<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/author/scottystarnes/> Obama's Justice Department Fighting the Release of Records that could prove Supreme Court Justice, Elena Kagan, should recuse herself<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/2011/02/15/obamas-justice-department-fighting-the-release-of-records-that-could-prove-supreme-court-justice-elena-kagan-should-recuse-herself/> *Scotty Starnes <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/author/scottystarnes/>*| February 15, 2011 at 10:13 AM | Tags: Elena Kagan <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=elena-kagan>, FOIA<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=foia>, Justice Department<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=justice-department>, Media Research Center<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=media-research-center>, Obamacare <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=obamacare>, President Obama <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=president-obama>, SCOTUS<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=scotus>, Supreme Court <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=supreme-court> | Categories: Political Issues<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?category_name=political-issues>| URL: http://wp.me/pvnFC-4qI
The pattern of Obama officials refusing to release records under the Freedom of Information Act continues. The self-proclaimed "most transparent administration" continues to impede the truth from getting out. *(CNSNews.com<http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/justice-department-resists-releasing-rec> )* - The U.S. Justice Department is contesting in federal court a Freedom of Information Act request filed by CNSNews.com that seeks department records that could shed light on the question of whether Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan needs to recuse herself from legal challenges to the health-care reform law President Barack Obama signed last March. The case—the Media Research Center v. the U.S. Justice Department—arises from a complaint<http://www.cnsnews.com/sites/default/files/documents/MRC%20COMPLAINT%20AND%20EXHIBITS.pdf> the Media Research Center filed on Nov. 23, 2010 against the Justice Department in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The complaint asked the court to direct the Justice Department to comply with a FOIA request<http://mrc.org/pdf/Kagan%20Letter.pdf> that CNSNews.com had initially submitted to the Office of the Solicitor General on May 25, 2010. CNSNews.com is a division of the Media Research Center. The CNSNews.com FOIA asked for three categories of records. These included *records of any meetings or communications Kagan might have participated in as solicitor general that involved President Obama’s health-care reform plan, records of any meetings or communications Kagan might have participated in in which legal challenges to the health-care legislation signed by President Obama were discussed, and records of any meetings or communications Kagan might have participated in in which there was discussion of whether Kagan ought to recuse herself from involvement in any particular case in her role as solicitor general due to the prospect that case might later come before her were she confirmed to a seat on a federal court.* On Dec. 30, the Justice Department filed an answer<http://www.cnsnews.com/sites/default/files/documents/JUSTICE%20DEPARTMENT%20ANSWER%20TO%20MRC%20COMPLAINT.pdf> to the MRC’s complaint, asking the court to dismiss the complaint, but not citing any specific exemption in the Freedom of Information Act that would justify such a dismissal. The Justice Department now has until March 1 to present the court with a brief asking for summary judgment in its favor. *Federal law mandates that a Supreme Court justice must recuse herself from a case if she previously expressed an opinion about its merits while in government service.* That's why the Justice Department is trying to hide the records. ObamaCare has been ruled unconstitutional by two federal judges and will surely end up at the doorstep of the Supreme Court. At the time that President Obama signed his health-care reform law, Kagan was serving as President Obama’s solicitor general and President Obama had not yet nominated her to the Supreme Court. *Kagan’s job as solicitor general was to defend the administration’s position in federal court cases.* On March 23, 2010, the day Obama signed his health-care reform law—and seven weeks before Obama would nominate Kagan to the Supreme Court--Florida and Virginia filed suit against the law in federal court challenging its constitutionality. Also on that day, 12 states joined Florida in its suit against the law. *Kagan was Obama’s solicitor general at a time when Obama’s most significant legislative accomplishment was being constitutionally challenged in a federal court system at whose pinnacle she now sits--on the very panel that must ultimately settle the challenges.* Continue reading>>><http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/justice-department-resists-releasing-rec> Add a comment to this post<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/2011/02/15/obamas-justice-department-fighting-the-release-of-records-that-could-prove-supreme-court-justice-elena-kagan-should-recuse-herself/#respond> <http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/scottystarnes.wordpress.com/17032/> <http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/scottystarnes.wordpress.com/17032/> <http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/scottystarnes.wordpress.com/17032/> <http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/scottystarnes.wordpress.com/17032/> <http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/scottystarnes.wordpress.com/17032/> <http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/scottystarnes.wordpress.com/17032/> <http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/scottystarnes.wordpress.com/17032/> [image: WordPress] WordPress.com <http://wordpress.com/> | Thanks for flying with WordPress! Manage Subscriptions<http://subscribe.wordpress.com/?key=5bbc60f6c05099d6a6dd249fa199389a&email=twmccoy%40gmail.com>| Unsubscribe<http://subscribe.wordpress.com/?key=5bbc60f6c05099d6a6dd249fa199389a&email=twmccoy%40gmail.com&b=uE.w-LRsm3yFe%2B%5Ds8-%3FMm%2B%3F%7CgecSyxL7K_WDs%7EaS1>| Publish text, photos, music, and videos by email using our Post by Email <http://support.wordpress.com/post-by-email/> feature. *Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser:* http://subscribe.wordpress.com -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
