Alito Vindicated on Princeton Issue as Hearings Conclude

By David Brody
Capitol Hill Correspondent

CBN.com –WASHINGTON - Samuel Alito got good news to start his day.

Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and others had given the impression that Alito was a bigot, because he joined an organization that discouraged the admission of minorities and women to Princeton.

But the documents that Kennedy requested from the founder of the organization turned up nothing on the judge.

"The files contain dozens of articles, including investigative exposes written at the height of the organization's prominence, but Sam Alito's name is nowhere to be found in any of them," said Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA).

Alito had said he does not remember being a member, although he did put it on a 1985 job application that still troubles Kennedy.

"I was pleased that Judge Alito distanced himself from its repulsive anti-women, anti-black, anti-disability, anti-gay pronouncements…but we still do not have a clear answer as to why Judge Alito joined this reprehensible group in the first place." Kennedy said.

Kennedy also hammered Alito on why he did not disqualify himself from participating in a case involving Vanguard, a company in which he owns stock. When he became a federal judge in 1990, he promised the Senate he would.

Alito said it was an oversight, offering a couple of different explanations. Kennedy was not buying it.

Kennedy said, "Over the period of these last weeks, we've heard so many explanations, judge. This is what confuses us."

"I've tried to be as forthcoming, in explaining what happened here, as I possibly could be, and I'm one of those judges who take recusals very, very seriously," Alito said.

In the end, he did end up recusing himself, which left Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) wondering what the big deal is.

Hatch said, "To have this -- like you've done something wrong because you made a mistake and then you rectified it ---(expletive deleted), how many times to we have to beat that dead horse?"

Besides ethics, one Democrat, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), brought up the right-to-die issue.

Leahy: If somebody has a do-not-resuscitate order, do you agree with that?

Alito: That's a fundamental principal of common law...that is a right that people have had under our legal system for a long time, to make that decision for themselves.

Alito went on to say that Americans have a right to designate family members or friends to carry out their right-to-die wishes as well.

The hard part for Alito is now over. It is now a waiting game. The Senate Judiciary Committee should vote on his nomination next Tuesday, although Democrats may delay that a little bit.

And a final vote in the Senate could be as early as January 20, but in the background is that filibuster threat.

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