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 Breaking Knews: Harriet Miers Withdraws Nomination
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Harriet Miers Withdraws Nomination
By Fred Barbash
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, October 27, 2005; 11:27 AM
Harriet Miers withdrew this morning as a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court.
In announcing the decision, Miers and President Bush cited their concern with the requests of members of the Senate Judiciary Committee for documents dealing with her work as White House counsel that the administration has chosen to withhold as privileged.
But the nomination of Miers to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was already in deep trouble, with little support in the Senate, open criticism from many senators of both parties and an outpouring of opposition from conservative activists and intellectuals.
Some of them, most notably columnist Charles Krauthammer, had proposed using the documents dispute as a face-saving reason for withdrawal. In fact, negotiations over the documents had barely begun when the withdrawal was announced this morning.
The decision marked the end of one of the most contentious Supreme Court nominations in recent years, following on controversies over the naming of Clarence Thomas and Robert Bork. Thomas was approved by the Senate in 1991 after a bitter confirmation hearing and Bork was defeated in 1987. A major political difference between the Bork and Miers nominations is that Bork was championed by a powerful wing of the GOP, while Miers appeared to have only one truly enthusiastic supporter, the president.
The last person to withdraw as a Supreme Court nominee was Douglas H. Ginsburg, nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1987. Ginsburg pulled out after revealing that he had used marijuana. Three nominees have been rejected by the Senate in modern times, including Bork.
Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the Senate minority leader who supported Miers, called the withdrawal a victory for "the radical right wing" of the Republican Party.
While the decision was a blow to the Bush administration, the move also may defuse a major controversy for the White House as it confronts possible indictments stemming from the disclosure of the identity of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame.
Miers's withdrawal came a day after she was supposed to have returned a second questionnaire to the Senate Judiciary Committee dealing, in part, with the nature of her White House work.
Her first questionnaire was deemed inadequate by the committee chairman, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), and the ranking Democrat, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.).
O'Connor has said she will remain on the court until a successor is confirmed. How long she will consent to stay, however, is unknown. When she announced her retirement July 1, she said she needed time and energy to attend to the needs of her husband, who has Alzheimer's disease.
Miers told the president in her letter of withdrawal that she was "concerned that the confirmation process presents a burden for the White House and our staff that is not in the best interests of the country."
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