NBC "Today" - Transcript

Interview

NBC "Today" - Transcript

NBC "Today" Interview With Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY); Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL)

Interviewer: Matt Lauer

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MR. LAUER: Two men on the Senate Judiciary Committee who will be instrumental in (Sonia) Sotomayor's confirmation process are New York Senator Chuck Schumer, who wrote to President Obama in April urging him to appoint her if the opportunity presented itself, and the committee's ranking Republican senator, Jeff Sessions from Alabama.

Senators, good morning to both of you.

SEN. SCHUMER: Good morning.

MR. LAUER: Senator Sessions, let me start with you. In making this nomination yesterday, the president said that, walking in the door, she would bring more experience on the bench and more varied experience on the bench than anyone currently serving on the United States Supreme Court had when they were appointed.

So in terms of pure resume, is she completely qualified to serve?

SEN. SESSIONS: She has a good resume, the kind of resume I like to see in a nominee. And that gives her a record that can be examined and we can see how well she's performed, whether she's been faithful to the law or not or whether she has a tendency to be aggressive from the bench and assert her own feelings and politics or empathies.

MR. LAUER: Senator Schumer, a Supreme Court analyst for the conservative Cato Institute said, quote, "She is not the most qualified nominee. If she weren't Hispanic, she wouldn't have even been on the short list."

Is that a fair statement? Is this about ethnicity or qualifications?

SEN. SCHUMER: It's not fair at all. She is just top-notch legally. First, her academic record -- to graduate summa cum laude from Princeton, to graduate on the Yale Law Review -- very hard to make, and the selection is blind; you don't even know the name of the person you're selecting. And her record on the bench is outstanding. The judges on the 2nd Circuit, lawyers who have opposed her from the business side and other sides, think she's a top-notch lawyer. That statement is unfair.

MR. LAUER: Senator Sessions, I'll go back to something you said. Quote: "We must determine if Ms. Sotomayor understands that the proper role of a judge is to act as a neutral umpire of the law." I assume you're specifically referring to what she said in 2005 on tape at Duke University, where she said the court of appeals is where policy is made -- not laws are interpreted -- policies made. Is that a disqualifier, in your opinion?

SEN. SESSIONS: Well, we need to inquire into that and give her a fair opportunity to explain it. But on its face, that's very troubling. A judge must submit themselves to the law and be faithful to the law and to serve under the law. They are not above the law. And I think it's further exacerbated by President Clinton's (sic/means Obama's) promise to find someone who will use empathy in making decisions. And I think that is a non-legal standard.

And so the combination requires, I think, those of us in the Senate to give her an absolutely fair hearing, which I intend to try to do as best I can, and to then determine whether or not she'll be faithful to the law or whether she'll allow her personal or political views to influence her decision-making.

MR. LAUER: Senator Schumer, we have an expression in television -- "caught on tape." Okay, those are her words caught on tape from 2005. "The court of appeals is where policy is made." I mean, does that make her an activist judge, activist being a radioactive word in some quarters?

SEN. SCHUMER: Well, I say not at all. First, you look at her record. She clearly puts rule of law first. Second, as is the -- as is sort of characteristic of our politics these days, they left out the second line. She says, "I don't advocate that." In other words, she says, "Policy is made in the court of appeals, but I don't advocate that." And so once you hear the whole tape, I think the rug will be pulled out from under that argument.

MR. LAUER: Senator Sessions, what about this tightrope that some are saying the Republicans have to walk during these confirmation hearings, that you want to hold this nominee's feet to the fire -- you don't want to be a rubber stamp for the president's nomination of Judge Sotomayor -- but, on the other hand, this is the first Hispanic nominee to the nation's highest court, and do you run the risk of alienating a large group of voters at a time when the Republican Party can ill afford to alienate anyone?

SEN. SESSIONS: Well, certainly the Republican Party needs to broaden its tent and do the things that are good for outreach. But I've just got to tell you, we have an absolute constitutional duty to make sure that any nominee, no matter what their background and what kind of life story they have, that we examine that so the American people can know that the person we give a lifetime appointment to -- we can't even dock their pay once they get in office -- that that person will be faithful to the law and not allow their personal views to influence decision-making.

This is a fundamental question of American law. It's been placed in a contest over a number of years. And I think it's time for us to reaffirm -- and I hope this hearing will allow us to discuss that -- to reaffirm the classic American values of the independent judge, blind justice, the kind of things that have made the legal system so fabulous in America.

MR. LAUER: And --

SEN. SCHUMER: Jeff is entitled -- they're entitled to a hearing; we'll allow them to ask all questions. I think, when they look at her record, they're going to support her. She's moderate. She's excellent. She is just the kind of judge we need in America.

MR. LAUER: What's the vote in the committee, Senator?

SEN. SCHUMER: Oh, I think the vote will be overwhelming. I do, because the more you look at her record, the more you like her. And, of course, her story brings a tear to your eye and makes me proud, not only of her, but of being American.

MR. LAUER: And we'll leave it on that note, Senators Chuck Schumer and Jeff Sessions. Senators, thanks to both of you.

SEN. SESSIONS: Thank you.

END.

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