RE: Trump SCOTUS List

From:PalermoR@dnc.org To: BrinsterJ@dnc.org, HelmstetterT@dnc.org, DillonL@dnc.org, CrystalA@dnc.org, RR2@dnc.org Date: 2016-05-18 16:26 Subject: RE: Trump SCOTUS List

I'll add Gruender into the release below since we already have that research from andy. -- [DNC]<http://www.democrats.org/> Rachel Palermo Democratic National Committee PalermoR@dnc.org<mailto:PalermoR@dnc.org> 202-863-8041 I can work on it This is amazing. Pls tell me we have screenshots before they get deleted! Claire flagged, lots tweets from twitter star Don Willett making fun of Trump: https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&vertical=default&q=trump%20from%3Ajusticewillett&src=typd&lang=en yeah, it will take a bit to get the other six. May also be worth calling out or flacking to reporters that he seems like he is doing this to distract from his PFD. Flooding the zone. What is he hiding? I think speed works to our benefit here. Could we put out what we already have and then supplement with the other 6 people in a few hours? BREAKING: Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump releases list of 11 potential nominees to U.S. Supreme Court. Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/AP/status/732994058222702593 http://elections.ap.org/content/trump-unveils-list-11-potential-supreme-court-justices Trump's picks include Steven Colloton of Iowa, Allison Eid of Colorado and Raymond Gruender of Missouri. Also on the list are: Thomas Hardiman of Pennsylvania, Raymond Kethledge of Michigan, Joan Larsen of Michigan, Thomas Lee of Utah, William Pryor of Alabama, David Stras of Minnesota, Diane Sykes of Wisconsin and Don Willett of Texas So we have research on Colloton, Gruender, Pryor, Sykes and Willett. Still need information on the other 6 judges he named. Below is the release we worked up a couple weeks ago. I also attached the original doc I put together that has some information on Gruender. SL: Whom Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell and Chuck Grassley Are Holding Out For Mitch McConnell and Chuck Grassley have long been waiting for this day - to see whom their party's frontrunner would consider nominating to the Supreme Court. The day has finally come, and it's nothing pretty. "The Supreme Court nominating process is serious, Donald Trump is not. Again and again he has demonstrated he lacks the experience and temperament to be an effective commander-in-chief. So it comes as no surprise that his list of top picks for the Supreme Court is full of red flags. "The judges he wants to elevate to our highest court have a history of making the same sort of unpredictable, extreme decisions that we see every day from Trump. It's bad enough that Senate Republicans refuse to uphold the Constitution, do their jobs and hold hearings on President Obama's eminently qualified nominee. But, it's worse that the reason for the obstruction is their hope that Trump would get to nominate one of these judges." - DNC Press Secretary Mark Paustenbach No one is more qualified to immediately serve on the Supreme Court than Chief Judge Merrick Garland - but Senate Republicans continue to say they won't meet with Chief Judge Garland, hold a hearing or vote on his nomination. So instead, let's take a closer look at whom the Republicans are holding out for: Diane Sykes * Throughout her career, Diane Sykes has supported partisan republican efforts to restrict access to the ballot box. In 2014, she voted in favor<http://www.jsonline.com/news/appeals-panel-questions-why-voter-id-shouldnt-be-in-place-nov-4-b99350157z1-274904111.html> of upholding Wisconsin's voter ID law, one of the strictest in the nation, which could block 300,000 registered voters<http://www.thenation.com/article/wisconsins-voter-id-law-could-block-300000-registered-voters-from-the-polls/> in Wisconsin from casting their ballots. Sykes also authored an opinion that same year that gutted major portions<http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/on-politics/campaign-finance-ruling-fuels-gop-call-to-revamp-state-laws/article_e04ff3b7-acda-5842-a13d-f2e6ffd29d73.html> of Wisconsin's campaign finance law, giving special interest groups more influence in our elections. * In 2013, Sykes authored an opinion that restricted a woman's access to birth control, which was described as the "broadest ruling"<http://www.scotusblog.com/2013/11/broad-bar-to-birth-control-mandate/> so far by a federal appeals court barring enforcement of the birth control mandate in the Affordable Care Act. Bill Pryor * After George W. Bush nominated Bill Pryor to the Eleventh Circuit, Senate Democrats filibustered his nomination<http://articles.latimes.com/2003/aug/01/nation/na-judges1> because of his extreme positions on abortion. Pryor opposes abortion<http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/assets/files/courts-noms-pryor-report.pdf> even in cases of rape or incest, and he called<http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2016/02/who_is_bill_pryor_donald_trump.html> Roe v. Wade "the worst abomination in the history of constitutional law." * In 2009, Pryor authored the Eleventh Circuit's decision upholding Georgia's strict voter ID law. Years earlier, he urged Congress<https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/2005/6/9/senate-section/article/S6245-2> to repeal Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. * Pryor was the only Attorney General in the nation to file an amicus brief<http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/pryor.html> to the Supreme Court arguing that the federal remedy for victims of sexual assault in the Violence Against Women Act was unconstitutional. * Pryor has a long history of opposing LGBT rights. In fact, in 2005, Lambda Legal called<http://www.lambdalegal.org/news/ny_20050426_william-pryor-is-most-demonstrably-antigay-judicial-nominee> Pryor "the most demonstrably antigay judicial nominee in recent memory." * Editorial boards across the country denounced Bush's nomination of Pryor to the Eleventh Circuit, including the Washington Post, New York Times<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/23/opinion/an-extremist-judicial-nominee.html>, and numerous local outlets. Brett Kavanaugh * As a Circuit Judge, Brett Kavanaugh was one of the staunchest critics of President Obama's environmental rules efforts to combat climate change and he authored an opinion<http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2012/08/21/judge-kavanaugh-hits-epa-again/> that struck down the EPA's cross-state air pollution rule. * Throughout his career, Kavanaugh has used his judicial authority to increase the influence of money in politics. In 2009, he authored an opinion<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/19/us/politics/19donate.html> that ruled that the government can't restrict political spending by nonprofit groups or political committees. In addition, Kavanaugh authored an opinion<https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/court-approves-south-carolina-voter-id-law-for-2013/2012/10/10/ac7108c4-130f-11e2-ba83-a7a396e6b2a7_story.html> that upheld South Carolina's restrictive voter ID law. * Kavanaugh has argued<http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/03/26/holding-court> that a president may refuse to enforce a law if he or she personally deems that law unconstitutional, even if the Supreme Court has previously upheld it. should have the authority to decline<http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/03/26/holding-court> to enforce a statute that regulates private individuals when the president deems the statute unconstitutional, even if a court has held or would hold the statute constitutional. Paul Clement * Paul Clement has taken action on his out-of-touch views on immigration, serving as lead counsel to defend SB 70, Arizona's extreme immigration law. Republicans have continually hired Paul Clement to defend their out of touch views on immigration, health care, and LGBT rights. * Governor Jan Brewer hired<http://amlawdaily.typepad.com/amlawdaily/2011/06/clementarizona.html> Clement as lead counsel to defend SB 70, Arizona's extreme immigration law<http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/24/us/politics/24immig.html?ref=us>. * Clement has "pledged to the destruction<http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/27/us/politics/paul-d-clements-latest-high-profile-cases.html>" of the Affordable Care Act, which would take away quality, affordable health insurance from millions of 20 million Americans. He served as lead counsel<http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/27/us/politics/paul-d-clements-latest-high-profile-cases.html> in the lawsuit that first challenged the authority of the ACA. * In 2011, Clement was hired<http://amlawdaily.typepad.com/amlawdaily/2011/04/clement-fights-same-sex-marriage.html> by John Boehner hired<http://amlawdaily.typepad.com/amlawdaily/2011/04/clement-fights-same-sex-marriage.html> Clement to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court, and in 2012, Clement was hired<http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20120129/PC1602/301299971> by Governor Nikki Haley hired<http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20120129/PC1602/301299971> Clement to defend South Carolina's strict voter ID law. * Clement also represented<http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2014/06/11/international-franchise-association-files-their-lawsuit-against-seattles-15-minimum-wage> corporate interests the International Franchise Association in a lawsuit to block Seattle's $15 an hour minimum wage law. Steven Colloton * Steven Colloton has consistently held dangerous positions on women's health. He joined an opinion<http://www.law360.com/articles/704202/aca-birth-control-opt-out-imposes-on-religion-8th-circ> that restricted women's access to birth control under the Affordable Care Act. He also voted to uphold a South Dakota law requiring<http://www.law360.com/articles/363385/8th-circ-upholds-suicide-advisory-in-sd-abortion-law> physicians to disclose an increased risk of suicide to women seeking safe and legal abortions. Don Willett * As a judge on the Texas Supreme Court, Don Willett has time and again ruled in favor of special interests at the expense of consumers and workers. In fact, Willett ruled in favor of<https://www.scribd.com/doc/79380627/Thumbs-on-the-Scale-CtWatch-Jan2012-Final> corporate interests 81 percent of the time. * Willett authored an opinion<http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2007-12-21/574169/> that protected industrial plants from liability suits by workers who claimed they were injured on the job due to the negligence of their employers. Texas Watch, a nonpartisan citizen advocacy organization, called<http://old.texaswatch.org/2007/10/perrys-words-on-judicial-activism-ring-hollow/> Willet's majority opinion in this case "the most activist decision in years" that would allow companies to "avoid accountability for workplace safety violations."