Sotomayor App Shows White House Called Days Before Souter Announced Retirement
A fast-track approach to the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to a seat on the nation’s highest court continued today, as the White House provided a large compilation of documents, opinions and financial disclosures to the Senate Judiciary Committee “bragging that it was delivering the information … faster than [for] any nominee had in recent history,” reports the Washington Post.
Among the information revealed as a result was that White House Counsel Gregory Craig first contacted Sotomayor about serving as a supreme court justice on April 27, days before the news hit the airwaves and Justice David Souter officially announced his retirement on May 1, the newspaper recounts.
After April 27, Sotomayor said she had nearly daily contact with the White House. She was interviewed in person by President Barack Obama on May 21 and by Vice President Joe Biden, over the telephone, on May 24. On May 26, her nomination was announced.
The Post provides a link to what amounts to Sotomayor’s employment application, a 173-page Questionnaire for Judicial Employees (PDF) provided to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Among other career-related information, it catalogs all of the cases the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals jurist has heard during her 17 years as a federal judge.
Among the financial information reported about Sotomayor: She has a net worth of $740,000, mainly from her equity in a $1 million condominium in New York City, and a total of $32,000 in cash and bank accounts. Her liabilities include $15,000 in credit card debt and a $15,000 dentist bill.
Additional coverage:
Associated Press: “Sotomayor Disclosures Show Few Extravagances”
