Reply #10: John Bates, Federalist Society member [View All]

From Buzzflash in 2002

Why is Bush in a rush to have his Federalist Society judges confirmed? The answer is simple: By packing the Federal Courts, the Bush Administration can control two branches of government.

Take the current case of the GAO vs. the White House as an example. Who is legally defending Cheney's untenable position of keeping secret the names of people who participated in the Cheney energy task force? Why it's none other than Ted Olson. Now, Ted is not on the bench, but he's well connected, so to speak, with the Federalist judges currently wearing robes in U.S. Courts. Let's face it, Ted is part of the Scalia, Thomas, Rehnquist inner circle -- and was at the heart of efforts to unseat President Clinton. The Democrats committed a grave injustice in allowing him to be confirmed as Solicitor General, even after learning of his role early on in helping to implement a smear campaign against Clinton through the infamous "Arkansas Project."

Olson knows well the power of the Federalist society judges' willingness to abandon Constitutional principles to advance the interests of their fellow true believers. After all, Olson argued the 2000 Florida vote case on behalf of George W. Bush before the Supreme Court. He understands the effectiveness of a wink and a nod among cronies wearing black robes.

Olson, at the current moment, is preparing to make his December, 2000, Supreme Court appearance on behalf of Bush and Cheney just another "deja vu all over again." The GAO case has been assigned to none other than a Ken Starr protege, Federal Judge John Bates. According to columnist Joshua Micah Marshall, "Judge Bates served as Deputy Independent Counsel under Ken Starr from September 1995 until leaving in March 1997. That year Bates argued the case in which an appeals court ruled that then-First Lady Hillary Clinton had to turn over notes of conversations about Whitewater." (See
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/feb0204.html#022202240pm).

When Bates left the Ken Starr entrapment operation, Starr issued a news release in which Bates was quoted as saying: "It has truly been a privilege to serve with Judge Starr and the rest of the outstanding OIC staff, and I look forward to continuing to work with them in this important effort. Judge Starr has led the investigation with integrity, balanced judgment and extreme care, in the best tradition of prosecutors on behalf of the United States. I also look forward to resuming my responsibilities in the United States Attorney's Office, from which I have been absent for far longer than originally anticipated." (See http://www.oicray.com/01.09.97.htm)
According to Marshall, "Bates is a Bush appointee who was confirmed only on December 11th, 2001. He's considered a moderate Republican."

http://www.buzzflash.com/editorial/2002/02/022402_Bushs_Judges.html