Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., fired off the toughest set of questions by any senator yet today, grilling Sonia Sotomayor on judicial philosophy, her temperament on the bench, abortion, the "wise Latina woman" comment, military law and her involvement with LatinoJustice PRLDEF -- a contentious issue not brought up in questioning until now. He cut her off time and again, switching from one topic to another quickly, while simultaneously appearing at ease, resting his head on his propped-up elbow.
Graham asked her if she was aware of a PRLDEF legal brief that supported taxpayer-funded abortions. "No," she replied. "I never reviewed those briefs." She went on to say that, as a board member, she didn't participate directly in the legal activities of the committee. The main duty of the group's board members is fundraising, she said. "To the extent that we looked at the organization's legal work," she added, "it was to ensure it was consistent with the broad mission statement of the fund."
Graham then asked her if that mission statement includes support for taxpayer-funded abortion. "Our mission statement was broad, like the Constitution," Sotomayor replied, almost with a chuckle. She was hearkening back to a comment she made earlier in her exchange with Graham, when she said that while the Constitution doesn't explicitly address abortion, it "does have a broad provision concerning a liberty provision..." Graham had interrupted her at that point to assert that it was this interpretation of the Constitution, coupled with the "wise Latina woman" remark, that he and other Republicans find troubling. "That's what drives us here, quite frankly. That's my concern," the senator said.
Graham also expressed concern about Sotomayor's judicial temperament. He rattled off several negative anonymous comments that attorneys have made about her, according to the Almanac Of The Federal Judiciary: "terror on the bench," "not very judicial," "does not have a very good temperament."
Among the judges on the 2nd Circuit, "you stand out like a sore thumb in terms of your temperament," Graham said.
Sotomayor acknowledged that she does ask tough questions in oral arguments, but that she isn't the only judge to do so. "Do you think you have a temperament problem?" Graham asked. "No sir," Sotomayor answered. "I believe that my reputation is such that I ask hard questions, but I do it evenly on both sides."
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