Federal Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor was first contacted by White House Counsel Greg Craig on April 27, four days before Justice David Souter's retirement was officially announced by President Obama, according to a completed questionnaire she submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee this afternoon.
"I was contacted by Gregory Craig, White House Counsel, on Monday, April 27, 2009, with respect to the possibility of a future Supreme Court vacancy," Sotomayor wrote. "Between that date and the present, I have had frequent telephone conversations with Cassandra Butts, Deputy White House Counsel, including near daily phone calls after Justice Souter on May 1, 2009 announced his intention to resign at the end of the current Supreme Court term."
Craig's outreach to Sotomayor just days prior to Souter's announcement raises questions about when the White House first learned of Souter's plans. NPR's Nina Totenberg was the first to report Souter's retirement during the evening of April 30. An AP report earlier that day cited scuttlebutt in judicial circles that Souter may retire, noting that Souter had not hired a single clerk for the court's upcoming October term.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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