With 200 events all across the country, protesters gathered on Sunday for the single-day #UniteForJustice action, demanding Senators reject Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. The #UniteForJustice day of action was organized by more than 30 organizations including NARAL Pro-Choice America and the People’s Defense, to raise awareness about the fundamental rights that would be at risk if Kavanaugh is confirmed as the next Supreme Court Justice.
“Every indication is that Brett Kavanaugh will gut Roe v. Wade, which will lead to the criminalization of abortion in many states,” said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation. FMF recently released a video featuring women who oppose Brett Kavanaugh citing their own experiences of how a lack of access to abortion care has impacted their lives.
But as protests, rallies, and actions are taking place across the country to block Kavanaugh’s nomination, Republicans in the Senate are racing to hold confirmation hearings at the beginning of next week, despite the fact that Senators have yet to see the overwhelming majority of documents related to Kavanaugh’s time working in the George W. Bush White House.
The National Archives has refused to provide Senate Democrats with relevant records, citing a policy that the Archives can only respond to requests from committee chairs, positions currently held exclusively by Republicans. Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley has requested that the Archives provide only a fraction of relevant documents.
Even that fraction of documents, which is expected to total over 900,000 pages, will reportedly take the Archives until late October to fulfill, long after confirmation hearings are now scheduled to begin on September 4.
Furthermore, the individual charged with reviewing the documents before their release was a former colleague of Kavanaughs who worked as a lawyer in the Bush White House, causing alarm among many Democrats who fear he will exhibit bias. The small number of documents that have so far been approved arrived in the Senate offices with parts redacted without explanation, further frustrating lawmakers who are seeking full transparency in the confirmation process.
As staff secretary, Kavanaugh managed the flow of document into the Bush Oval Office. He had the ability to provide notes and recommendations on the executive documents, as well as prioritize issues by deciding what materials were sent directly to the President as opposed to his advisors. These documents cover a wide range of issues that President Bush was involved in, including records on the Iraq War and its aftermath, the PATRIOT Act, a federal abortion ban, and controversial torture policies used against detainees under the Bush Administration.
Only 28 percent of women in the United States support his nomination, according to a CNN poll.
Media Resources: The Washington Post 8/15/18; Feminist Newswire 8/13/18, 8/21/18; UniteforJustice2018.com; CNN 8/16/18
