By Alan Fram
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Warning to potential Supreme Court nominees: Republicans may already be digging into your past.
Underscoring the hardball tactics that lie ahead, a major Republican opposition research organization said recently it was starting to investigate the backgrounds of potential court nominees. It’s a hunt that could yield information that would damage President Barack Obama’s selection and perhaps even discourage some from seeking the post.
“After any nomination is made, there’s always a story about mom, dad and apple pie and how wonderfully moderate any nominee is and the consensus, sterling
credentials,” said Brian Rogers, executive director of America Rising Squared. “It’s our job to make sure all the facts are out there, even the ones that might not be so pretty.”
Rogers said the group was using around 10 researchers to search the Internet, law libraries around the country and other sources to probe the backgrounds of several possible selections to replace the late Antonin Scalia. Rogers declined to name the picks being investigated or how many there are.
America Rising Squared is also looking for past statements by Democratic senators contradicting their current insistence that the Senate should debate and vote on an Obama pick. Last week, Republicans unearthed a 1992 suggestion by then-Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., in which the current vice president said if a high court opening occurred that election year, lawmakers should delay action until after the presidential campaign.
The work is being funded by the Judicial Crisis Network, which is coordinating conservative efforts in this year’s court fight.
That network has started digital ads on the issue targeting Democratic senators from West Virginia, Indiana, North Dakota and Colorado. Last month, it ran television ads pressing Republican senators to stand by their refusal to consider an Obama court nominee, this week said it’s started.
America Rising Squared is an arm of America Rising, the GOP opposition research organization. Rogers and Carrie Severino, the Judicial Network’s policy director, would not say how much money is being spent.
Rogers was a longtime aide to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., including serving as research director for McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign.
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