Ashcroft urged to Investigate Judiciary Memoranda

"It is obvious that the political establishment of the United States Senate has turned an irresponsible blind eye on the corruption and manipulation that plagues the judicial confirmation process,"...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 18, 2004

Contact: Jeffrey Mazzella

703.535.5836

Center Urges Attorney General Ashcroft to Investigate Content of Judiciary Memoranda

"Any criminal investigation into how the Democratic memoranda on judicial confirmations were obtained and ‘leaked’ should include a thorough examination of their content and a complete investigation into the unethical and potential illegal conduct they may evidence," says Center’s Executive Director.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — In a letter to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, the Center for Individual Freedom today asked that any criminal probe into how some Judiciary Democrats’ collusion memoranda regarding judicial confirmations were obtained and "leaked" include a thorough examination of the memos’ content and a complete investigation into the unethical and potential illegal conduct they may evidence.

"It is obvious that the political establishment of the United States Senate has turned an irresponsible blind eye on the corruption and manipulation that plagues the judicial confirmation process," said Jeffrey Mazzella, the Center’s Executive Director. "Based on the handful of memos disclosed to date and reports on some we have not seen, there is probable cause to believe that Judiciary Democrats and their staffs engaged in improper behavior and violated the public trust. Yet, instead of calling for an investigation into the real issue here, the Senate continues to offer appeasement to the obstructionists who have stalled the process for far too long," Mazzella continued.

"Due to the Senate’s unwillingness to act on the dubious and disgusting activities detailed in these memos, the time is long overdue for an investigative body outside of the Senate to scrutinize the actions of Senate Democrats and their special interest counterparts to determine if their manipulative activities violated any laws," said Mazzella.

The Center’s letter follows an announcement yesterday by Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Bill Pickle that he is forwarding his report on how the memos were obtained to the Department of Justice for possible criminal prosecution. In addition, last week, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee wrote to General Ashcroft asking for such a criminal investigation to be done by a professional prosecutor.

"Now that members of the Senate and Sergeant Pickle have appealed directly to the Attorney General, any investigation should include addressing the real issue these memos have presented — their content," Mazzella concluded.

The Center for Individual Freedom is a nonpartisan constitutional advocacy group that fights to protect individual freedom and rights in the legal, legislative and educational arenas. Since 2001, Center’s Confirmation Watch project has worked to remove the corruption and manipulation that plagues the judicial confirmation process in the United States Senate.

###

• To read the Center’s letter to Attorney General Ashcroft, click here.

• Return to Latest News Index
• Return to Confirmation Watch Index