to stand behin all who serve. ♪ to diver the tetenonoloes... vi freedom. ♪ to help carry hope those in need. ♪ ou the globe, the oplef boeing... are working together --- for what m matrsrsost. at why we're here. rrd d ou naing onon ud r. weotototatatininci on us cars for everybody anont cfidedence ininin o. caususususlendnds s ve a a a t tcks. ququq n .

> time to talalabout at we arned. weill start too pat chanan. l you gentlelemenave t two words. >> obama willbe draggedback into t the cia ing. >nd jeff seions, surpriring thououghts. that was interereing. > pat is persuadadable.

>> good boy. >> don't si on mexic air pepeople. >> pat buchahan, h omicididal maniac. sincwe are getting ready for e meetetg, i hve to do my other b. i nd to finish job. dylan n ratiga oh, my gosh. i wouldn'n't want ito be messy for yo >> ift is way t too earlrl >> good morning toto you. this is the ecial eition of e " "morning eting." inust one hour, sonia sosomayor es in the hot seat over her histstoric nomininion the supreme court.

we will talk all l thingsupreme cocourt. i ve to get ridf the scent of widex here. and then we go to o e procs of becomiming a supme court judge. and then we aare breang down e other hot topics,, not the least of w wich is forormer vic esident dickheney and his pontial so-called private army what are e execucutive branch'h oblitions to the congrgrs? spspecificly, what are the obliligationof the cia and its discloloresto those that are ere too monitorr themf thhey concoct and plan and don put it int action,, are thehey aobld

to disclose it? now, sootomaynia sototomayoe ththe first hispanic justi, and pontially the frst sueme courtt appoiee. and we have a a few folks joini us to set upup theconversation. chuckto, nbc whitite hous correspopoent, a pitical director pete williams. petewalk us, if you will, throh the tick-tk. what will wesee today and throug this week? >> w will seee a lot off openin statements froroall 19 members ofof the comittee. they each get 10 minutes. and en sosoetime, the gus is arou , 1:30,, ybe 2:00, we w will ge an opening statement. and she w will support t her ca

anmake her openening statement, ananthat will be thatt for toda. we will no hear the questionsns until tomorrowow and wednesday, dyla >> chuckck, politally, how is th set up i srt of said,t's tonguend cheek. and thiss getting tknow your local suprememcourt justice, and part of the process i is watchc members of the senanate j judic commitittee provoke her in some fashn. what suld we bee watching fo >> i think we might get a cluee in some of f the openingg statents from the senenorsn the repepublica side,e, the jef sessions, a and linay aham. thosose are opening statementso the republicans siide that i am mo cuurious about. you will g the h hints tthe lineof questioning that they ght do. wh parts of her backound thatathey bng up in their own openin statements to give asense of where theyightgo ththat wou be intereststg. anand then there one side show

part of thiis, and this is s th rst ti we willl see al anken, the u.s. senator toy, as far as the senate publicics concerned. will get a openg statement ke everyther memberer of th committee. anand the ironyy i it's not his first time doing this, bebeg on the sesenate judiciary committe. he did soso onaturday night live, p pying the roleef simon, d questioningng clarence thomas. >> yeah, ththere could be no better p preparion than having played a senator at a confmationearing at a previoious c comedian skit.. is therere any nse that beyond the thater, whether it a franken n ther aspecects that sotomamayor's nominatioion any thing short of a suree thing fo confirmation at thipoint? > i don think so. unlesssshe say something

dramatic, explosive, i really - it's a forgogone conclusion. the democrats havehe votesin the committee anand t votes o the flooror some republicans m may en annoce during the hearing ththat they intend to support h. i think the thihing to watchh f f you looook a what republica republicans s iticiz her for isis not f decisions s reeached as a judg and it'ss for statements outsiside of court. and the inmous statement that a ltino woman couldld rach better conclusions than a white malele and some o of th other statements, ththose ar what we will hear questionons about. and then a numb of decisions, the controversiall os is a gun control case invnvolving wther the sendmendmt blongso

the state and thenen whether the epcan take c cts andenefits into count onow powewer plans can resee fish. the are the rulings weill hehear the most ababout, dylan. what wasit about the fish? >> the question is ato power planan have to do, when they intata water to cool, how do they protect the fish from being suck into the rks. that's the questi. >> yeah and an important one. >>nd maria t teresa kumaroins thcoconversion, and a congsswoman where the hispanicc popolations 36% in your districtct. how do you feell goi into this week? at does the factthat wee are at this point,potentl first latino woman on n e court, what does itt meano you and yourur constituencycy? >> well, first o of l, it's excititing to seanother woon

beingnominated.. i think the words of the sara day oonnor, preresident bush did nototut a womon. from tt standpointt's exciting to see. and it's exciting to see a hispanicic for thehe rst time g appoted to the courtrt. it's an excitg time for thehe hispanic population. d it's excititg for all of us. i think whh we have this inn front of the t ts, d people g g to tune in, and the americic public is better off b by derstaing the process in t the unitedtates. it's's good y. >> yeah,h,hat's interesting. we werealking about thehe confirmation p pcess in comparison to some otherer conversationons about bailout. and e beautiful thing, the cecelebratiois, and i cannot think of a more trtranspart process in ameririn politics than what w we go throuou when there is suprere court justice nonation. >eah, it's an amazing system, because in mostt coununies, you

don't really have this procece. we should b be v very thankful live in amemerica a wehave t cotitution and the balan of powe and ththat anybody can come up and get one of thes sitionis great. >> as w we areettingo know -- we are basical gettiti know a newerson in erican life. whis it that we w will get to know, maria? >> moree o her person self. and we have e en able to s see ththat she is vevery much to t law, and shshe did come frothe bronx. and went downn to t bronx and spoke to assemblyman who grew up wiith h and talked toto some of the kiids at grew in the projects, anand aski them whatat did it an to them to see he reach high office? and th was excing. d they saidid that she madedet possible and w we can do. each jge takes othe persrsonal narrative, and it's likeeing intrododuced to new friend or n acaintance.

cacan you as far backckas you want t tgo. and what is your sse -- "the new york times" wrotebout th, and her being aew yoyorker, bronx girl, a a a bronx x girl goining out toow mt americas aupreme court justste? >> well, f fm m personal experience, going up in e prects is tough, and for h to ascend to theopof hehe career, shee knowshow to fighth politics a a understands h howo be savvy, and sheknows howo use e her smarts, andnd she is afrara to gogainst folks thhat are basisically breaking the aw. and th's exciting. >> chuck, how d d t folks in washinon feel soar a aut the person they arare gettg to know? >> reporter: one thihing at has not gotn credit here ithe whwhe housprepare. e reason n why we a all

talklkg about the confirmation hearings i becse of the prepeparation ey did with her. they did prereparesessions with her,nd theyavelso -- she met with 89 senators,, and sese to do more of t the senatate vi. the white housee fls good t tat this wilill get lot ofof atttin overhe next three days, but wee are not l looking at a three-we drdrama or a month-long dra, and that's somethingng they feel god about. ey feel a much g gef they are getting health c ce and the econom this is onehing thehe dealalt withell enoughh to get t basically to bcome a se issue probabably within four days.s. >> pepee, wh are we going t to see today? there will bee a introduction ad presention of her, and who will presese her and then what happens over e nxt c couple two or three days? >> well, s she will be introduced -- this iss t traditioio the home state senatators introduce her. the two senators f from nework willntroduce her. she wl make ann openi

atement. thth will it. we will not g g down to the quesestions an answers untilil tomorrow. we wil beg witith 30-minute rounds, until theyave go throug the whole judicial committee. and then there will be a second rod thatill beshorter. tuday and wednesday for the questioning, and maybe the will get roh on wednesday, and then they will tn go, and the last thing is a panel of people for and againstthe mination, and so of the people in favor. michael bomberg, the mor of new rk, and some of the people oppod, frank richie, the new ven firefighter who was rled against in the reverse discriminaon casen connecticut. >> let's take a quick brk. and we will come back again. the proceedings again 10:00 a.m. eastern time. chris mahews is ging to be your shepherd for those proceedings as we take a moment to transition fromne of the most transparent and amerin of events to one othe most opaqu

opaque. at was di cney's privat armydoing? did he have one? what is the state of relations between the american intelligence community and those that fund american intelligence and supervise it? is this jst a pissing match or problem for thefuture? we will have that coersation whwhen wreturn. in six different ways? introducing listine® total care. everything you need to strengtheteteeth, help p preve cavities, and kikill g. introduci 6n 1 listene® tot care. most complete mouthwash. d to complete your ral re routine add superiorlae removal in places at a hard to reach with reach® toothbrusush and floss. get t the cplete routine, ach® and listerinene tot care.

> the executiveve branchch governrnme c cnot crerea programs l leehese programs a keepcocongss in the da.. toavave massiveprogram that is cononceeded from the leaderen congress is not onlyly ininapopoprie, it could be illegal. >> the vice president, ththin

shouldld obviouslyy be hrd from if the accusatitiss a levelled in his d dececti. clearly, t the rublicans did not gn a tttter, apparently, t tha was wririenen, alleging this. so i thinknkthth it's f fraly to early for meo reach any concncluonon. > d d diccheney have a privatemy, andff he ddid,, what weree they doioing?? chuck k totodd whatat isoing on? >> reporter: here is what we ththinwewe know. leon pennetta, the l lear of the cia gege infnfor of the pogram d proceeds to informrm congress they were not ininfoededf the prprogm.m. the program, a a stt,t, and weo not know thehe program w wa imimplenend. if y you blieve all t the repor d d thsources, andremember, a lot of anonymousououes as you have whehen you have storiesbout the intelllligcece community, ,

itas trainini people to targrget alal qdadatargets.s. anan t the is a a accatatn the vice p psiside orderededhehe cia not to dilose this t ngress. anand former ciaia didireoror s they did form congress a and h is taking isee with how this is beingg cracterized. wewe hee not heard frorom onon pennetta directltly. atatis what weon't know att thisis momements h farid ththis progogra o? weeaearumors. i think it was calall an

sasassation ring t tatat t vicee president was pushing, a and mae this is whahatt i wawa in refere to, that terere s some st o plan beingng ateast putonon paar to figurere o o h how to t trgr qaeda operaratis.s. >> we are joined by a representtivive,ndnd alsoack an cterrorism alysts. dodoouou fl like y h hav seen any p proession r repsentative in t thiss ooce? whwh i i an i do youeeeel totoy y th you are any closer to e begigiining of an ininststigion, thehe beginninin aa process of revelelatn?n? has there beenen any motion to relve some of the obvious unresosolv a aects of the s sry atat this pontnt >> well, whatwewe know i t tha

whatdirector leon pennnnet told us. we are very busy wi many things, and we will binin health re this wwee but the mmmmite is g goi to ha t tmake a dedeisisio my chcece obobvislsly is, and i stated this before,that this needs to be fully investigated. so theact finding hasas not ben. there isis m mo s seculation thn facts estababshsheds of today. >> what do we hahaveo o doo begin the fact-finding process d diminish the ilele chahaerer andd speculation proceses >> well the commmmite e g goi toave to meet and m makee a decision.. should it bethth full mmmmite atat ds the investigation? should ibe the susubcmimiee ininveigation and oversight that conducts it?

wiwi t the committee h hi an outsidee prosecutor t t run the investigation? i think that is a goodod ia.a. >> roger, are you there? >>yes, dylan. >> what i your sense, and rereesesentive please jump i ins well, and chchk, you as well, buttroger, w wh isyour sense of e oigation of the intelligenence cmunity a andhat are thth lanlged to didisose? e e ey a there is a lot of f gr area between every ideahat they have and the vaariyy of inings thth f fal sewewhe inn between? >> well, i wanto hearroro roroge fifirs and thenen the representative and thenchuck. >> the r repsentative will he a firmrm view on this. they hahave a responsibibityty

oversight. omomhe executive branchisis gray area andatter of inteterptataon. there e is lgal obligation to keep theonongrs informed the activities. d first there is a a pgrgr that wasas bngng developed iiid the ciaia a and baseddn the pres reporting went t t t white house but was never implemented, and thatatwawa one gee thathehe did not haveve t go roroh. and ththe cocond, of course, th whwhithohousunder president b bs and vice presiside cheney, beieg very relucucta to s srere informatatn n wi the congress in the way that is typicic of brbrchcooperation.n. anan vice presidenenthahain had disstatainororcongress when itit came to overersit,t, particular in a time of wa. unless i iwawas honest to godo prograraththathey were going to imememen the field, he felt no neneedo inform congress. that seemsoo be one of the big issuesitith this

coconvsasati. i am curious whatyoyo view is on youou expectations of ining foform, not oy y on intelligenen a actieactivities, teteions and ideasasndnd where the lines are draw in idea, and intetentndnd tn activity? >> wel, i don'tt tnk that, first ofall,hh the cia didireor, leonpennetta, put on ststopo an eaean nene 2 23rd. understood. i i think we are pastthat. sure. and i think the nationall securiri a a of 19947 is quite clear about the responsibility of the exexetitive ananto keep theonongrs throughh itsts intelligence commimieeee in the senanatendndhe house fully an mpletely informed. >> informed of what, though?? informededfftsts intentions or acviviti? i am bing difficult f for obvios

reasonons. >> oftsactivities. d d fact, if t the are plalans to s shee something, the ererght of the intelligence committees is a absutely essesentl,l, bause the congress holds the percent. eses issuesaa to b befunded. and we need to continunual reviewhemfor their ----ot on t the apapprririatess, but etethethere is agreemenentor disagreement andnd t s sutiny thatatee have to bringto itit this goeses t tththe heartrt of spsponbilities of both committetees > a you going to argue t heart ofof deococcy, rihtht? transparent i inrmation is the signgnate e of a dedemoacac so whetheheitit's no communinica or lyingetween tetens a a t the congressss onono cmunication and lying betwtweethth congress andd the vtete itertains to the

banks or whatever, a those are fufundenenta im cucuous, chuckck, whether you are going to s seak to the prpresenens view t to ee extent which h i ow he expressedinin t past, anandhether tere is any further comment from ththe president at th pointnt >> we, part of the ontempt ththat vice presididenhahad r leaks. ththerwas nervousness, an t the was too mumu so and that should no be aeason to inform congress. at's one of the r rsosons why there was nervous therebobo informing g ngngre of everything cause of ss nanarere in general, andff 535 people w wer there, somebody is goining l lk . second, k keein mind the cia is now the numberer two intelligen apratus of the united ststeses gogovememe. and i wonder i this going to

empower dennisblair, who i is nationalalirector of intelligenen, , whh there has en a trfrf battleebebetwn director pennetta a and directo blair,ndnd this inincint, probabablythther has no bn a solidd interpretataonon of w wt dennis b bla's authority shohod be over inllllence mamattss gogogg forwrwar dodoes t th issue endnd up ememweweri blair more? and ththenhehe last qstion, lan, the presiside don't wawanto have -- this sorory is servingasas a potical diststraioioright w.w. heheouould like sotomayor t t g atntntn this week, and his intetentnsnso getack aheaea o o the selliningof the eecomy. hehe feels likeehehe lost ououn last week whilee hwawa overseas, and his republican opponents beat him up hard on the e ececo. >> yeah, s so does the data. e republicanan n be a prlem, theata could be a a bigger problem. and i hateoo s s that. >> i just wananteoo jump in on

this i iss of sucuch secrecy. firstff all, t t innteigigen commititeses dl with a gatat deal off classified informatio and that has tbe nonore but the former vi p predent was reaeall inove with secrecy. thth issue of n not informinghe congress rough the coittees cacausthey were aaiai of leaks, the same inrmrmatn, the sameme information about thehe ofigight was awarare of, there re over 1,000 people in the executive b brchch that hadad t sameinformation. so ithink this is a dd herring about leaks. >> understood.d. >> i thinknk it was u us as a beard, so t spk,k, nott to inrm the congress. i think that's w whe we tt io a a grtteal oftrouble. iihink that itit's sign of what have r reay d deisis a abo

other countrieieshoho have allod their intntelgegenc agencieie t run amuck. >> yeah, andnd i t tinink -- >> this is notealthy for democracy atat al > could not agree more. the combination of theay we dealt witho o ma things in secret. d the beauty of sonja sotomayor, and thereres s no a secret to be had, whether s likes itit or nono an democracy i i at wk.k. an sotomayor has arrriv.. thank you rprprentative and chu chuck. and chuck schumer will b joining usus ijuju a second. ( conversati garth, yououup. hold on, i'm at capitalone.com icking a photo...

fo credit card. here's onomy prom. ,hat memories. 'bouone from our golf outg? ( shouting ) i know, maybe onene of my first-born son. da, , mosays the boys goa a go personalalize your card by uploaoading.. your own p photo at capitalone.c. at's in your wallet? ♪ at's in your wallet? ♪ ♪ wch one's me - for a coolononveible or an suv? ♪

♪ too bad i i didt know my credit t was acac♪ ♪ 'caususe now i'driving off the lolot in a ud sub-compact. ♪ ♪ f-r-e-e, that spells fr credit report dot co by. ♪ ♪aw their ads on my tv ♪ thought about goioing but was too lazy ♪ ♪ now instead of okg fly and rollinphphat♪ ♪ my gsgs areticking to the v vinyl ♪ ♪ and my posse's getting laughed at. . ♪ ♪ f-r-e-e, that spells free- crit report dot com, baby. ♪ or sit on n her bed d d talk aboutut heray. but she'e's ready. ththks to walmart's unatable prices, i waab to get her ererytng she needed. as w well wt she wanted. ing go? mom! (m) that's the harpart. t them up for susus, for less. saveoney. live better. walmlmart. cints can happen, t with liberty mutual's new car replacemt,t,

if your nenew car isisotaled withinin first year, we'll l give youhe money to buy arand-new car. and with o accident fgigivess, an a aident won't cause your price t to go u when you r renew if you qli, you could sasa an average of $345. these e are ju two of ouvaable features available to all qualifying dririrs. plus, those who swititch to liberty m mutll save an average of 20.6% over their prior poly. because doing the right t g isn't just f for responsible drdrivers. it'soresponsible cacar surers, too. that's our policy. find out how muchh you could save. call us directly at...

judge sonja sotomayor arriving forher cfirmatn heargs to be the next suem court justicof the united stat. again, bronx native, a new yoer, heading to d.c. this is specia editi of the "morning meeting of course, thatis our lead story. anwe are conversingn the cheney and his potential private army, and relations with the cia. we are however, on sotomayor right ow, and senator john cornen a republican from texas joins us now. wewelcome you. wh are you mostooking forward to hearinxious to hear, anxious about? >> well, i amnxious to hear e judge's answers tohe

questions at will be asked. ma of them have been telegraphed a head of time. i ha been seing out question of e day on t rnet saying theserehe sorts of things that i am going to want to ask the judgabout, her commitment to t bill of rights, including political eech. and the secd amendment, the right to bear arms, and h commitment t equaljustice for all under the 14th amndment. those are some of the areas that i think you will be hearing quite a bit about. >> as youknow,s is an elegant rbal dance, and we pe elegant any way. will see whether it ends up being elegant. what i mean, you are not ableo rectly ask her, here is a tuatio and here is a scio, and these are hypotheticals, how would you rule? it's not a multiple choice kind of scenario. there is subtlety of interaction tween yourself and her and

erybodwahing. what do you tin to be the key signals in terms of bias or philosophy when it comes to constitution and t rule of law? >> well, dylan, judgesre used to asking questis, not answering them. so it's going to be a little bit of role versal for judge sotomayor. and i think one fair area of iniry is the treatment of the w haven firefighter case. think i two ofhe firefighters will be here who has been viciousl attacked inhe days leading up to the confirmation hearing by people from the american way andther liberal groups. i think it's despicable stuff and of course, the supreme court did reverse her decision, whi was a summary oer unsigned, and it put under the rugs, and

then a judge said these arethe questions that should be answer. and the supreme crt of the united states did reverse sotomayor. and think that's one areaat gained quite a bit o attention that deserved explanation >> o of the reasonshy we see so many conversatigo towards this, and peoplelove the conversation that gives us inght as to where we are as a couny race relations and gender relations and social issues in general. d i am curioust your view is of their responsibility, the court'responbility to either intpret socia law and the congress'? how much is the sueme court burded to make the decisi at really should be being made by the people repsentative

and n by life-long appointees? yh, i agree these should be left to the people, because the people could vote us out o office. but th can't these life-time appointed judge it does me a differee what the attitude or the phisophy is of th judges, d whether they say t constitutions a more less bla slate, and a vague words tat they can then their own personal politicalr idealogy into it. many of the questions we wl be asking h have to do wh her approach and some the speeches she has give where she said there is rlly no su thing as objectivi in the law, it's all a matter of perspective. >> do you think our abili to

make law thatas a limited enough amoun of element of vagary to it, in the congrs and house of representativean e senate has been diminished by any variety of reasons over the past few years,that now we havemorend more vague law that ends up givingmo and more power ultimately to judicial appointees for betr or worse? >> well, i thinkat ngss hasto bear some of the responsibility for its failure to address some of the eas. and then metime judges feel like nobody else is going to answer the question we have to. but they areot elected. and we really dot nominatend confirm judges to make decisions for us at weind too hard to keouelves. but yetey are also judges who, let's say after 230 years of a written constitution find new rights tat are nowhere writte the words dnowhere contemplated by the founders and

the people thatwrote that document. the whole idea self government is called into question. whether we the people are going toake up the rules that govern us in our society. >> yeah, that is the uestion. senator, thank you so much forgiving us a moment of your morning. we will talk to you soon. we will take a ttle bit of a break. msnbc has continuing coverage of sotomayor sotomayor's meetgs. and chris matew will be your shepherd forhe coverage beginning in just ov 20 minutes. my doctotor to me something i i never ew. asas we t der, our bodieses become.

less able to absorb lcm. he recommendnded citracal. it's a different kinind of calcium. calcium citrate. with vitamin d... for unsurpassed absosorpon, to nourish your bobone in these mararke,, i'm glad i tuturn t tfidelity for an annuity with guaranante income for life. that's rigig,, guaranteed income e folili. my annuity from fifidetyty mns my retirirenent come is safe. it's g grarantd, no matter whwhatapapns. if guaranteed incocomeoror le sounds g gd d toou, do what i didi---- let fidelity be yoyouruiui. call fidelity at....

w welme back t the specec ititio of the "morning meing." a sesetete confirirmaonon potentntlllly the end of thee week for t latest supreme cot dge. we s sha see. we don'ttanant to get ahead of ououelves. we w wil be joined by a aououpl senators comominup in just coco as we are minutes away from the gigiingof sonjaa somayor's confirmation hearing. knees... anand back. for littlele bieiewith fevers..

and bibig didi on high b blo p preure medicine. tylenol works th your body... in a a way other pain relievers d't... soso youeeeebetter... knowing doctors recommend tylenol... more than any otherrbranr to redefine air travel for a new generationon. to ensure our rcrces are safer anststroer. take the world we sha to tomorrow and beyond. nouncer: oundhe globe, the people of boeing are rking together-- to make a differeren.. that's why we'e're her geico'been saving people money and whdoesn't want value for their dollar? been true sisince the day i mae my first d dollar. where is that dollar? ? i got i out to show you...

h... was it rather old and wrinkly? yeah, you saw it? umm fancy a crcrisp? geico. fifteen minutes cou save you fifteen percentr mo on car insuranan.

>> welcome back.

transparency at wowo in front f the american peoeopl f sure when it cmeme to th supreme urt. nonorao'donnell inindede t hearing room. heo. >> h hloloto u.u. d d we heard sonia a somamayois now herere on capitol hill. sheille here in t t office building shortly f forthe openig statemenents today. shshs inin by her mother, andd her rother, and some her nies and nnepws, or ihould say her n phew is coming today. she has a w wole bunch off fiens anand supporterss w wit her.. white house offfficlslsre saying they want t it t to kind of boring. they don't want t rerewos out of this. they want todayo o be about opoping statements which i w wtt itit wil be we will hear fr judge somamar aut 110 totoy, and shshe w wil focus on her person story, raised ithe a p publi housing pproje, , d her father

died when shshe s s 6 years old and heher moererorked six daysya weekek. she will spend a l of time talklking ououthat todayay. today isetting the tone.e. tomorrrr is wenen it gets meyy anand e tough questioning starts. >> to tha end, how much canan ththey preempt, nororah if they exeteteell today with the iintduction, how much can they diminish a a penenal fireworks ovov the nenext coupl days? yeah, i tinin that's a gat question. that's why i sayyone isis impoanan the repepubcacansre not going filibustst h her nomination. the democrats have 60 v vot the fullllsate. i i s g goi back an lookingg at some of ththe numbers of the pa nine suprememe cott justicices t ones cueneny sitting. onlywof the cururntnt ne supreme court justicesot les than 7 votes the full senate, , dd of course atat was judgeeclclarce t thom a a sam

alitito. most of those s sitngngn the susupre e cot passed by wi margins, notot only in thehe judiciary committee butut in th full senate. less there is somethining plosive,ududge sotomayor wi be confirmedndnd prprobab b b a large mamarn. thee republicans on t t committee knowow aa andththey wiwillot tryooear her a part. >> and they w wtt to have a conversation abobo r rac relations anand another fale judge e miming on the supreme urt pontially, so there are al aspects t to this awawa from the theaeater, even i her nomination refeflectaa chanangi face for t court, anand anging face for thh couryry >> it's aa gatat pont. it hahas been 15eaea or so since a democrat h had a a chance t ta justice, a judge o o t the supr court. d d th is a big al. it c cing u up rere this morning.g. and there are eoeopl supporteres and protesters a aeaeady lining ththe stets, whether it was a naononal o organatatn f wan,

andisisnic grpsps, because they arexcxced about th type of day, and ththe signgnicican it because she will cocome t ththirwowoma ever appointed to e supreme c cou,, a the firsrs hispanicic. and that makeke this sisiifican. think you will hear a lott of ththe nators today anowledge the historic nature ofheher nomination.. >> with that, we willakake one last break. when we rurn we will be jooeded bybywo sesenars. we are backn msnbcspspecl coverage, spspeciall editionf fh "morning meetiting we return right t teter is. just booked my 10t0tninigh on hotels.com, so i get a night t fr.. yoyou e e smt. accumulate 10 nights d get a night free anynywhe.e. welcome rewards. smt.t. so smart. but i did. you need to talk to yo doctor about aspirin. you need to be your own advocate. be sure to talal your doctobebeforeou begin an airinegimen.

you take care of y yr kids, w it's time to take carere of yourself. "what do you mn meowners insurancdoest cover floods?" few inches of water caed all this?" "but i don't evelive near the werer." what you d't't knoabout flflood rance may shock you.u. including the fact that a preferred risispolicy star as low as $119 a year for an agent, call th.

again, sonia sotayor ready to begin her confirmation procs and helping herdo that is cck humer on the judiciary committee, he'll be among a pair senators from new york flou

her. with senator sumer is senat cardin, theirst time voting on supreme court nominee. ser cardin, h are you going to vote? >> i want the cfirmation to go forward. she brings the type of experiencehat you would want on the supreme court oth united state >> senator scher, i said at e beginning of this hour that there's an aspec of this that really it feels as if ther they e simply allowing the american people to get to know a ne acquaiance, a new friend, a new personality an part of your jobs to iroce us to her. what is your sense of the person we areeeting and welcoming pontia into a vry powerful role in our society? >> well, i think when people, when the american people meet he so to speak, as they see her, thereeally going to have the se reaction that most of the senators who met her. m sure ben would agree with me. sh wo them and i hear that from replicans as well as democrats. she is an amazing personality.

we know h history bng raised in the proje aa her father dying when she was 9 and learning she d juvenile diabes and overcoming all of that. thsame thing, y't see he psonality untilhe is there talking to you. and that will happen. she is both smart and dn to earth and a vy strong personality but also a very nice person. ve metery few people, who in the first 15 minutes you beco more impressed wh than she. >> what is yur sense of yo ability in intducing her and her ability in opening remarks to ghsh or preadminister or eempt any of the assault or criticm likely to come to some quarters own the next couple of days? >> first, she doesn't need me to inoduce her. she is going to do justfine in herself. it's a courtesy senator chairman leahy is nice to extend to senator gillibrand a i.

i think she'll win people over. >> senor cardin, how did she win yo over? >> senator shum ser right, she a very impressive indivual in the o-on-one meetings. i ked her tough questionsnd she gave me direct answer which ve me confidenc that she's going to be a very straightforward with the americ people. it's an opportunity not onlyor the senate to question but for the american peoe to get to know her. i think is is a vry important moment. >> yea can you give us any example of the types of questions or subject matter of some of t questions yowere asking her? >> isked her about civil rights and the advcement of civirights and i'll be talking about that during my questioning time. i ink extremely important that we coinue to make the type o progress on abling all americans to particite in our syem. i asked her a question aut pro bono, helping poor people havi access to our legal systm. she litp and askedhat she has done to try toadvance that sue. i think she has the ergy and thereal passion for our

constition which is gng to be an important asset the supreme urt. >> senator sumer, howo you ink she will respond to questionsrom jeff sessions in rega to reverse racm and her comments on the knowledge of a wise latina? what do you tnk senator sessions, how wi he approach this and how relevanti itbe d how do you think her sponse will stack up? >> well, i was glad to hear senator sessions say this weekend that he didn't think personal attacks were in order, that he wasoing to ask tough questions. he certain is entitled to. but that herged his colleagues to stay away from the personal. what i think is going to happen is she is going to say, look, regardless omy feelis, i put rulelaw first andf you look at my reco, and it is the most extensive record we've had of any nominee in a hundred years, at leastas far as the federal bencheing a judge and that ithe best indicor of what kind of supreme court justice ey'll make,he put rule of law first above all.

our conservative friendsho y they don't want judges who are activists, meaning put their own views first, well, here you ve one whoas putle of law first and let's hope they don't become outco people who say i don'like the rules of law she puts first >> that is aernt, are you kidding me? thank you th. weill wrap up ts special of the "morng meeting" on msnbc. yo can see there judge sonia tomayor beginning to prepare for he confirmation process. a ve picture ashe walks in. we'll take a break. ris matthews wi pick up from washington f the sonia sotomayor confirmation hearings only here on msn.

i'i'm bllll karins wh yourr bunenessravel forecast. a lot of the airportsts wl l b okay butut a chancece of delays atlanta with thunderstotos.s. alalso orlando. billings, moana, possibly some storms and very hot in dallas and much of the w wescocot is looking all l right. sacramento a 95 and san francisco just fine forr all of ur travel. have a gat day. (m) he needed everhihing for college:

towels, sheets and then there was the stuff he wanted... like a new microwave. and because of walmart's unbeatable prices, we w wable to gett all. >>we'll hav openg statements from membersbut -- ♪ >> history ocapitol hill today. e confirmation hring for preme court nomine sonia sotomayor about to get started. the first his panic and only

third woman eer tbe nominated for the high court gets chance against the senate and the country. she's ady for her b. les go t the chairman of jish air committee, patrick leahy. >> when he nominate you as -- d when president clinton nominated as court of appeals judge. before w begin thepening atements othe sena, i knowou have family members here. i think -- don't know if your microphone is o or ot, but would you be -- wouldou please introduce the members of your family? >> if i introced evybody that family-like, we'deere l morning. >> i tell yowhat, you know what i'm going to do? >> thank you,r. chairman. >> somed, this will be i the archives, this transcrip introduce wmever you like and then we will hold theranscript open forou to add any other names thatyou want.

>> thankou, mr. chairman. i will limit myself to just my imdiate family. siing behind meis my brther, juan sotomayor. next to hi is my mom, celina sotomayor. next toer is my favite huand of my mom, omar lopez. next to him is myniece,kiley sotomayor and next toer is her m d then there is core and connor tomayor. i shouldave said thei last name first ther. anth remainder of that row is filled with dchildren and dear nds. but thiis my immedie fami. >> thank you very much. i rember reading aut th maha being surprid at your swearing in as a district court

jue because they nev seen such a large crowd ofriends and supprs arrive. what we're going to do is each -- each senator wl give a ten-minute opening statement. i would hope that all senators would be able to be here today. if they're not, then wwi have an opening statement willave to come outf their questiong me tomorrow. senatorchumer will give a shorte opening statements because he is goin to give some of his time at a ter introduction. i would note, for the reco, we are coidering the nomition of judge sonia sotomayor to be a justice to the utestates supre court. ouconstitution is interestg in this regard. we have over 300 million americans, but only 101 peop get a chance to say who i going to be on the supreme crt. fit and foemost,f urse, the prident.

in this case, president obama who made the nomination and then 100 senars have to sta in place of all 300 and at 20 million erans. in nsidering the appointment. thereside has done his part. made a historic nominati. now the sena has to do its part on behalff the senate peop. on balf of the american people. president obama often quotes dr. martin luther king jrs insight at the ark of the moral iverse is long but itends ward justice. each generaon of amerins has sought that arc tard justice. we've improved on the foundation of our constition since te billf rights, the civil war enents and e 19th amendment expansion othe right to voteo women, the civil rights act of 1964nd votinght act 1965, and the 26th amendment's extension of the right to vote to young

people. these actions have marked progress toward o more perfect union. i believe this nominatio ca be another step along that path judge sotomayor's journey to this hearingoom is truly an american story. e was rais by her mother celina, nurse, in the south bronx. likeer mother, sonia sotomayor worked hard. she graduated as vledictian of herlass atessed sacrament add a hi schoolin new york. a meer of a thd class at princetouniversity in which women were included. she continued to wk hard, including ading classics that we unailable to her when she was younger and arranging tutoring t improve her writing. she graduated assume cple law

day, award a prize for classic excellce and service to university. i mentioned th an hor that is given for outstanding merit. after excelling at princeton she entereaw school where she is an active member of the law school community. upon graduation,he had many option but she ose to serve he communy the new york district attorney's office. i might say everyone of us have had the privilege be a prosecutor knows what kindf a jothat is and how hard it is. thershe prosecuted murde, robberies, assaults, child pornography. first president bush named her to the federal benchn 199 she served as a trial judge for six years. president clinton named her to e united states corporation for the 2nd circuit whereshe served more than t yeand confirmed eachtime by a majorityn the senate. judge sotomayor's qualifitions

are outstaing. she has more federal court judicial experience than any nominee to the united states preme court in nearly a hundred years. she is the first nominee in well over a century toe nominated to tee differeederal judgeships by three diffent presidents. she is the first nomee in 50 years to be nomined to t sue court after serving as both federal trial judge and a federal appellate judge. sheill be thenly current preme court justice to sved as a trial judge. she is a prosecutor and lawyer in private actice. she bs a wealth and versityof experience to the court. i hope all americans are couraged by judge sotomayor's hievements and by her nonation to the nation's highest court. hers is a success story in ich all, all americansan ta

pride. those o brea barriers often face the burden of overcoming prejude. and it'sen pron in supre court, marall graduated first in the law school class and third cla in the naacp lal defensnd and sat on the united states corporation f the 2nd circuit d served as the naon's top lawyernd socit tor generalof the unit states. he won a remarkable 29 out of 32 cases gr br the supreme urt but despite of these qualificationsnd acevements, when he was before the senate for his confirmation, was askequestions designed to embarrass him, questions such as are you prejudice against the whe people of the south. i hope that' a time of our past. confirmation justice louis brandice with antisemitism and -- the commentary at that time included questions abo

the jewish md andow its operations a climte by altruism. likewise, the first catholic nominee had to overcome the argument as a catlic, he wod be dominate by the pope. were in a different er i woultrust that all members of thi committee here today ll rejectthe efforts paiss and outside pressure groups that soug to create a ricature of judge sotomayor while belittli her recordsnd achievements and her intelligence let no one demean this traordinary woman, her success, hernderstanding of the constitutional duties she has faithfully performed for the last 17 years and iope all senators will join together as we did when they considered presidentreagan's nomination and sandra day o'connor the first woma to serve on the supreme court. there, every democrat and eve republicanoted to confirm her. this hearing is an oportunity formericans to see andar dg sotoyor for themselves

and to consider her quifications. it's t mo transparent coirmation hearing ever held. her decisions and confirmation materials have been posted online and mad publicly available. the record is significantl more complete and avaable when we consider presidentbush's nomination ofohn rerts and samuel alito just a few years ago. the e's testimony will be carried live on sever levision stations and also via web cast live somhing i have set upi the diciary committee weite. by review of her judicial records leads me to believe she a careful and restrained judge and for the power of the other branches of the government, including the law-making role of t congress. that concon is supported by a numb of independent studies that have been made of her

record. it shines through in comprehense revi o ug reco in criminal cases. she has deep understaing of the real lives of amerins and the duty of law enforcent to help ke americans safe and the responsibility of allf u to respect t freedoms thafine america. now, unfornately, someone sought to twi her records and her record tongage in potical attacks. ideological essure groups began atacking her een before thpresidt made his selectn. they then stepped up their tacks by threatening republican senators who do not oppose her. that's not the american wayand that should not be t senate way. and in truth we do not have to speculate power what kind of justice she will be because we have seen what kind of a judge she has been. she is a judge in which all americs can have coidence. she habeen a judge for all americans.

she'll be a justice r all americans. by rankndepublin on -- senatoon this committee reflected confirmation process recently saying what i found was thcharges complyingfrom righto-left, they are supported and false. it's very, very difficul for a nominee to push back. so i think we have a high responsibility base y criticisms we ha on a fair and honest statent of the facts and that nomination not be subjecd to distortions of their record. i agree wh senator sessions. as we proceed, let no one distort the judge's record. t's be fair to hernd t t american people not misrepreseg her views. we're a countryound togeth by our magnificent constitution. it guarantees the promis, the promise that our country, it will be a cotry based on the rule of law. and service as a federal judge,

sonia somayor has kept fth with that promise. she understands n one law for one race or another. there isot one law for one color or another. there isot one for rich and aifferent one for poor. there is only one law. and, jud, i remember so well, you sat in my office and you said that ultimately and completely, a judge has to follow the law no matterhat their upbringi has been. that's the of fair and impartial judge the amerin people expt, respect of the rule of lawut that's the kind of judgeudge sotomayor h been, it's the kind of fair and impartial justice e will be and e american people deserve. e sotomayor has been nominated to replace justice souterhose retirement last month lefthe court with only eit just. justice souter serve the natio with distincon for nearly two decades the supreme court with a commitment to jtice and admiration fhe law and

understandg of the impact of the court's decisions on the daily lives of ordinary americans. i believe that judge sotomayor wibe in the sa mold, will serve as a jusce in the manner as sandra day o'conn, committeto the law and not ideogy. in the weeks and months after th hearing, i've hear that nators on both sides of the sle make reference t the engravinover the entrance of supreme court. i look at thaevery time i go uphere. 'sard in vermont marble and it says equal justice under law. judge sotomayor's nomination gives faith to thoseords. senator sessio? >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you for your leadership and, i believe, you setup some rules for theonducting of tis hearing th are consistent with past hearings and i believe allo us to do our work togethernd i've enjoyed ing with you on this proces >> thank you. >> i hope this will be viewed as best hearing this committee has

ever had. why t? wehould ek that. so i join chairman leahy, jud sotomayor, in wcoming you her today andit marksan important mileone in your life. i know your family oud. andightly so. and it's a pleasure to have them with us today. i expecthis hearing and resultg debate will be characterized by respectl tone. a discussion of serious issues. thoughtfulialogue and maybe some dsagreements. t we work hard to do that -- set that tone from the beginning. i've be an active litigatorn fedel courts. i've tried cases a feral prosecutor. and as attorney general of alabama. the constitution and o geat heritage of la i care deeply about. th are the foundation of our liberty and our prosperity and thisomination is critical for two imptant reasons. first, jusces on the sreme court have great responsibility, hold enormous power, and have a

liti "poimt. appointment. just five members can declare the meaning of our nstitution, bending or changing its mea from what the peopleintended. second, this heang i important because i belve our legal system is a dangerous crossroads. down one path is a traditional american system, so add mired around the rld where judges impartially apply the law to the factwithout regard to personal views. th is the cpassiote system because 's the fair system. in the american legal system, courts do not make law or set policy, because allowing unelected offis toake law would strike at the heart of our democracy. here judge take an oat mister judge impartial. that oath resid i do solemnly swear thatl administer justice without respect to people and to ql rightsto the

rich and the poor and i that will fithfully and impartially rform all of the duties performed undeme under the constution and laws of the united states, so lp me d. these pnciples give the traditional system its mor authority wch i why amicans respt and accept the ruling of courts eve when they disagre and, indeed, our legal system is based on a firm belief and ordered universeand objective truth. the tria is a process by which the impartial and wise judge guides us to truth. downhe other pathi a brave w world where words have no ue meaning and judges are free to decide what facts ey choose see. in this world, judge is free to push his or h own political or soal agend i reject tha view andmericans reject that view. we have seen federal judges force tir political and soal agenda on the nation dictating

that the words "under god," be removed from theledge of allegiance and barring sns studentsroeven private and silent prayer in schools. judg have dismissed the people's right to their propert saying the govnmentcan take a person's home for the purpose of developing a private shopping center. judges have, contrary to long-sndg rules of world, created rightor terrorists captured on a foreign battlefield to suethe united statesovernment in our own country. judges have cited foreig laws, worl opinion, and united nations resoluon to determine that a state death penalty la was unconstitutial. i'm afraid our system will only be further rrupted. i have to say, as a result, that president oba's views that in tough case the critil ingredient for a judge is, quote, the breadthnd depth of

one's empathy, closed quote and a broader vision of what american should be. like the american ople, i have wahed th process for a number of years and fearthat this empathy standard is another step down the road to a libel activist results oriented relati rule where laws lose their fixed meaning unelected judges set poli and americans ha seen as membersf separe groups rath than asimply americans where the constitutional amendments on government power ar ignored when picians want to buou private compies. road, i thin and therare the stark differences. i willot vote for a a senator should not ve for an individual who is not committed to fairness and impartiality to every personho appears befor them i wi not vo for ando

senatoshould vote for an individual nominated by any presidt who believes it is acceptable for judge to low their person background, gender, prejudices or sympaies to sy their decion in favor of or ast parties before the court. in my view, such a philosophy is disqualifying. su an approach to judging means th the umpire calling the game is not neutral but, staeeds feel power to favor one call it empathy or call it strej or sympathy, t whateve it is, it's not law. in truth,t's more akin to potics and politics has no place in the couroom. some will respond, jge sotomayowould never say it's acceptable for a judge to display prudice in a case. but i regular say, judge, that som of your statement will outline seem to sathat clearly.

t's lo at just a fe examples. we've seen the video of the du university panelwhere judge sotomayor says, it's the cou of appeals where policy i made and i kno know that, this is on tapend i should never say that, andhould not thinkhat. and during a speech 15 yes ago, judge sotomayor said, que, i willingly accept, who judge mu noteny the difference resulting from experience and heritage, but attempt coinuously to judge when those opinions, sich thinks and prejudes are approiate, closed quote. andin thatamespeech, sh id, quote, my exriences will affect t facts i choose t see. having tried a lot of cas, that particular phra bothers me. i exct every judge to see all of the facts. i ink it's eworthy that

when ask about judge sotomayor's now faus statement that a wise latin would come to a beter cnclusion than hers, ident obama, white house press secretary bert gis, and supme court justice ginsburg declined toefend the substance ofho remarks. they each assumed the nominee misspoke, but i don'think -- but t nominee did not misspeak. she is on record as making this atement at least five times over the course of a decade. i am providi apyfhe full text of those speeches for the record. others will say that despite these statemts, we should loo to a nominee's record which they characterize as moderate. people saithe same of justice nsburgho is n considered to be one of the most activist members of supreme court in history. some senators ignoreustice ginsburg's philosophy d focus on the nom niece nominee's judicial opinion but tha is not

a good test because those cases, when necessarily rtrained by preceden a the threat of reversal from higher courts. on the sueme court, those checks on judicial power will be removed. and the jue's philoshy will be allowed to reach full bloom. but even as a lower court judge, r nominee has made ouble rulings. i'mcerned by the firefighters case recently reveed by preme court she agreed t change th promotion rulein the middle of thegame. incredibly, her opinn nsisted of one substantive paragraph of analysis. sotomayor said her opinions and sympathies and prejudices will affe her rulings. could it be her times a leader in the po rican legal defense an education fund, a fine oanization, provides a clue to her decisigainst the

firefighterswhe theominee was chr of that fund's ligation committee, the organition aggressively pursued racial quotasin city hiring and, in numerous cases, fought to overtn the results it seems tome in ritchie, somayor's empathy for one group of firefightersurned ou to be prejudiced ainst another. that is of urse, the logical flaw in the empathy standard. empathy r one party is alway ejudice against another. judge sotomayor we will inquire ho your phisophy which alls subjectivity in the courtroom affectyour decision-making, like, for example, abortio where an organation of which you were an activeleader argued that the constitution ruires taxpayer money to fundbortion. and gun control where you recently noted it is settle law that the second amement does not prevt a city or state from

barring gu wnership. prate property whereou've ruled recently that the government could take property from one pharmacy developer and give it to anher. capital puniment where you personally signea statement opposing the reinstatementf the death penal in new york because of the inhuman psychological burden it places on the offender d e family. so hope the american peop will follow these hearings closely. ey should learn about the issues and listeto both sides of argument. and at the end othe hearing, i ask if i must, one day, gto court, what kind of judgeo i wish to hear my case? do i want jge that allows his orer social politica or religious vis to cnge the outcome or do i want a judge that impartially aps the laws othe facts and rules on the meriwithout bias or prejudice? it is our job to determine which side ofhat fundamental di

thnominee stas. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you. another housekeeping thg. were going to try to keep these opening atements to ten mites. will recognize senators on thedemocratic sidebased on s ownerity. m ld senator sessiohat thill be recognized ur side by the same wa so the next senator, senator cole. >> thank you, mrchairman. judge somayor, let me als extend my welcome to yound to your family. you e to be congratulatedn your nomination. your nominaon is a reflection of who we ares a countrynd it representsan american succs story that we all can b proud of. your academic and professional accomplishments prsecutor, privat practitioner, trial judge, and appella judge are

exempla exemply. as a judge you he brought a richne to the bench and t the diary which has been an inspiration for so many. toy, we begin a process through which the senate enges in i constitial role to advise and consent on your nomination. this wees hearing is the only oppounity and t american people will have toearn about your judicial philosophy, yr temperament, and your movations before you put on the black robe and are heard from only in your opio. the president has asked us to entrustou with an immense amou of power. r which, bydesign,is free from political constraints, unchecked by the people, and unaccountable to congress, except in the mostxtreme circumsts. our democracy, our rights and everythinge hold dear about america are builton the founda of our- >> let's bng in our panel this morning, andreaitchell ins me here in th studio in

washington and alsoind.c. riard wolf and constitutiol law expert bruce fine york times," founding executive editor maria take resha kumar what d you make of pete sessions? i thought he hit a lot ofmarks about at this is going to be about. >> he laid out exactly what the outline is goingto be. he said that his not convinced th she doesn't -- that the empathy standa that the words that the president used memoriably, they try to walk it back,but the epay sandard that being empathetic towd one person is being prejudiced against another they will try to get her on reverse discriminati othe ritchie case and already signaled that by saying they are going to brg in the white refighters. >> lindsey gm wants a apology and not gointo get them. >> what they will arue, what the white house an sotomayor d her denders e going to argue ishat she was follo the la s was not ing an activist judge, she was simply

notoverturning what hd been done there and, in fact, it would be activist to have done otherwise. >> do you think that i the hoest ise? >> i ink it is. >> the wise latina woman has advantages over another kind of justice th she sort oftaked out e target atta? i mean, the target? she has p that tart on her back? >> yes. they are also going after her on the second amendment o guns, on the gun decision she has been involvn and thergent from her supporters i at, in fact more conservative apals urts, the 7thccu, has upheld ithe case known as the loney ase, has ruled silarly as she did, that gun ghts are not a fdantal right, they ar an individual right. that is going to benother point. but the repubcans know already th eyon't have the vote barrg me unexpected event. they are outnumbered 60-40 in e senate. >> right

>> they don't hahe votes but trngo make this as a marker for the nextsupreme court nominationnd they want to do better than the number of votes that voted against'ee tow. they nto get 21, 22, 23 opsition votes, not zero. >> i think they want to remind reblicans while they are republican richard wolf, iseems to me the issue becomes her support if she do belie that the government, the constuon requires any federal program to give a woman an abortion choice if tt's part of the program. inther words, if is a health program. that could be a sticky, wicked for this health care iue coming up. >> it could. look. sessions flged out gun rights and emmeant domain andhe did a good job of putting that out there as a legal prosutor but he also signad this is way bigger the supre court or the legal issues. this is about ulture, this is about race. both ssions d leahy p up the idea of thisbeing coming down to ce and empathy and

prejudice. sessions poied out, he pnted a world in which youhave objective truth on one side. >> rig. >> and on the other side have no true mning, judges e against being under guard and seize your property andproterrorists and proforeign lawnd the u.n. >> this a fight between republicans and docrats today acss the board you're sayg? >> it's not just about sotomayor. this is a proxy battle about esident obama. does he represent corps americ values? can you trus his word? is he in league with some foreign power? is he -- >> what do you mean by that? >> that's exactly whathe said. he cited cases wherthey cited fosh foreign law or the un. this is code work we all know circulates o the extreme of the consertive movement. >> like -- sohow a world government isoing to come into nebraska or in idahond take away your guns and take you away? >> or ke away your private

property for shoppingmall. he said when politiciansant to buy up private compies, i mean, this is t kitchensink. >>bruce, you're an eert on this. ur thoughts about the pete ssions opening shots there. across the board, he said th is going to be a major ideological dispute between the forces of obama and s forces on the republican side. well, it lcks constutional substance. leme give you examples andrea pointed u out, supreme court heldhe sond amenent right to keep and arms arms was restriction against the federal govement and not the state governme. some of the most crvative jurist the u.s. korpts for the seventh circuit. sotomayor w simpl following the directionsf the united states supreme cou when she said it's notor me to -- applies to the state.

let's go to his other claims about who was citing international law in these deat penalty cases. it was anony kennedy, someone republicanpproved 98 as supreme court nomie of ronald reagan hardly what you would consider a left wing conspiracy, if youwill. with regard to his other attacks on somayor with authorizi the government to take prate property, ve it fromne developer to another that's a decision th the united states supreme court made. she's just flowing precedent. ined, the supreme court has said a lowerourt judge li sotomayor whdisregaed a president like that wod be acting lawssly. so really hi targete misplaced. i don'think they have constitutional substance t them. as regards to lger issu is this cuure war talking about lawlessns the supreme court, there is a certain irony we've gotten disclosus over the last year abo the sxuf branch bng perhaps t most

lawless situion since richard nixon and we have the republicans who a largely quiescg if not endorsing that lecturing how we should be subscribing to the roux o law rule of law. i think mr. sessions ought to that to heart. >> let's go back to the hring. >> her nomionspk to the opportunities today that americans provide of men and women of different backgrounds and heritage. e liberty we enjoy here in america makes these opportunities poible and requires our best efforts to protect that liberty our libey rests on the foundation of a written constution,he limits and separategovernment power and self-government by th people and the rule of law. those princs define the k of judge our liberty requires. they define the role on judges and they play in ourystem of vernme. i've described my basic approach to the judicialonfirmation

process in more detail elsewher i ask the unanimous consent to publish to have the constitution as a plbook be placed in the record, mr. chairman, if i can. >> without objection. >> my approach includes three elents. firs the senate owes some deference to the pridt's qualified nominees. send, a judicial nominee's qualifications include not only legal experience, but, more importantlily, judial philosophy. by that i mean a om nom ee's undersnding of the power and proper role of js in our syst ogovernment. third, this stanrd must be applied to thenominee's enti record. i've alsund gdae from what mayseem to be an unusual source. on june 8th, 2005, theenator rack obama explained his opposition to t aeals court nonation of janice rogers own. an african-amecan woman with a trul compelling lifetory who

then served a justice on the califoia supreme court. setor obama made three arguments that i fd relent today. first, he arged that theest of aualified judicial nominee is whether she can set aside her personiews and as he p it, ote, decide each case on the facts and thmerits alone. at is what our founders intended. judial decisions ultimately have to be based on evidencend facts. they have to beased on ecedent and on law, unote. second, snator obama extensively reviewed justice brown's speecs on the court fo clues what i cald her, quote, overreaching judicial philosophy, unquote. ere is even more reon to do so today. is is, after all nomination to e supreme court of the unid states of amera. judge sotomayor, confirmed, will hel change the very precedence that, y, bind h as circuit court oappeals

judge. in other words, the judici potion to which she haseen nominated is quitefferent than the judicialposition she now occupies. th makes evidence outside of her appeals court decisions regarding her apprch to judging more, not less, important. judge sotomor has,iously, thought, spoken and itten much on these issues and i think we show respect to her by taking her entire record riousl third, senator obamaaid that ile a nominee's race, gender, and life story are portant, theyannot distract from the fundamental fos on the kind of judge she will be. he sd then, as i've said today,hat we shou all be grateful for the opptunity at our liberty affords for americans of different backgrounds. we should applaud judge sotomayor's achievementsnd seice to her community, her profession and her country. yet, senat obama called it,

quote, offensive and cynical, unquote,ouggest that a nominee'sace or gender could giveer a pass for her bstantive views. heroved it by voting twice to filibuer judge janice rogers brown nominatioand then by vong against her confirmation. i share his hope that we have arrived at a pnt in our country's history where individuals can examined and even criticized f their views, no mter wh their race or geer. if those stanrds were appropriate whe senator oma opposed republican nomins they should be opriate as president obama choosing his own nomine but today president obama said ingredient in judicial rsonal decisions. today, we are urd to ignore judge sotomayor's speeches altogether and focus her judicial decisions which are extensive. i do not belve that we should just that. i wish that other currt standard have been applied to the past nominees. democratic senators, for

example, offers proof of judge sotoyor's moderation that she has agreed with colleagues 95% of the time. joined by then for which i congratulate her. joined by then senatorobama, hower, many those same democratic senators ted against justice samuel alito' nfirmation evenhough he had vod with his docrat appointed third circuit colleaes 99% of the te ring much longer appeals urt career. although justice ali also received the aba's hiest rating, senator obama joined 24 other demos and even voting to fibuster his nominati. and en he joined a total of 42 democrats in voting agnst the nfirmation now justice alito. infectsenator obama ner voteto confirm a spreme court juste. he even voteagainst aan who administered the oath of presidtial office chf justice john roberts.

>> t isenator orrinatch of utah staking out tough terrain for th justice nominee to defend ihe hearings this week we're going to have him on "hardball" tonight. we're going to take a bre and come back and hear fro maria resa kumar to talk about her views. we'll be rightack. combination of seven tantalizing flavors your c craves. frkies signature blen feed the senses.

, b signature blen you ve questions. who o can veveou the financial advi y yeed?

where will youin the stability and reurce to kp yoahead of this rapidly evvi world? these are tough questitions. ththat'why we brought togegether twof the most porfulames in the industrtr introducing morgan snlnley smith barney. here to rethinkk wealth management. here to answer.. your questions. morg stanley smith barney. a new wealth managemement fm

we will join supreme court. >> we're back and listening to senatorianne feinstein of califoiaone of the democrats on the ommittee, talking about her views of the nomination of sonia sotomayor ght now. >> very legalxperience to the

court. by this standard, you are well qualified. in you11 years as a fedel appee court dge, you've participated in 3,000 peals and authored roughly 400 blished opinions. in your s years on thefederal districtourt, you were the trial jud in approximately 450 cases. for 4 1/2years, youprosecuted crimes as an assistant d.a. in new york city andyou spent eight years litigating business ses at new york law firm. what is unue about this broad expeence is thatou have seen the law truly from a sides. on theistrict court, you saw firsthan the aual impact of the l on people before you in both cil and criminal cases. you considered wrote, and joined thousa of opinns, clarifying t law and eviewing district court decisio in your

ti on theppellate court. your 11 years tre were a rigorous training grod for the supre court. it is a very unique for a jge to have both levels federal court experiencend you will be the only one on the current supreme court with ts background. you were a prosecutor who tried murder, robby, and child poography cases. so you know firhand the impact of crimen a major metropolis d youave administed justice in the close and personal forum of a trial court. you ao possess a wealt of knowledge in the complicat arena of business law withts contract disputes, patent and copyright isu and anti-trust issues and as a assocte and paner at a private l firm, you haveed complex civil ses in the areas of real

estate, banking, and contracts law, as well as intellectual property, which i'm toldwas a specialtof yours. so y bring a dee and broad experience in the law to the supremcourt. in my nearl7 years othis committee, i hav held certain qualities that a supreme court nomineeust possess. first, broad and relevant experience. u satisfy that. second, a strong and deep knledge of the l a the constitution. you satisfy that. third, a firm commitment to follow the law and you have in all he statistics indicate that. next, judicl temperament and integrity you have both of those. and, finally, mainstream legal reasoning. d there is everythg in your record- >> order! >> the setor -- the senator -- the ace will remove that man!

le me make vry clear, there will be n tburst allowed in this mmittee either for against the nominee, either for or agains any pition that senator sessions or ior any other senator willhave. this is a hearing of the united states enate. and will haverder and we wi he decom. the are people who want to ha this hearing in fairness to judge sotomayor, there will be -- it will be done orderly. an i will direct th police to reve anybody who does any kind of a outbur eitherr or against the nominee, eithe for or against any member of this commite. ank you. >> tnkou, mr. chairman, for your firwords. i support you 100%. >> thk you. and the -- the record willhow

my comnts outside of senator feinstein'somments and i yield ba to her. >> thank you, mr. chairman. bottom line, i believeour record indicates that you possessll of these qualities. over the past years of my service on is committee, ve found it increasingly difficult know from answers to questis we from this w a nominee will actually act as a supreme court ustice. becae answers here are often dict and increasily couched in phrases. for example, nominees have ofte responded to specific estions out pases like i have an open mind, or, yes, that is precedent, entitled torespect, or, i have no arrel with at. of crse, these phres obscate andresent a real understanding of where the nominee stands.

for exple, several past nominees have besked about the kaesy decision, where the court he that the gornment cannot restrict access to abortionshat are medically necessary to preserve a woman's heal. some nonees responded by assuring thatoe and caseywere edents of the courtntitled to greatrespect and in one of the heargs, through quesoning by senator specter, th line of case was knowledged to have created a super precedent. but oncen the cou, the same minees votedo overturn the key holding in casey, tt laws restricting a woman's medical ca must contain an exception protect her health. theidecision did not comport with the answers they ga he and disregarded star -- stair desis decis and in anumber of

cases. so super precedent went out the windownd women lost a fundamenl constitutional protection that had existed for 36 yers. also, it showed me that supreme court justices are much more than umpires cling balls and strikes. and that the word activist is obrve used only to describe opinions of one sie. as a mter of fact, in jst two years, thee nominees have eitherisregarded or overturned precedent in at let eight other cases. a caseinvolving assignment to attain raci diversi, in school assignments. a case overruling 70 yearsf precedent onthe second amendment and federal n control law. a case which ineased the burden ofofn oerorkers to prove eighth discrinatio a case overturning a 11

decision to allo manturers toet minimum prices for thr products. a cse overruling two cas from the 1960s onime limits for filing cminal appeals. a case reversing precede on the sixth amendment right to counsel. a caseoverturning prior ruling on regulation of issue ads relatg to political campaigns. and a case regardingrior law d creang a new stdard that limits when cities can replace cil service exams, tt they may believeave discriminated against a group of worke. so i not believe that supreme court justices are mely umres calling balls and strikes. rather, i believe th they make theecisions o individuals who brg to the court their own experiens and philosophies. judge sotomayor, i bieve you

are a warm and intelligent woman. i belie you are welltued an experience in the law with some 17 years of federal crt experiencenvolving 3,000 appeals and 45trial cases. so i believe you, too, will bring your experieesand philosop tthis hiest court and i believe th will do only one thing, anthat is ngthen this high constitution of o great country. thank you, mr.hairma thank you, senato feinstein and nator grassley. >> thank you very muc turn up your mike >> cgratulations on your nomination to be associate stice and welcome to the judiciary committee, d a warm welcome to youd your family and friends. they are all very proud of you and, rightly so.

you have a disuished lel and judicial record. no doubt, it's one that we'd expect of any individual nominated to the supreme court. you made yur srt from very humble beginnings. you overca substantial obstacles and went on to excel at some of the nation's top schools. you became an assistant district atto and successful private practi attorney in neyork city. u've been on the federal bench as a district court and appellat court judge since 1992. these are all very impreive legal accomplhments which certainly qualy you to be on the supreme court. however,n impressive legal record and superior intellect are not e onlyriteria that we, on this commite, have to nsider. to betruly qualified -- >> the confirmatioearing was

interrupted a couple of moments ago by a heckler the crowd and he w removed from the room by chairman leahy. let's hear on our replay, a te of what he waselling. >> d there is everything in your -- >> nator, wat about -- the senat -- senator -- the ple will remove thatman! let me make very clear, there will be no outburst allowed this comittee, ether for or against the mie. either for or against any -- >> our proder was able to hear it clearly. the heckler w yelling what about the unborn? obously, a person concerned about the justice's position on aborti rights. let's go to norah o'donnell in thhearinroom. >> a brief interruption by the protester who was quickly corted out of the room. a male shouting loudly what about the unborn?

then the chairman leahy responding sternly thi will not be tolerated. and jeff sessiogreeing with leah i am up here and i can provide me of the color. i think what is probably most noteworthy and poind out was judge sotomayor has a huge group of faly and friends here with her. he moth, of course, who worked six days aeek to help send her to school. hebrother and some nieces and phs. one other ing i notice as we look at the senators he on the panel, at the very end on the democratic sid is al franken. his first big hearin as a you? senator. hence played a member of the senate jiciary committee in "saturday night live." he played the lateaul simon questioning clarence thomas in those hearings. it's one thing i noted today is some of the differences in this hart senateffice building. >> thank you. i think a lot of peop can't

wait to see now satorl franken at work today. sort ofisebut as well. we'll beight back after this break. its ite a day. if you care about the american constituon, abt our country and what we believe in and a great debate between republicans and democrats, liberals and conservatives, this is youday to learn more. we'll be rig back. ♪ (announcer) transform your waer memen o drink crystal lit drink 20% more waterer. crystal light. make a delicis change.

my daughter was withe. i okok aayer aspirin out ofy y purse and chewed it. my doctor said the bayer aspirin vevemy life. please talk to y your doctor about aspiririn and your heart. i'm going to be andma for a long time. free credit report d d c com tell your frieiend t tl your dad, telell ur m! ver mi, they've been sisingg g r songs since we first showewed upitit our pirate hats on! if y'rnot into fake swd d fits pointy slippers and grn wool tights keke tip from a knightht w k k frfreereredireport dot com, les ! vo: offer applies withth enroment in triple advantage. we know why we're here. to design the ture of flight, inside and out.

to build tomorrow's tetenonolo in amazing ways. and reshe the science of aerosce... forever. arnd the globe, e e people of boeing... arworking together -- fothe dreams of generatns to come. that's why we'rere he.e.

> let's take a bre andmove to maria teresa kumar. thanks for joining us. give us your sense about the ethics thing brought up i think especially by the committee chair in the beginng ying the nominees for the supreme cohave a jish or catholic background haveo answer questions about their loyalties if you wl. what do you ke of this? >> i think y