Thomas confirmation
now seems assured
WASHINGTON
( A P) — S o n a t o
confirmation of
Supremo Court
nominee Clarence Thomas
grew more likely Tuesday as
two more Democrats declared
they would vote to put him on
the nation's highest court.
The additional Democratic
support came before the Senate
agreed to vote next Tuesday at
(i p.m. on the Thomas nomina
tion. Debate was scheduled to
begin at 10 a m. Thursday.
indorsements by Sens. Rich
ard Shelby of Alabama and
Alan J Dixon of Illinois
brought to 11 the number of
Democrats who have pledged
to vote for Thomas' confirma
tion.
That means Thomas appears
to have the 51 votes needed to
survive a floor fight, oven if
three Republicans should break
ranks from the 43-member GOP
minority, ns his opponents
hope.
And with at least one more
Democrat said to is; leaning his
way, Thomas could have some
room for comfort.
Thomas, a conservative fed
eral appoals judge and a black
born into poverty in the sngro
gated South, "brings a unique
perspective ... that would better
enable the Supreme Court to
ensure that the rights and free
doms of all Americans art; pre
served and strengthened,"
Shelby said.
"Clearly, Judge Thomas' long
suit is his life story, which is
compelling, moving and en
dearing,” Dixon said in a state
ment issued lute in the day.
Dixon also said ho was con
vinced that Thomas's thinking
was not bound by rigid ideolo
gies "Some justices on the cur
rent court appear to have fairly
rigid philosophies or ideolo
gies judge Thomas does not
appear to fall into that category.
That suggests he may well sur
prise some of his opponents."
The vote on Thomas' nomi
nation will not lake place txi
foro the Supreme Court begins
its full term on Monday
The plan, which eliminates
any threat of a filibuster by op
ponents, was adopted unani
mously at the suggestion of
Senate Majority Leader George
Mitchell. D-Malnc, after a day
of negotiations
Meanwhile. Thurgood Mar
.hall, the nation's first blue k
Supreme Court justice, offli i.il
lv departed the high court on
Tuesday Marshall had original
ly said he would not make his
retirement effective until Ins
successor had been approved
If confirmed, Thomas would
he the first Supreme Court
nominee to win approval with
out the endorsement of the Sen
ate judiciary Committee, which
arrived at a 7-7 deadlock on
Thomas last week hut: nonet he
less sent the nomination to the
floor.
The seven Democrats who
voted against Thomas ex
pressed doubts aixiut his legal
qualifications and whether he
was candid when he said he
had an open mind about nbor
lion and other controversial is
sues.
Some Democrats said *he\
couldn't believe Thomas'
disavowals of writings and
speeches that espoused censer
vativo views
But Shelby's support lor the
nomination was an indication
that Alabama's other Democrat
ic senator, Howell Heflin, was
not pressing the case against
Thomas. Heflin's opposition to
Thomas helped forge the tie
vote in the judiciary Commit
tee.
Even Sen. Joseph K Diden
Jr., 1) Del., the panel's chair
man, has said that he does not
plan to work actively against
Thomas despite his negative
vote in committee.
That leaves Thomas' oppo
mints scrambling to hold the
line against more Democratic
defections.
Nan Aron, executive dirot tor
of the Alliance For Justice,
called the developments "had
news” for Thomas’ opponents.
So far, none of the 41 Kepub
lican senators has come out
against Thomas, though oppo
nunts say they are hoping to
win over three pro-choice
members within the minority -
Jim Jeffords of Vermont, Boh
Puckwood of Oregon and Wil
llam Cohen of Maine
Gates accused of altenng data
WASHINGTON (AIM — So
nior intelligence iinulyst.s told
senators in scathing testimony
Tuesday that Robert Gatus,
i'rosidont Bush's nominee to
head the GIA, systematically
distorted data and stifled dis
sent while at the agency.
The allegations, at the start
of a third week of confirmation
hearings for Gates, were aired
after the Senate Intelligence
Committee heard them private
l\ last week and deemed them
sufficiently serious to merit a
public debate
The thrust of the accusations
was that Gates, as head of CIA
intelligence analysis and then
as deputy and acting GIA direc
tor, skewed intelligence infor
mation to conform with the
anti-Soviet policy slant of his
Reagan administration bosses
and his own strongly held anti
Soviet views
Gates, a Soviet specialist
who serves as Rush s deputy
national security aide, has
strongly denied such allege
lions and will have a ( ham e to
rebut them later this week
a veteran intelligence oin
cial, Hal Ford, told the commit
tee tho United States deserves a
CIA director "whose analytic
hatting average is bettor than
that - especially if he tends to
force his views on the intelli
gence community."
The senior Republican on the
committee, Frank Murkowski
of Alaska, noted Gatos' denials
that he hud distorted analyses
and said that "those who assert
to the contrary have a very
heavy burden of proof."
Democrats, however, who
until now have raised little
concerted opposition despite
conflicting accounts of Gates’
possiblu role in tho Iran-Contra
affair, seemed disturbed by ac
cusations of a "politicization"
of intelligence.
"Gates' role was to corrupt
the process arid ethics of Intel
tigence" in two areas held dear
by his late lioss CIA Direr toi
William Gusev testified Mel
Goodman, a former Soviet tint
sion t litef and currently a se
nior instructor at the National
W ar College
Making faces
Oscar the f it-.hnur cre,itpr N<\i Sho/pen adds I'p/nir re iff fo f/it' > do ot Watsan
Monday
Photo by Kim Nguyen
y-.~:~r
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