(Host) Senator Patrick Leahy says some critics of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor are trying to smear her character before the Senate’s confirmation hearings.
Leahy says he’s scheduled those hearings for mid- July so the full Senate can vote on the nomination before the August congressional recess.
VPR’s Bob Kinzel reports.
(Kinzel) As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Leahy has the responsibility of setting the timetable for the confirmation hearings. Earlier this week, he announced the July schedule.
Republican leaders immediately criticized Leahy for starting the hearings next month without their full approval.
Minority leader Mitch McConnell said the GOP was "blindsided" by Leahy’s timetable and that Leahy’s action "breaks with years of tradition in which bipartisan agreements were reached over scheduling hearings for court nominees."
Leahy says the charges have no merit. He says he’s chosen a schedule that’s very similar to one used by the Republicans several years ago for the confirmation hearings of Chief Justice John Roberts.
(Leahy) "Of course I consulted with the Republicans. I had a long talk with them last week. I told them that the date I wanted to do – actually, I told them I wanted an earlier date. They said that’s too early. So, I pushed it back to this date. I said, naturally, based on their own feelings of what was a proper amount of time for John Roberts, what was the proper amount of time for him should be the same amount of time for her."
(Kinzel) Leahy says some Republicans wanted the hearings to begin in September. He says he rejected that timetable, in part, because he thinks delaying the hearings that long isn’t fair to the nominee.
(Leahy) "Considering how horrible some of the attacks have been – I think one of the leaders of the Republican Party said she’s similar to the head of the Ku Klux Klan, another one called her a bigot. Well, she’s neither, of course, but she can’t answer those things. No matter what they say about her, she can’t respond to it until she gets to the hearing."
(Kinzel) Leahy says he’s also disappointed that some conservative groups are using this nomination for purely political purposes.
(Leahy) "There are a lot of fundraising letters going out by the ultra right. And they’d like to get this going as long as they can so that they can raise money and stir up their base. I think that’s unfortunate for the country. A person like this should not be dragged into partisan political matters. We should be talking about who’s best for the Supreme Court."
(Kinzel) Leahy says his goal is to have Judge Sotomayor actively participating in the preliminary work of the Supreme Court by the middle of August.
For VPR News, I’m Bob Kinzel in Montpelier.