The Roberts Paper Trail -- What Little There Is
From the Associated Press:
"Citing privacy and precedent, the Bush administration indicated Sunday it does not intend to release all memos and other documents written by Supreme Court nominee John Roberts when he worked for two Republican presidents. . . ."
"Fred D. Thompson, the former Tennessee senator who is guiding Roberts through the nomination process on behalf of the White House, said material that would come under attorney-client privilege would be withheld. He contended that previous administrations, both Republican and Democrat, have followed that principle. . . .
Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, the senior Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said other nominees, including Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, have provided material they wrote in confidence while working in the Justice Department.
'It's a total red herring to say, "Oh, we can't show this,"' Leahy told ABC's 'This Week.'
'And of course there is no lawyer-client privilege,' he said. 'Those working in the solicitor general's office are not working for the president. They're working for you and me and all the American people.' . . ."