreover, not only did Senator Reid violate the Standing Rules of the Senate, his unsubstantiated public comments were intended and could serve to significantly damage the reputation of Judge Saad, a sitting state judge and nominee to the federal bench. Judge Henry Saad is a distinguished public servant who currently sits on the Michigan Court of Appeals. Beginning in 1992, he has been nominated several times by two Presidents to serve as a federal judge. As such, Judge Saad has been through the thorough FBI vetting process on multiple occasions consistent with the standard practices of federal judicial nomination and confirmation process.
It is safe to assume that, since Judge Saad was first nominated to the federal judiciary more than a decade ago by President George H.W. Bush and again re-nominated on multiple occasions by President George W. Bush to a higher court, there is nothing in Judge Saad’s background — much less in confidential FBI reports — that should disqualify him from serving on the federal bench. Regardless, Senator Reid’s May 12 comments disclosing secret and confidential business and proceedings of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary are not only unconscionable, but they blatantly violate longstanding Senate rules.
Senator Reid is the Minority Leader of the United States Senate. As the leader of his party, he has a heightened obligation to respect and abide by the rules that ensure civility and guard the integrity of the Senate. For the forgoing reasons, we respectfully request that the United States Senate Select Committee on Ethics fully investigate the aforementioned actions of Senator Reid and impose the appropriate disciplinary action.
Sincerely,
/s/
Jeffrey Mazzella
President
Enclosures
cc: Majority Leader Bill Frist
Minority Leader Harry Reid
Chairman Arlen Specter