DEMS/NOMINATION/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh stressed on Thursday [9-6-18] that he believes the judiciary has broad authority to check the power of the White House, but refused to criticize the man who selected him, President Donald Trump. In a second day of testimony, Kavanaugh declined to comment on Trump’s criticism of the judiciary or offer praise of the president’s character. Democrats at Kavanaugh’s Senate confirmation hearing also pressed the conservative federal appeals court judge over newly released emails highlighting his views on abortion and racial issues after a partisan fight over the public release of the documents. The documents released on Thursday dated from Kavanaugh’s service in the White House under Republican President George W. Bush more than a decade ago. Democrats had objected to an earlier decision by the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Republican leadership not to make the emails public.”
–Reuters Staff, “Supreme Court Nominee Steers Clear of Trump Criticism,” The New York Times online, September 6, 2018