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Judiciary Committee Expected to Reject Pickering

Aired March 14, 2002 - 13:43   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: As promised, back to Capitol Hill right now, and Jonathan Karl. Before we go there I want to show you a room on Capitol Hill here. The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to convene in about 17 minutes time, 2:00 East Coast time.

Again, we may get a vote today on Charles Pickering, the White House wants this man approved. But apparently, his detractors in that committee may never allow that nomination to get out of that committee. Maybe voted down along party lines. Jonathan Karl watching this once again. We have talked about this for two weeks. Jonathan, good afternoon.

JONATHAN KARL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Bill. Republicans are expecting every single Democrat on that committee to vote against Judge Pickering thereby dooming the nominations. And they are prepared for what comes next. I spoke to a senior leadership source in the Senate Republican leadership source saying there will be quote "several levels of consequences after this vote."

Republicans prepared to essentially go to war up here in legislative terms of what they see is a real affront to the president. This will be the first defeat of a judicial nominee of President Bush's since he was sworn in. This is somebody that was from the state of Mississippi. This judicial pick, Charles Pickering was someone picked out by Trent Lott, the minority leader in the Senate, the Republican leader, and he really sees this as a personal affront to him as well as to the president.

Meanwhile down at the White House, Press Secretary Ari Fleischer is not willing to concede defeat yet, but is he talking about the next step as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president hopes that No. 1, that Judge Pickering will be approved today in committee. Let's see what the vote is. If he is defeated in the committee, it is again a reflection of the fact that the Senate leadership will resort to killing qualified nominees in committee because the Senate leadership knows that it does not have the votes to stop them on the floor. And that is a very unfortunate result and I think it is also what makes people sour on Washington when they know there is bipartisanship available but there are leaders who choose not to take it. (END VIDEO CLIP)

KARL: Ware told to expect a written statement from the president after the vote. We imagine that statement has already been written as the result seems to be inevitable here. This comes, this defeat will come after a last minute push by the president.

There you see him one week ago when he brought to the White House several prominent Democrats and civil rights leaders from the state of Mississippi who support Judge Pickering in contrast to the national civil rights leaders and national Democratic leaders that are almost uniformly against him. Almost but not totally, one last-minute thing you will see happen here today, Bill, is Republicans on that Judiciary Committee are going to try to push after the nomination is voted down to have another vote to say the committee will send the nomination to the floor of the United States Senate either without a recommendation or with a negative recommendation.

They want to do that because they know at least three Democrats in the Senate but not on the Judiciary Committee have already come out and said they will vote for Judge Pickering. So if the full Senate got a chance to vote on this nomination it seems very likely that Judge Pickering would indeed be confirmed. But this committee has the ability to kill the vote right there in committee and they are expected to do that in about 15 minutes time.

HEMMER: Thank you Jonathan Karl in Washington.

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