National Archives documents show feud between Clinton administration and Supreme Court Justice

National Archives documents show feud between Clinton administration and Supreme Court Justice

Secret files from President Bill Clinton’s 8 years in office went public Friday.

Secret files from President Bill Clinton’s eight years in office went public Friday. The files offer insight into the drawbacks the president’s advisers saw in some of his Supreme Court nominees, how he turned to his wife, Hilary, for advice on issues such as abortion, and how the president expressed doubts about bombings the CIA pinned on Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

The roughly 1,000 pages of records comprise the sixth batch of files which archivists at the Clinton Library had withheld as sensitive communications between Clinton and his top advisers.

Under federal law such files are supposed to be made public 12 years after a president leaves office.

However, the Clinton-related files were released after POLITICO reported in February that 33,000 pages of records were in limbo. A few days later, the National Archives released the first batch of files.

The approximately 26,000 pages of “previously-restricted records” have now been released.

A July 14, 1993 memo titled “Judge Ginsburg: Performance Pitfalls” was among the documents released. The papers contain a memo where the White House lawyer Ron Klain warned communications director David Gergen that the confirmation process posed a series of dangers.

The lead item complained about Ginsburg’s tendency to present a defense of American Civil Liberties Union positions.

According to the memo, “Judge Ginsburg has a strong tendency to defend the ACLU position on issues like the death penalty, legalizing prostitution, decriminalizing marijuana and decriminalizing the distribution of pornography to minors,” Klain wrote. “She has an instinct for defending some rather extreme liberal views on these questions.”

Klain also predicted trouble because of Ginsburg’s attitude towards the Senate. “Her hostility to the process…is evident,” he wrote. “The Judge has trouble addressing larger issues and speaking to core values….Her failure to make eye contact, her halting speech, her ‘laconic’ nature….is not helpful.”

Previously released papers have given the public a glimpse into the workings of the White House, including Hillary Clinton’s failed attempt as First Lady to overhaul the U.S. health care system. The documents could, therefore, have a negative impact on Hilary Clinton chances of winning the Presidential elections.

Be social, please share!

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmail

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *