U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito answers a question during the third day of his Senate confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill yesterday. - REUTERS
WASHINGTON (AP):
DEMOCRATS ON the Senate Judiciary Committee said yesterday they were troubled by inconsistencies in Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito's answers on issues ranging from voting rights to ethics to his membership in a conservative organisation.
On the third day of confirmation hearings, Senator Patrick Leahy, the top Democrat on the panel, said Democrats would press President George W. Bush's choice to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on several statements he made in his earlier testimony.
"A number of us have been troubled by what we see as inconsistencies in your answers," Leahy told Alito.
Republicans hold the majority in the Senate - 55-44 with one independent - and Alito, a federal appeals judge, is expected to win confirmation to the high court unless some Republican lawmakers oppose his nomination. The Senate is expected to vote on the nominee later this month.
Democratic Senator Richard Durbin cited Alito's testimony Tuesday in which he said he would have an open mind if faced with the question of abortion on the Supreme Court. The senator said the nominee's writings and testimony suggested otherwise, with "a mind that sadly is closed in some instances."
