On the recordAugust 5, 2010
I want to speak briefly about the nomination of Elena Kagan to be an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. First, I commend the chairman of the Judiciary Committee and his staff for their efforts to make this confirmation process so thorough and transparent. The committee had the opportunity to review nearly 200,000 pages of internal memos and emails from Ms. Kagan's service as a law clerk to Justice Thurgood Marshall and as a White House aide during the Clinton administration--making the examination of her record one of the most thorough and searching in history. I appreciate that President Obama and President Clinton did not raise claims of executive privilege to try to stop the release of documents, which was a refreshing change and a practice that I hope future Presidents will follow in years to come. All but a tiny fraction of these documents were made available online, granting extraordinary access to the public. I said after last year's hearings for Justice Sotomayor that Chairman Leahy had set a new standard for transparency and public access to Supreme Court nomination hearings, and in these proceedings he did it again. I commend him and his staff for their tremendous work over the past few months. There is no question that Elena Kagan is eminently qualified for a position on the Supreme Court.
