[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 4 (Monday, January 30, 2006)]
[Pages 123-125]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following a Meeting With Former Clerks of Associate Justice-
Designate Samuel A. Alito, Jr.

January 25, 2006

    Thank you all very much. Thank you all for being here. I just 
finished a meeting in the Oval Office with a group of distinguished 
lawyers, many of whom come from different backgrounds, and they've got a 
wide range of political views. They share two things in common: They all 
clerked for Judge Sam Alito; and they strongly support his nomination to 
be an Associate Justice to the Supreme Court.
    The relationship between a judge and a law clerk is extremely close. 
Each judge has only three or four clerks a year, and these clerks serve 
as the judge's aides and advisers. They provide legal research; they 
discuss and debate pending cases; and they see firsthand how the judge 
arrives at decisions.
    These fine men and women with me today have worked side by side with 
Sam Alito, and they are uniquely qualified to assess what kind of 
Supreme Court Justice he would be. As the full Senate takes up Judge 
Alito's nomination, it is important for the American people to hear what 
his former clerks say about this fine judge and his approach to the law.
    One of the clerks I met today who describes himself as a Democrat 
said this about Judge Alito: ``He is meticulous in the way he goes about 
deciding cases. He's meticulous in the way he goes about finding what 
the law is. I can't think of better qualities for anyone to serve as a 
judge on the Supreme Court.''
    Another former clerk here today says this: ``I am a Democrat who 
always voted Democrat, except when I vote for a Green candidate--but 
Judge Alito was not interested in the ideology of his clerks. He didn't 
decide cases based on ideology.''
    Another former clerk who described himself as a proud member of the 
NAACP and the ACLU says, ``After a year of working closely with the 
Judge on cases concerning a wide variety of legal issues, I left New 
Jersey not knowing Judge Alito's personal beliefs on any of them.''

[[Page 124]]

    Another former clerk who describes herself as a left-leaning 
Democrat told the Senate this about Sam Alito: ``He's a man of great 
decency, integrity, and character. I believe very strongly he deserves 
to be confirmed as the Court's next Associate Justice.''
    Another of Judge Alito's former clerks worked for Senator Kerry's 
Presidential campaign. She said this about Judge Alito: ``I learned in 
my year with Judge Alito that his approach to judging is not about 
personal ideology or ambition but about hard work and devotion to law 
and justice.''
    In case you were wondering, Judge Alito has also the support of 
Republican clerks. [Laughter] In fact, he has the strong support of all 
54 of his former clerks, regardless of their political beliefs. Judge 
Alito has earned broad support from his fellow judges on the Third 
Circuit. Seven of them took the extraordinary step of testifying on his 
behalf before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
    Former Chief Judge Ed Becker, who sat with Judge Alito on more than 
1,000 cases, said this about his colleague: ``I have never seen a chink 
in the armor of his integrity, which I view as total. He is a real judge 
deciding each case on the facts and the law, not his personal views, 
whatever they may be.''
    Another colleague on the Third Circuit who was appointed by 
President Clinton said this about Judge Alito: ``He is a fair-minded 
man, a modest man, a humble man, and he reveres the rule of law.'' The 
judge went on to say, ``If confirmed, Judge Sam Alito will serve as a 
marvelous and distinguished Associate Justice.''
    All these brilliant legal minds are united in their strong support 
of Sam Alito. And in his confirmation hearings, the American people saw 
why. Judge Alito is open-minded and principled. He gives every case 
careful attention, and he makes decisions based on the merits. Judge 
Alito understands that the role of a judge is to interpret the law, not 
to advance a personal or political agenda. Judge Alito is a man of 
character and integrity. Judge Alito will bring to the Supreme Court a 
broad range of experience and accomplishment.
    Before he became a judge, Sam Alito served as a Federal prosecutor, 
Assistant to the Solicitor General, where he argued 12 cases before the 
Supreme Court; an attorney in the Justice Department's Office of Legal 
Counsel; and the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey--the top 
Federal prosecutor in one of the Nation's largest Federal districts.
    In 1990, Sam Alito was unanimously confirmed by the Senate to serve 
on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He now has 
more prior judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in more 
than 70 years. The American Bar Association gave Judge Sam Alito its 
highest possible rating, a unanimous well-qualified. It based its rating 
on its assessment of his integrity, professional competence, and 
judicial temperament.
    In the past, leading Democrat Senators have called the ABA's rating 
the gold standard for judicial nominees. Yesterday, Ed Rendell, the 
Democratic Governor of Pennsylvania and former chairman of the 
Democratic National Committee, came out in support of Judge Sam Alito. 
Governor Rendell said he was not pleased with the way his fellow 
Democrats have handled Sam Alito's nomination and said that Democrats 
should vote to confirm him. Governor Rendell put it this way: ``As long 
as a Supreme Court Justice has high academic qualifications and 
significant integrity--and Judge Alito certainly does--we should confirm 
him.''
    There's no doubt about Judge Alito's qualifications, his intellect, 
or his complete dedication to our Constitution and laws. He is exactly 
the kind of person Americans want on the Supreme Court.
    The Senate has a constitutional responsibility to give every 
judicial nominee an up-or-down vote. In its 216-year history, the Senate 
has held an up-or-down vote on every Supreme Court nominee with a 
majority of Senate support. And I call on the United States Senate to 
put partisanship aside and give Judge Alito the up-or-down vote he 
deserves and to confirm him as the next Associate Justice of the Supreme 
Court.
    I'm grateful to Judge Alito. And I appreciate his wonderful wife, 
Martha, and their children for their dignity throughout the confirmation 
process. America is fortunate that this good, humble man is willing to 
serve,

[[Page 125]]

and all of us look forward to seeing him take a seat on our Nation's 
highest Court.
    Thank you all for being here. Appreciate it.

Note: The President spoke at 3:35 p.m. in Room 350 of the Dwight D. 
Eisenhower Executive Office Building.