Roberts Helped Counsel Jeb Bush
By Brent Kallestad / Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.
During the tumultuous presidential recount in 2000, John Roberts flew to Florida and volunteered advice to Gov. Jeb Bush, whose brother was trying to clinch the election.
Some Democrats are now saying the trip should disqualify Roberts from the Supreme Court.
"The Senate should reject him on the basis of this alone," said Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Fla. "Now he is being rewarded for that partisan service."
Roberts, who was in private practice at the time, accepted Jeb Bush's invitation to come to Florida at his own expense to offer advice to the governor. He spent only about a half hour with Bush and never played a major role at a time when scores of attorneys swarmed into the state.
"He came down and met with the governor briefly and shared with him some of his thoughts on what he believed the governor's responsibilities were after a presidential election, a presidential election in dispute," Bush spokesman Jacob DiPietre said. "There were several experts, including professors, scholars, constitutional experts who came down to Florida at that time and Judge Roberts was one of them."
George W. Bush ultimately was declared the winner in Florida by 537 votes when the Supreme Court ruled in his favor.
President Bush, now in his second term, appointed Roberts to the federal bench in 2002 and nominated him Tuesday for the Supreme Court. The Senate will now decide whether to confirm him.
State Democratic Party Chairwoman Karen Thurman said the Senate should ask Roberts about his role in the recount.
"We need to have Judge Roberts explain that," Thurman said Thursday.
Tallahassee attorney Barry Richard, who represented President Bush during the recount, said he does not remember Roberts from that period and said he was not a major participant in the legal battle.
"There were hundreds of other lawyers who volunteered ... to deal with aspects of the case," Richard said.
Gov. Bush applauded Roberts' nomination, describing him as "a man of integrity" with "the qualities of an outstanding jurist."
