White House Briefing: Reporters Hit Hard on Role of Religion in Miers Pick

White House Briefing: Reporters Hit Hard on Role of Religion in Miers Pick: "By E&P Staff | Published: October 12, 2005 5:05 PM ET
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Q Do you think Harriet Miers' religion is being emphasized more by this administration than Chief Justice Roberts' was?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, Harriet Miers is a person of faith. She recognizes, however, that a person's religion or personal views have no role when it comes to making decisions as a judge....
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Q So if her personal views and ideology have no bearing on the judicial decision what relevance does it play in a conversation between Karl Rove and James Dobson? Why would he bring it up, even?
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Q Also that she's a member of a very conservative church.
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Q Back to Miers for a moment. When you say that Ms. Miers understands that religion has no role in the business of the Court, at the same time the President has said he knows her heart, her beliefs, her character; he talked today about people wanting to know about her life and, therefore, her religion. How are we not to interpret that her religion was one of the factors in his selection?
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Q If personal views don't have a role to play, then why would anybody from the White House talk about what church she goes to and what the beliefs are of the people in the church?

MR. McCLELLAN: It's part of who she is. And faith has played an important part in her life. But she recognizes that religion and personal views and ideology don't have a role to play when you're a judge, but people want to know who she is. And that's been an important part of her life.

Q Scott, was she a member of Texas Right to Life?

MR. McCLELLAN: Not that I'm aware of. I think she attended some events.

Q Well, Dobson said that Karl Rove told him that she was a member of Texas Right to Life.

MR. McCLELLAN: I think she attended some events. ...