Indian Law-Related Docs from the Brett Kavanaugh Document Dump

09-13-18-gwb-document-release-murkowski-sullivan.pdf

hr1166-assistance-provided-by-small-business-development-centers-to-na.pdf

These documents could be significant.

1. During his confirmation hearing when Senator Hirono asked him if he was thinking of the Rice v. Cayetano case when he sent these emails, found here.

The nominee said he couldn’t remember whether he was thinking of Rice or if Rice had anything to do with his thoughts. The 69 pages of emails and documents that are attached here may show Kavanaugh’s thinking on Indian law issues — Rice is mentioned a few times.

2. When the nominee met with Sen. Murkowski he told her (here):

“He was the first to admit that in terms of broader Indian law he hasn’t had that much opportunity in the D.C. Circuit court to really engage on these issues, so this is not a body of law that he is often exposed to,” she said. “And he was very direct with that.”

Again, the emails show the nominee’s involvement in Indian law.

3. The letter included here is related to a Tom Udall bill that was passed unanimously by the House. The bill was to provide services to NA, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians from the SBA. The letter likely was to be cleared by the nominee. The letter states the administration’s opposition to portions of the bill on constitutional grounds, relying on Rice.