At a hearing with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Thursday, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) said, “the U.S. must remain engaged in helping the Afghan people resolve the many difficult issues facing their country.” (0:12)
Republican senators today began their attacks on Judge Sonia Sotomayor, nominated to replace Justice David Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court. On the first day of hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democratic senators praised Sotomayor’s record, saying it demonstrated “judicial modesty,” while Republicans expressed skepticism.
Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), now the ranking Republican on the committee, called Sotomayor’s comments on use of experience and background in judicial decisions “shocking and offensive” and distributed a thick stack of her past speeches to the media. The speeches were marked up to highlight passages where Sotomayor spoke about the differences her background would produce in her decisions. Sessions criticized the use of any factors outside of the facts and law of a case in making rulings.
Senators Sessions and John Cornyn (R-Texas) both said they planned to ask Sotomayor about her views on a range of issues, including abortion, property rights, the right to bear arms, and capital punishment. Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) as well said he was “deeply concerned by [Sotomayor]’s assertion that the law is uncertain.”
Speaking more generally, Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) criticized President Obama’s “empathy” standard used to select Sotomayor as his nominee. Graham went so far as to say that he would have to vote against Sotomayor under that standard, which he called “absurd” and “dangerous,” since it would encourage voting on the basis of agreement on issues and would therefore discourage potential nominees from expressing their opinions. He did, however, worry about Sotomayor’s speeches made while she has been a sitting judge, since those might cast doubt on her objectivity when deciding cases. Graham did recognize that “unless [Sotomayor has] a complete meltdown,” she would be confirmed, bringing laughter from audience.
Democrats generally supported the nominee by describing her record as centrist and reserved, and repeating her personal story of being raised by a poor, single mother and working to raise herself up to a federal judgeship. By the time it was Sotomayor’s chance to speak, the audience had heard the story several times.
A couple of Democrats took the opportunity to criticize the previous administration. Senator Specter (D-Pa.), a recent defector from the Republican party, spoke of President Bush’s wiretapping program, saying that a split among circuit courts in different areas of the country has prevented adjudication of the legality of those programs. He expressed hope that a new Supreme Court would resolve this disagreement and generally agree to hear more cases. Senator Feingold (D-Wisc.) lauded the Supreme Court’s role as a check on the president, offering as examples the Court’s rulings that Guantanamo detainees have rights to U.S. courts, and saying that an important quality in justices is a willingness to stand up to the president.
In Sotomayor’s short opening statement, she said that her judicial philosophy was simple: “fidelity to the law.” She said that her record would show that she applies the law according to Congress’s intent, applying relevant precedents. She finished by saying she looks forward to answering the senators’ questions.
By Celia Canon- Talk Radio News Service
Top Senate Democrats and State Department officials reiterated their intent to help Sudan and the DRC with its rape problem.
According to Melanne Verveer, the U.S. State Department Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, “36 women are raped daily” in Sudan.
“This must stop,” said Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.). “As colleagues we must come together – across all the lines that normally divide us – to end this madness…If raping an infant is not a crime against humanity, I don’t know what is.”
The attention of lawmakers was piqued after the release of reports by Human Rights Watch, which said that “the number of women and girls raped since January has significantly increased in areas of military operations by armed groups and soldiers of the Congolese Army.”
Boxer explained the need to intervene immediately as one representing more than a humanitarian crisis. “If raping an infant is not a rime against humanity, I don’t know what is” she said.
According to Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), “The United States has an important role to play, in helping to facilitate such initiatives and ensure sound policies are implemented”.
DRC-based journalist Chouchou Namegabe Nabintu said that “The rapes are targeted and intentional, and are meant to remove the people from their mineral-rich land through fear, shame, violence, and the intentional spread of HIV throughout entire families and villages.”
Verveer said that the problem can not be resolved by attempting to prosecute perpetrators. “The law enforcement personnel and magistrates continue to treat rape and sexual violence in general with a marked lack of seriousness,” she said. But, “a solution must be found to stop the war and restore an order that will have to be completely reshaped in order to reduce the power the soldiers now have,” she said.
”Ending the conflict is the most important direct and certain path to ending the violence. Peace negotiations … should remain our highest priority” said Verveer.
By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service
Senator John McCain (R-Az), Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI) spoke of their plans to reintroduce their version of the Line Item Veto Bill.
By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service
Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) explains how the proposed Line Item Veto Bill works, and how it is Constitutional. (00:45)
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) speaks to reporters on possible amendments to the FISA Bill currently before the Senate. Dodd supports measures to strike the FISA retroactive immunity and is planning to add his own amendment to the bill to do just that. (1:08)
The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and Law discussed violence in Sudan and the United States’ inability to prosecute those who have committed crimes against humanity when the are in the United States. Dianne Orentlicher, a lawyer from the Open Society Justice Initiative urged the committee to promote legislation that would show strong opposition to crimes against humanity.
Orentlicher said the United States should prosecute those responsible for committing human rights violations, in particular those who currently reside in the United States. According to Orentlicher, those guilty of crimes against humanity can be prosecuted in American courts for torture or visa fraud but crimes against humanity are not currently violations of federal law. She said many Americans are unaware that these crimes are not currently punishable under U.S. law. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) noted that Salvadoran military leaders responsible for killings in El Salvador, including the deaths of four American women, currently live in Miami.
Daoud Hari, a Darfuri refugee who currently lives in Maryland, described his experience as a villager and translator to the committee. In his testimony, Hari asked Congress to pressure the Department of State to allow more Darfuri refugees to gain asylum in the United States. Currently, the United States has granted four other Darfuri refugees residence. Hari also asked the United States to fund the UN World Food Programme’s efforts in the region.
Olympic gold medalist and co-founder of Team Darfur Joey Cheek discussed his organizations call for an Olympic Truce, an effort that would promote peace during the Olympic Games through international reconciliation and dialogue. Cheek said that youth are offended by the actions of the Sudanese government and disturbed that mass killings continue to occur knowingly.
At a discussion on ‘Confronting Foreign Intellingence and Information Gaps’ held at the New America Foundation. Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) said that he was sure al-Qaida will not be found in Iraq. (0:30)
Before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) recounted to the committee his recent four day trip to Pakistan. The testimony was meant to serve as a first person account on the on going somewhat rocky relationship between the United States and Pakistan. (more…)
Russ Feingold (D-Wis) talks about the party change in rule in northern western Pakistan. Feingold was testifying before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. (1:07)
