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alamante · 6 years

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In his answers, Kavanaugh outlines the time frame in which the White House moved to settle on a nominee.

White House Counsel Don McGahn first called him late in the afternoon of Wednesday June 27, the same day that Kennedy announced his retirement, Kavanaugh wrote in response to a question about the selection process.

Several days later, on Monday July 2, Kavanaugh had his first interview with the President, the nominee writes. That was followed by an interview with Vice President Mike Pence on July 4. A second conversation with the President occurred by phone on the morning of Sunday, July 8. Later that evening, Kavanaugh traveled to the White House to meet with both the President and first lady Melania Trump.

“During that meeting, the President offered me the nomination, and I accepted,” Kavanaugh wrote. On July 9, the pick was made official during Trump’s prime-time announcement.

The Senate has not yet begun hearings to consider Kavanaugh’s nomination, and his answers in the newly-released questionnaire will be closely scrutinized by lawmakers looking for insight into his past and how he was chosen by Trump to fill the high court vacancy.

Top Republican senators, such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, have praised Kavanaugh, describing him as a highly qualified Supreme Court nominee. But Democrats have raised alarm over the nomination. Kennedy had voted to uphold a woman’s right to abortion, and his departure has led to concern that Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion nationwide could be at risk. Some Democrats have also expressed concern over Kavanaugh’s views on presidential power given that he has suggested in the past that presidents be shielded from civil and criminal litigation until they leave office.

One question in the questionnaire asked if “anyone involved in the process of selecting you” ever discussed “any currently pending or specific case, legal issue, or question in a manner that could reasonably be interpreted as seeking any express or implied assurances concerning your position on such a case, issue or question?”

Kavanaugh gave only a one-word response: “no.”

A version of the questionnaire is sent to every potential Supreme Court nominee, and Kavanaugh’s version — 110 page long — is similar to a form he filled out when he sought his current seat on a federal appeals court.

Senate Democrats are pushing to review the lengthy paper trail associated with Kavanaugh, who previously served in former President George W. Bush’s White House. CNN reported earlier this week that Democrats have deliberately held off on meeting with him until they can strike an agreement with Republicans on how to move forward on document procurement for the nomination.

Grassley in a statement on Saturday called the questionnaire that Kavanaugh completed “the broadest and most comprehensive … ever sent by this committee.”

A look into Kavanaugh’s past

The questionnaire reveals Kavanaugh’s employment history, club membership, press and speaking engagements and notable cases he has considered during his 12 years serving on the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

He lists his service as a clerk to Justice Kennedy, his tenure working for independent counsel Ken Starr during the investigation of former President Bill Clinton, and his time serving in the George W. Bush White House in the counsel’s office and as staff secretary.

Kavanaugh notes that he served as a member of a group called “Lawyers for Bush-Cheney” during the controversial 2000 presidential election recount.

“I participated in legal activities on behalf of the “Bush/Cheney 2000 Campaign related to the 2000 election recount in DeLand, Florida,” Kavanaugh wrote.

Kavanaugh provides an extensive list of his published writings and public speaking engagements over the years. He includes his work on the Starr investigation report, scholarly writings and several articles he wrote as an undergraduate of Yale University covering the sports beat for the Yale Daily News.

The record reveals that he spoke on several occasions at events sponsored by the conservative Federalist Society, a group that advises Trump on the Supreme Court.

The speaking engagements span roughly the last 20 years.

Kavanaugh included his membership at Catholic Charities as well as his coaching his daughter’s basketball team at Blessed Sacrament School.

He notes that he became a member of the Chevy Chase Club, a private country club located near Washington, DC, in 2016.

He refers to the club as a “recreational club” and says, “we joined because the club has an outdoor hockey rink and a girls ice hockey program and because of its gym and sports facilities.” He is a past member of the Congressional Country Club.

A separate question points out that the American Bar Association’s commentary to its Code of Judicial Conduct states that it is “inappropriate for a judge to hold membership in any organization that invidiously discriminates on the basis of race sex, religion or national origin” and asks if any organizations he is affiliated with currently or formerly did so.

“Years before I became a member of the Congressional Country Club and the Chevy Chase Club, it is my understanding that those clubs, like most similar clubs around the country, may have excluded members on discriminatory bases that should not have been acceptable to people then and would not be acceptable now,” he wrote.

CNN’s Joan Biskupic contributed to this report.

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