Senators Just Uncovered Damning Emails Exposing Gorsuch As A Republican ‘Loyalist’
For the first two days of his Senate confirmation hearing, Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch has gone out of his way to portray himself as a fair-minded jurist motivated only by the law.
In today’s hearing, Senator Al Franken (D-MN) offered startling evidence that indicates otherwise, referencing emails sent by and on behalf of Gorsuch when he was a lawyer and Republican operative in 2004. Following the reelection of George W. Bush, Gorsuch sent a message to then White House Political Director, Matt Schlapp, asking for a job and touting his efforts on behalf of the Bush election team:
Following the reelection of George W. Bush, Gorsuch sent a message to then White House Political Director, Matt Schlapp, asking for a job and touting his efforts on behalf of the Bush election team:
Senator Franken also noted that, in an effort to get work in the Bush White House, Gorsuch sought assistance from his friend and college roommate, Ken Mehlman, who managed the Bush-Cheney reelection campaign and later went on to chair the Republican National Committee (RNC). In his recommendation letter for Gorsuch, Mehlman wrote that, “He is a true loyalist.”
Rather than nitpick the judge’s political work or allegiances, Franken focused on the facts of the election at the time, noting that Gorsuch’s work in Ohio coincided with a Republican strategy to strip rights from the LGBTQ community. As one might expect, the nominee refused to indicate how he felt about equal rights today.
While it’s true that people can change and judges are not expected to live in a political vaccumn, his judicial track record and the steady stream of revelations about his partisan past paint a clear and consistent picture of what Judge Gorsuch really stands for.
That picture bears little resemblance to the ideals of Lady Justice and the values which our nation was founded, instead skewing towards the discriminatory and repressive extremist ideology that animates the Republican Party.
Hearings are still underway, and more revelations are likely to follow. However, Gorsuch has already shown that he has no business on our nation’s highest court.
Watch Senator Franken question Judge Gorsuch below:
