Bill Pryor’s nomination to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals took an interesting turn yesterday, one that could make the already controversial judicial nominee even more contentious.
The Washington Post reported in a tremendous front-page scoop that six Republican attorneys general, all of whom are members of the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA), have solicited political contributions from corporations subject to lawsuits or regulations by their respective states.
Pryor is not only one of the six attorneys general involved, he personally created of the Republican Attorneys General Association in the first place.
The Post report suggests a fairly serious level of potential corruption. The articles cites RAGA documents, for example, that highlight potential state litigation against HMOs and suggests that the attorneys general in those states should “start targeting” HMOs for political contributions, saying “this would be a natural area for us to focus on raising money.”
In fact, the companies the six RAGA members — including Pryor — solicited included some of the nation’s largest tobacco, pharmaceutical, computer, energy, banking, liquor, insurance and media concerns, many of which have been targeted in product liability lawsuits or regulations by state governments. As the Post explained, RAGA documents “make clear that RAGA assigned attorneys general to make calls to companies with business and legal interests in their own states.”
The article also cites documents that explain that corporate contributors “would be entitled to meet with the attorneys general” and “participate in conference calls with them” in exchange for their financial support. Pryor and RAGA, in other words, were selling access for contributions to the Republican cause.
This is a remarkable story. Attorneys general are supposed to be neutral public advocates working in the public’s interest. These officials will, when necessary, be responsible for taking on industries and corporations who may have committed crimes in their states. Pryor has created a system in which a partisan group solicited money from the same people the state was suing — sometimes while the litigation was literally ongoing.
This is an abuse of power that I was naïve enough to believe couldn’t happen, even with radical partisans like Pryor. The Senate Judiciary Committee shouldn’t vote to put this guy on the 11th Circuit of life, they should vote to urge the Justice Department to begin an investigation into potential campaign finance violations.
Take the national tobacco lawsuit, for example. In 1998, Pryor was one of 26 state attorneys general suing the tobacco industry. While the suit was ongoing, Pryor contacted two of the nation’s largest tobacco companies — Philip Morris. and Brown & Williamson — to solicit $25,000 contributions for RAGA.
The Senate Judiciary Committee, meanwhile, has been scheduled to vote on Pryor’s nomination this afternoon. In light of Pryor’s role in these highly questionable activities, Dems on the committee have argued that the vote should be delayed until more information can be gathered on Pryor’s seemingly improper fundraising activities and question Pryor directly to consider his response to these concerns.
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, suggested that an attorney general that solicits thousands of dollars in contributions from corporate defendants involved in state litigation is just “another one of those tempest in a teapot items” and insisted that the vote will go forward today as planned.
(It’s good to know we can count on Hatch to be a reasonable public official who cares more about justice than he does about partisanship. I wonder what Hatch would have said if this were a Democratic attorney general nominated to the federal appeals bench by Clinton? If you think he’d have the same lackadaisical attitude, you should have your head examined.)
When I hear what happens, I’ll let everyone know.