The news that the White House will invoke executive privelege and also honor the client-lawyer relationship is not a surprise.

John Roberts worked for two Republican administrations, offering private legal assessments that have yet to be opened to historians or the public. Now that Roberts is President Bush’s choice to join the Supreme Court, some Senate Democrats want to see the documents he produced — all of them.

No, responded one White House representative. We’ll see, said another.

Roberts himself was headed back to Capitol Hill on Monday for a fourth day of private meetings with senators who will sit in judgment of his nomination. He had a morning meeting with Diane Feinstein, a California Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Roberts worked in the Reagan White House counsel’s office from 1982-1986. He also was principal deputy solicitor general, a political appointment in the administration of the first President Bush.
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Citing privacy and precedent, Fred D. Thompson, the former Tennessee senator guiding Roberts through the process on behalf of the White House, said Sunday the Bush administration does not intend to release everything.

Material that would come under attorney-client privilege would be withheld, Thompson said, calling it a principle followed by previous presidents of both political parties.

“We hope we don’t get into a situation where documents are asked for that folks know will not be forthcoming and we get all hung up on that,” Thompson told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

A real hoot, and obvious political trap, is the demand from John Kerry

The Senate Judiciary Committee has yet to ask for such material for its hearings. But some Democrats, including Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, have urged the White House to release “in their entirety” any documents written by Roberts.

It is funny since Kerry has yet to release, to the public, all his records. It is a trap because if the administration makes any such comments, the democrats will scream ‘unprofessional’ and get all in a tizzy about the politics of personal destruction. It is obvious because everyone knows Kerry never released his records (OK, except his followers who believe everthing Kerry says) and so it does not need repeating. Kerry still plays the awkward Klown.

The fact the dems think demanding these papers when a slew of well renown people will be coming out against it is surprising. They really cannot afford look ridiculous on this topic as they lose the votes. This is really a test to see if they have learned anything about statemanship and priorities prior to the 2006 election cycle. Don’t hold your breathe.