CAIR Asks that New SCOTUS Pick Kavanaugh Be Questioned on Civil Rights and Presidential Powers, Recuse Himself from Cases Involving Trump Personally
WASHINGTON, July 10, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on the U.S. Senate to question Brett Kavanaugh -- President Trump's pick to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy -- about his views on civil rights, religious freedom, the rights of immigrants, and the limitations on presidential powers.
CAIR, the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, also called on the nominee to clearly commit to recusing himself from any cases that come before the court involving President Trump personally.
In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
"Because of Donald Trump's openly Islamophobic, white supremacist and racist views and policies targeting minority and immigrant communities, it is incumbent upon the Senate to question Mr. Kavanaugh about his opinions on the protection of civil rights, religious freedom and the rights of immigrants.
"And because of President Trump's personal involvement in cases that may soon come before the Supreme Court, the nominee must also be questioned about his views on the limitations of presidential powers."
Critics of Kavanaugh's nomination suspect that the president may have picked him specifically because of his views on those powers.
In a 2009 article, Kavanaugh stated that "we should not burden a sitting president with civil suits, criminal investigations, or criminal prosecution" and "if the president does something dastardly, the impeachment process is available."
Kavanaugh's history as a judge is also alarming. In a 2015 concurring opinion, Kavanaugh wrote that the federal government's indiscriminate and warrantless collection of metadata was lawful. "In my view, that critical national security need outweighs the impact on privacy occasioned by this program," Kavanaugh wrote as a D.C. circuit judge.
SEE: Brett Kavanaugh's concurrence in Larry Klayman et. al. v. Barrack Obama et. al.
https://tinyurl.com/KlaymanvsObama
Brett Kavanaugh's Views on Presidential Power Could Become Focus with Ongoing Russia Probe
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court-nominee-past-positions-on-presidential-power/
CAIR recently called on Republican Party leaders and elected officials to repudiate Donald Trump's "aggressively racist and misogynistic" rant at a rally in Montana.
In his speech, Trump repeated his use of the racist slur "Pocahontas" to target Sen. Elizabeth Warren, mocked the #MeToo movement and falsely claimed that an African-American congresswoman has a "low IQ."
SEE: CAIR Calls on GOP to Repudiate Trump's 'Aggressively Racist and Misogynistic' Rant in Montana
https://www.cair.com/cair_calls_on_gop_to_repudiate_trump_s_aggressively_racist_and_misogynistic_rant_in_montana
CAIR has repeatedly expressed concern about Islamophobic, white supremacist and racist Trump administration policies and appointments.
The Washington-based civil rights organization recently applauded the decision by members of the United Nation's International Organization for Migration (IOM) to reject President Trump's nominee for the position of director general to lead the organization because of his history of Islamophobic statements.
CAIR has reported an unprecedented spike in bigotry targeting American Muslims, immigrants and members of other minority groups since the election of Donald Trump as president.
SEE: CAIR Calls for Removal of Anti-Muslim Hate Group Leader from White House National Security Council Staff
https://www.cair.com/cair_calls_for_removal_of_anti_muslim_hate_group_leader_from_white_house_national_security_council_staff
CAIR Condemns Distribution of Anti-Semitic Pamphlets in Maryland as Symptom of 'Empowered' Bigotry
https://www.cair.com/cair_condemns_distribution_of_anti_semitic_pamphlets_in_maryland_as_symptom_of_empowered_bigotry
Earlier this year, CAIR released its 2018 Civil Rights Report, "Targeted," which showed a 17 percent increase in bias-motivated incidents against American Muslims from 2016 to 2017, and a 15 percent increase in the number of anti-Muslim hate crimes in that same time period.
CAIR 2018 Civil Rights Report: Targeted
http://www.islamophobia.org/reports/224-2018-civil-rights-report-targeted.html
Community members are being urged to report any bias incidents to police and to CAIR's Civil Rights Department at 202-742-6420 or by going to: https://www.cair.com/report
CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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http://twitter.com/cairnational
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CONTACT: CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]
SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
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