When we first heard what Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh said about presidential pardons, we didn’t believe it. So we read his 2014 law review article. It’s true. Kavanaugh said the president has absolute and unlimited power to pardon federal offenders even before trial.

In the same law review article Kavanaugh said that the president could also stop any federal prosecution. (Uh oh, Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation.) Kavanaugh has also said that a sitting president should be immune from prosecution and investigation. He says a president shouldn’t have to answer questions about possible crimes either.

In a case about the Affordable Care Act, Kavanaugh opined that the president has the power to decide a law is unconstitutional and not to enforce it. Doesn’t high school civics say that the power to decide constitutionality belongs to our courts?

When you add all this up, it’s disturbing. Kavanaugh is not describing a president in a checks-and-balances constitutional system like ours. He’s describing a dictatorship.

If placed on the Supreme Court, will Kavanaugh protect Trump from possible crimes and cover-up? Will he support Trump in shutting down Mueller’s investigation?

Let’s not find out the hard way. Kavanaugh is the wrong person at the wrong time for our Supreme Court, when the President is suspected of possible crimes and cover-up.

Please call your Senators to vote against Kavanaugh’s nomination. 

Script:

Hi, my name is [name] and I’m a constituent from [zip code]. I’m calling to ask the Senator to vote No on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. I’m very concerned about Kavanaugh’s views on unlimited presidential power. He’s even said that a president has the power to pardon federal offenders before trial. Kavanaugh is the wrong person for the Supreme Court at this time. Please vote against Kavanaugh’s nomination.

To find your senators, go to https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members.

Sources/More Info:

Kavanaugh on presidential pardons, 89 Notre Dame L. Rev. 1907 (2014) at page 1912.

Kavanaugh on presidential immunity, 93 Minn. L. Rev. 1454 (2009) at page 1459 et seq.

Kavanaugh on president’s refusal to enforce laws, Seven-Sky v. Holder (2011) at page 58, see also footnote 43.

What Kavanaugh could mean for the Mueller Investigation, NPR

Kavanaugh on shielding presidents from criminal investigation, LA Times

“Brett Kavanaugh’s Journey to Becoming a Supreme Court Nominee,” New Yorker

Preliminary report on Kavanaugh, Alliance For Justice

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