Jeff Merkley: “So we have a situation where an individual has accepted a nomination from the President for this incredibly important…”

“So we have a situation where an individual has accepted a nomination from the President for this incredibly important position and then has turned around and said: By the way, I am the guardian of the gate for the very records the Senate needs to see in order to determine if I am a fit character for this position, and he says: No, I will not allow the Senate to see my records. My question to my colleague from Hawaii is as follows: Just the fact that a nominee, accepting a nomination and knowing the Senate has a responsibility to vet the nominee, who turns around and says, but you can't have access to my records, shouldn't that in itself disqualify that individual from consideration?”