NARA press release: “The National Archives at College Park will release 45 documents relating to Samuel Alito. These records total 744 pages from Record Group 60, Records of the Department of Justice, Files of John Bolton, Michael Carvin, Roger Clegg, Stephen Galebach, Brian Landsberg, Mark Levin, and Richard Willard….The National Archives found the documents, consisting of memoranda and other documents, in various folders in the files of these individuals during the processing of additional FOIA requests.”
Records Pertaining to Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr
Previous postings on Alito
News related to issues raised in reviewing the latest documents:
AP: “Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito wrote in a June 1985 memo that the ruling that legalized abortion should be overturned, a position certain to spur tough questioning at January’s confirmation hearings.”
Alito Said Attorney General Immune From Wiretap Suits
Sen. Leahy Statement on Documents Released by National Archives Relating to Alito Nomination re warrantless wiretaps: “DESCRIPTION OF THE JUNE 12, 1985, MEMO from Samuel Alito to the Solicitor General re: Forsyth v. Kleindienst (i.e. Mitchell v. Forsyth) (DOJ3-00285-DOJ3-00291) — Mr. Alito later wrote the brief in Mitchell v. Forsyth arguing that the Attorney General should have qualified and absolute immunity for civil damages stemming from the warrantless authorization of wiretaps. Ultimately, the court ruled that the Attorney General was qualifiedly immune (because the decision was made before the Supreme Court clarified that such warrantless taps were unconstitutional), but rejected the arguments for absolute immunity. In this memo, Samuel Alito takes an approach mirroring what he did in Thornburgh by embracing the principle of absolute immunity and suggesting tactical reasons for avoiding taking it head on. He argues that the Administration should seek cert only on the appealability of the qualified immunity claim, not on absolute immunity, but for tactical reasons: “I do not question that the Attorney General should have this immunity, but for tactical reasons I would not raise the issue here.” He lays out why this is not a good case for absolute immunity, including the fact that they would not have Justice Rehnquist’s vote and that it involves a controversial official from a controversial era. In this memo Mr. Alito makes clear his own personal view in this matter, declaring that he, himself, has no doubt the Attorney General should have the immunity.”
New York Times, Alito Memo in ’84 Favored Immunity for Top Officials
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