Litigation

No Bombshells Yet in Elena Kagan E-Mails

By Peter Hardin

Tens of thousands of pages of her e-mail messages are public now, but it doesn’t appear (at least so far) that they hold any major bombshells for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan.

Instead, documents from Kagan’s time as a legal adviser in the Clinton White House seem to add to a portrait of a brainy, tough-talking and politically keen strategist, while not necessarily shedding light on the kind of justice she might be.

A few excerpts give a flavor of the e-mail deluge released Friday afternoon:

• Addressing an aide to Vice President Al Gore about a potential firestorm from gays and lesbians if Gore endorsed a religious freedom act, Kagan wrote, “We’ll let you know as soon as it’s safe to go back in the water.”
• Kagan slammed one passage from a Clinton inaugural address as “the most preposterously presumptuous line I have ever seen.”
• Regarding her legal mentor, former Justice Thurgood Marshall, Kagan admired his treatment of the Constitution as a “living charter” and the concern that he showed for “the underdog.”

The bottom line? A New York Times article was headlined,”Kagan’s E-Mail at Clinton White House Reveals a Blunt, Savvy Legal Adviser.” A CNN headline said said the messages showed Kagan’s “confident, brassy side.” And from the Associated Press: “Kagan unscathed after revelations from past.”

Some Republicans have raised questions based on the documents involving Kagan’s work in the White House. (The documents are available from the William J. Clinton Presidential Library website.)

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell warned, “We must be convinced that someone who has spent the better part of her career as a political advisor, policy advocate, and academic — rather than as a legal practitioner or a judge — can put aside her personal and political beliefs, and impartially apply the law, rather than be a rubber stamp for the Obama or any other administration.” He added, “The Clinton library documents make it harder — not easier– to believe that Ms. Kagan could make that necessary transition.”

Former President Clinton, on the other hand, praised her talents in remarks to the New York Times. ?She was unfailingly meticulous in trying to determine what the law actually is and what the facts actually were,? Clinton said. ?She never let whatever feelings she had get in the way of doing that. I think she can be fair.?

In the run-up to her confirmation hearings, set to begin next week, the Associated Press reported that failed Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork will publicly oppose her confirmation.

Meanwhile, a lengthy portrait of Kagan’s family was published in a New York Times article headlined, “The Kagan Family: Left-Leaning and Outspoken.”

To find out more about Kagan and the nomination process, check out Gavel Grab or Justice at Stake?s ?Replacing Justice Stevens? page.

Full post as published by The Gavel on June 21, 2010 (boomark / email).