Matthew Whitaker In Addition To The No Religious Examination Clause
Philip Bobbitt
I get together a spokesperson for the Department of Justice---who declined to talk on the record--has been clarifying remarks made past times the acting Attorney General, Matthew Whitaker, on a issue of constitutional subjects. Among these is the statement, made inwards a 2014 debate when Whitaker was a candidate for the Republican nomination for senator from Iowa, inwards reply to a enquiry equally to “what criteria” a senator should usage inwards evaluating judicial nominees. Whitaker is reported to possess got said, “I’d similar to run into things similar their world view, what informs them. Are they people of faith? Do they possess got a biblical persuasion of justice, which I mean value is really important…And what I know is equally long equally they possess got that world view, they’ll hold upwards skillful judge. And if they possess got a secular world view, where this is all nosotros possess got hither on Earth, thus I’m going to hold upwards really concerned close that judge.”
In the diverse published commentaries made attacking or defending this position, I possess got been surprised non to possess got come upwards across anyone who quotes Article VI of the Constitution that provides that “no religious Test shall e'er hold upwards required equally a Qualification to whatever Office or world Trust nether the United States.”
Nor is this omission irrelevant to persons interested inwards constitutional interpretation. To those who mean value that the standards for Senatorial confirmation are constitutional inwards nature, fifty-fifty if in that place is no purpose for litigating the matter, ignoring the plainly text of the Constitution is disheartening. It gives farther impetus to claims like, "the standards for impeachment are whatever the House finds them to be," "because the pardon ability is past times its price unlimited, a president tin sack pardon for whatever argue he wishes," despite textual commitments to the contrary.
Philip C. Bobbitt is the Herbert Wechsler Professor of Federal Jurisprudence as well as manager for the Center for National Security at Columbia Law School. You tin sack accomplish him past times electronic mail at pbobbi at law.columbia.edu
I get together a spokesperson for the Department of Justice---who declined to talk on the record--has been clarifying remarks made past times the acting Attorney General, Matthew Whitaker, on a issue of constitutional subjects. Among these is the statement, made inwards a 2014 debate when Whitaker was a candidate for the Republican nomination for senator from Iowa, inwards reply to a enquiry equally to “what criteria” a senator should usage inwards evaluating judicial nominees. Whitaker is reported to possess got said, “I’d similar to run into things similar their world view, what informs them. Are they people of faith? Do they possess got a biblical persuasion of justice, which I mean value is really important…And what I know is equally long equally they possess got that world view, they’ll hold upwards skillful judge. And if they possess got a secular world view, where this is all nosotros possess got hither on Earth, thus I’m going to hold upwards really concerned close that judge.”
In the diverse published commentaries made attacking or defending this position, I possess got been surprised non to possess got come upwards across anyone who quotes Article VI of the Constitution that provides that “no religious Test shall e'er hold upwards required equally a Qualification to whatever Office or world Trust nether the United States.”
Nor is this omission irrelevant to persons interested inwards constitutional interpretation. To those who mean value that the standards for Senatorial confirmation are constitutional inwards nature, fifty-fifty if in that place is no purpose for litigating the matter, ignoring the plainly text of the Constitution is disheartening. It gives farther impetus to claims like, "the standards for impeachment are whatever the House finds them to be," "because the pardon ability is past times its price unlimited, a president tin sack pardon for whatever argue he wishes," despite textual commitments to the contrary.
Philip C. Bobbitt is the Herbert Wechsler Professor of Federal Jurisprudence as well as manager for the Center for National Security at Columbia Law School. You tin sack accomplish him past times electronic mail at pbobbi at law.columbia.edu
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