A federal judge has rejected a Democratic senator's effort to force disclosure of more information about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's past work before the Senate holds a confirmation vote this weekend.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D., Ore.) requested disclosure of more than 100,000 pages of records from Kavanaugh's time working for President George W. Bush. Merkley filed suit on Sept. 26 and, on Wednesday, asked the court to accelerate a hearing set for Tuesday on a temporary restraining order he requested.
U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson rejected that request, saying claims of urgency relating to the looming votes were misplaced, and she suggested Merkley move slowly in bringing the matter to her, Politico reports. Jackson, an appointee of President Barack Obama, outlined her decision in an order released around noon on Friday:
The Court notes that the schedule of events related to the confirmation process described in the motion to expedite is not, as stated in the motion, a change of circumstances or a set of 'new facts' that 'have arisen since the scheduling conference;' the parties specifically informed the Court during the scheduling conference that the cloture vote was likely to take place on Friday and the vote as early as Saturday.
While the complaint raises many questions related to the schedule established by [Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley] and the motion for a TRO questions the existence of any urgency requiring a vote while the processing of other Senators' Freedom of Information Act requests for potentially relevant records is ongoing, the motion does not seek any relief, if any could be granted by the Court, related to the schedule of events in the Senate.
In addition to turning down Merkley's request to accelerate the hearing, the judge canceled it altogether, but left open the possibility the senator may eventually get the order he seeks.
On Friday, the Senate narrowly voted to advance Kavanaugh's nomination to a final vote, which is expected as early as Saturday.