Ethical Questions Envelop Roberts
In April, Judge John Roberts "heard arguments about the Bush
administration's [Guantanamo Bay] policy as he was discussing a Supreme
Court appointment in private conversations with the White House." On July
15, "when Judge Roberts met with President Bush for the job-clinching
interview, he joined a ruling in favor of the defendants, who included Mr.
Bush." The White House claims Roberts didn't do anything wrong. Bush
spokesman Steve Schmitt said "there was no conflict whatsoever." John
Roberts knows better, and we have proof. In 1986, when John Roberts was
working in the White House Counsel's Office for President Reagan, he was
asked to review a mundane request by attorney Lester Hyman asking the
counsel's office to contact a federal agency on behalf of a charity called
"Save the Children." Roberts replied, "I must recuse myself from this
matter, in light of pending discussions with Mr. Hyman's firm about future
employment." The memo clearly demonstrates that Roberts understands it is
unethical to make professional decisions that impact a prospective
employer. But when it came to the prospect of a nomination to the Supreme
Court, he set ethics aside.
http://www.americanprogressaction.org/site/apps/nl/newsletter2.asp?
c=klLWJcP7H&b=917053
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