WASHINGTON — Democrats are preparing to send the White House a request for documents from fewer than 20 of more than 300 cases in which Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr. played a role during his time as a political appointee in the administration of George H.W. Bush, a key senator said Thursday.
The request, expected to be delivered as soon as today, will be "limited and targeted," focusing on Roberts' work on constitutional issues, senior Senate Judiciary Committee member Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) told reporters.
The White House has declared material from that part of Roberts' career off-limits under attorney-client privilege.
That is the period when Roberts, as chief deputy to Solicitor Gen. Kenneth W. Starr, argued on such key issues as abortion and separation of church and state.
The relatively narrow request is the Democrats' opening maneuver in what they hope will be a negotiating process with the White House that will lead to the release of some documents, as has occurred in previous high court nominations.
"All we're trying to do is find out as complete and open a picture as we can on targeted issues related to constitutional issues," Kennedy said.
He said he was hopeful that Republicans on the committee would support the request. A spokesman for Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) said no decision had been made.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan indicated little patience with Democratic demands.
"We went out of our way this week to help expedite the release of documents so that they could move forward in a timely manner," McClellan said. "And now you see members of the Senate, some Democrat members of the Senate, making unreasonable requests. It's just not appropriate to get into the documents related to the solicitor general's office."
Kennedy argued that the White House claim of attorney-client privilege was not based in law or previous practice.
"Solicitor generals ... are representing the public interest. They are representing the people of Massachusetts' interest and the Senate's interest," Kennedy said. "Therefore, the documents ... are not going to violate the lawyer-client privilege or even executive privilege."
Kennedy and other Democrats have argued that previous administrations have released documents from the solicitor general's office as part of Supreme Court nominations. A Democratic aide provided copies of such documents from President Reagan's nomination of Robert H. Bork in 1987, including some on letterhead from the office of the solicitor general or the attorney general.
