By Jules Lindgren
President Bush?s U.S. Supreme Court nominee, Harriet Miers, withdrew Thursday, citing the conflict over the release of White House documents.
?I am concerned that the confirmation process presents a burden for the White House and our staff that is not in the best interest of the country,? Miers wrote in her withdrawal letter to Bush.
The U.S. Senate was pushing for the White House to release documents regarding Miers? role as counsel to the president. Miers stated in her letter she felt the Senate would continue putting pressure on the White House to release internal documents. She said she felt this threatened the independence of the Executive Branch and in order to protect its rights it was better for her to withdraw.
However, that is not the only reason, said John Fee, an associate law professor at BYU.
?If, in fact, there had been strong support for her aside from the documents issue, I think the Senate would not have insisted so strongly on those documents and the White House could have gotten her through,? he said.
He said the documents issue was just the final straw, and would likely have caused her rejection by the Senate.
?That was on top of questions about her qualifications, questions about her independence from the president, questions about her judicial philosophy and competence ? all of which compounded to make it politically tough for the president to get her through,? Fee said.
Miers faced a lot of opposition from her own party, said Quin Monson, assistant professor of political science at BYU. Republicans were unsure of her credentials and her reliability on conservative issues like abortion.
?Even after considerable time and effort spent meeting with the senators, they would come out of the meeting with her and indicate that they had some real doubts still ? she hadn?t won them over,? Monson said.
The last Supreme Court nominee to withdraw was Douglas Ginsburg, who, in 1987, withdrew after news spread that he had used marijuana as a college student and professor.
Withdrawals usually involve some kind of revelation of past wrongdoing and it is obvious to everyone that the nominee will need to withdraw, he said
?In this case, the unusual part is a steady drum beat of opposition that grew over time and her decision, finally, to give up,? Monson said.
Bush issued a written statement saying he ?reluctantly accepted? Miers withdrawal and he would fill the vacancy ?in a timely manner.?
Monson said he thinks Bush will name someone new in the next couple of weeks, but the confirmation process would likely last until the beginning of next year.
?It will be a real stretch to get a vote on this before they recess for the end of the year and for the holidays, and I?m not sure they can do it,? he said.
Justice Sandra Day O?Connor will serve on the Supreme Court until another justice is confirmed.
Monson said, without knowing who will fill the vacancy, or what cases are on the rise, it?s hard to say what the implications of O?Connor staying on the Supreme Court would be. It is possible that cases O?Connor is the deciding vote on could have different outcomes if a nomination were put forth and confirmed.
?The bottom line is that I think it?s too early to tell,? Monson said.