Judiciary Democrats Officially Request All Kavanaugh Documents from Archives

Washington—Judiciary Committee Democrats today requested the National Archives provide all records related to Brett Kavanaugh’s service in the White House from 2001-2006.

The letter is signed by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Chris Coons (D-Del), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.). Their request mirrors the request for documents related to Senate consideration of Elena Kagan’s nomination to be associate justice of the Supreme Court.

They write: “Mr. Kavanaugh served as Senior Associate Counsel to President Bush from 2001 to 2003 and as Assistant to the President and Staff Secretary from 2003 to 2006. We request that the documents you identify and provide to the Committee from his service in the White House include the following … Records from Mr. Kavanaugh’s service as Assistant to the President and Staff Secretary, including all records preserved in his staff files, and those records created by Mr. Kavanaugh that can readily be found in the files of other White House staff members, the White House Counsel’s Office files, other White House offices’ files, and the Subject Matter Files maintained by the Staff Secretary and/or the White House Office of Records Management.”

Full text of the letter follows:

July 31, 2018

The Honorable Patrick X. Mordente, Brigadier General
Director
George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum
2943 SMU Boulevard
Dallas, Texas 75205

Dear General Mordente:

We ask that you provide documents to the Senate Judiciary Committee in connection with President Trump’s nomination of Brett M. Kavanaugh to be Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Mr. Kavanaugh served as Senior Associate Counsel to President Bush from 2001 to 2003 and as Assistant to the President and Staff Secretary from 2003 to 2006. We request that the documents you identify and provide to the Committee from his service in the White House include the following, consistent with the attached guidelines:

1. Records from Mr. Kavanaugh’s service as a Senior Associate Counsel to the President, including all records preserved in his staff files, and those records created by Mr. Kavanaugh that can readily be found in the files of other White House staff members, the White House Counsel’s Office files, other White House offices’ files, and the Subject Matter Files maintained by the Staff Secretary and/or the White House Office of Records Management;

2. Records from Mr. Kavanaugh’s service as Assistant to the President and Staff Secretary, including all records preserved in his staff files, and those records created by Mr. Kavanaugh that can readily be found in the files of other White House staff members, the White House Counsel’s Office files, other White House offices’ files, and the Subject Matter Files maintained by the Staff Secretary and/or the White House Office of Records Management;

3. Records relating to Mr. Kavanaugh’s nomination to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit;

4. All electronic mail sent by or received by Mr. Kavanaugh in his White House tenure, including any documents attached to such emails;

5. To the extent they are not included in response to categories (1) through (4), all records containing documents written by, edited by, prepared in whole or part by, under the supervision of, or at the direction of Mr. Kavanaugh, as well as documents referencing Mr. Kavanaugh by name, initials, or title, and documents received by or sent to him.

If any document is withheld on the basis of any privilege, please include a description and explanation consistent with paragraph (e) of the guidelines. In order to expedite your response to this request, we ask that you produce documents to us on a rolling basis as you identify categories and documents responsive to this request. Please note that documents provided to Congress, in contrast to those released to the public, are not governed by the Freedom of Information Act.

We recognize that reviewing the archives and producing these documents is a significant task, and thank you in advance for your efforts.

Sincerely,

Dianne Feinstein
Ranking Member

Patrick Leahy
United States Senator

Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator

Sheldon Whitehouse
United States Senator

Amy Klobuchar
United States Senator

Christopher A. Coons
United States Senator

Richard Blumenthal
United States Senator

Mazie K. Hirono
United States Senator

Cory A. Booker
United States Senator

Kamala D. Harris
United States Senator

cc: Hon. Charles E. Grassley, Chairman
Senate Judiciary Committee

Mr. Donald F. McGahn
Counsel to the President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC

The Honorable David S. Ferriero
Archivist of the United States
National Archives and Records Administration
700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20408

Encl.

Guidelines

a. This request is continuing in character. If additional responsive documents come to your attention following your initial production, please provide such documents to the Committee promptly.

b. As used herein, “documents” or “records” includes electronic mail messages (“Email”).

c. As used herein, “document” means the original (or an additional copy when an original is not available), all attached documents, and each distribution copy whether inscribed by hand or by electronic or other means. This request seeks production of all documents described, including all drafts and distribution copies, and contemplates production of responsive documents in their entirety, without abbreviation or expurgation.

d. In the event that any requested document has been destroyed, discarded, or otherwise disposed of, please identify the document as completely as possible, including the date, author(s), addressee(s), recipient(s), title, and subject matter, and the reason for disposal of the document and the identity of all persons who authorized disposal of the document.

e. If a claim is made that any requested document will not be produced by reason of a privilege of any kind, describe each such document by date, author(s), addressee(s), recipient(s), title, and subject matter, and set forth the nature of the claimed privilege with respect to each.

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