Washington – Despite meeting with Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers for nearly an hour Thursday, Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar said he lacked a sense of who she is and predicted the Senate will have difficulty deciding on her confirmation.
“I think the major problem with Harriet Miers is she’s still a mystery woman,” Salazar said afterward. “I don’t think anyone really knows who she is.”
Salazar, a Democrat, met with Miers in advance of the Senate’s confirmation hearings, which start Nov. 7. He said he asked her about a number of issues, including whether she would respect court precedents and whether her Christian faith would affect her decisions.
Miers told him she would respect previous court decisions and would evaluate cases based only on the facts, Salazar said.
It wasn’t enough to persuade Salazar. He said he wasn’t yet confident that Miers is qualified to sit on the court or that she would leave her ideology and faith at the courthouse door.
He said he may meet with her again as he did with John Roberts before deciding to vote to confirm Roberts as chief justice.
Salazar called on the White House to release as much information about Miers as possible, warning that failure to do so could imperil confirmation.
“The White House will play a dangerous game if they try to play a rope-a-dope game with the Senate,” he said, adding that Miers’ nomination lacks the momentum Roberts’ had.
Miers arrived at Salazar’s office at 5:15 p.m. Asked if she was becoming tired of all the interviews with senators, she replied, “I’ve had great hospitality. It’s been very enjoyable.”
Salazar said he asked Miers several questions about the grand jury investigation into the leaking of CIA operative Valerie Plame’s name to the press. He asked what role she had played as White House counsel, whether she had testified before the grand jury and whether she had advised any staff members. A former state attorney general, he said he is concerned about protecting undercover officers.
“She said she couldn’t respond to any of those questions,” Salazar said, because she had been asked not to by the prosecutor.
Asked about the endorsement of Miers by Focus on the Family founder James Dobson – whom Salazar once called “the Antichrist” – Salazar laughed uneasily and said, “I respect Dr. Dobson.” He then added that no interest group should get information on a nominee before the Senate does.
“Dr. Dobson had that information from Karl Rove and the White House long before I did, as a senator who is going to vote (on the nomination),” Salazar said, referring to a phone call from Rove about Miers that Dobson received before the nomination was announced.
Salazar said the Senate should call Dobson to testify about what he was told. Dobson has said he was given no promises about how Miers would rule on the high court.
Colorado’s Republican Sen. Wayne Allard met with Miers on Tuesday. “I think I have a pretty good feeling what she’s like,” Allard said Thursday.
