Kennedy calls for release of CAP archives

Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), the second-ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, is calling for the release of documents to try to shed more light on the involvement of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito '72 with a conservative University alumni group.

In a letter Thursday to committee chairman Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), Kennedy asked that the private documents of William Rusher, a former leader of Concerned Alumni of Princeton (CAP), be made public. Rusher's private papers are currently held in the Library of Congress.

"In view of CAP's troubling opposition to equal educational opportunity for women, minorities and the disabled, it is important for the committee to learn more about Judge Alito's involvement in this organization," Kennedy wrote, adding that he wanted Alito to answer questions about his involvement with the group during confirmation hearings scheduled to begin Jan. 9.

"In 1975 an official report by a committee of Princeton alumni that included William Frist ['74], now Senator Frist, concluded that CAP's 'distorted, narrow and hostile view of the University' had 'misinformed and even alarmed many alumni' and 'undoubtedly generated adverse national publicity,' " Kennedy wrote.

See all of the 'Prince' coverage of the Alito nomination here.

The senator's request, which comes amid a much broader effort to find clues as to Alito's judicial philosophy and personal beliefs, is the latest attempt to probe the nominee's college-related activities. Supporters and opponents alike have mined Alito's college work, including his Wilson School task force paper and senior thesis, in search of evidence to support their side.

One of the most contentious points has been Alito's apparent involvement in CAP, which opponents have used to suggest Alito held views out of step with most Americans.

In a 1985 application for a job in Ronald Reagan's Justice Department, Alito wrote that he was "a member of the Concerned Alumni of Princeton University, a conservative alumni group" — the revelation that led to Kennedy's letter. In a recent statement to the judiciary committee, however, Alito wrote: "Apart from that document, I have no recollection of being a member, of attending meetings, or otherwise participating in the activities of the group."

CAP, which was founded in 1972 and had become largely defunct by the 1980s, is portrayed by critics as a far-right organization funded by conservative alumni committed to turning back the clock on coeducation and affirmative action at the University. Supporters, on the other hand, say the group was dedicated to increasing alumni involvement in University governance and tempering Nassau Hall's left-wing excesses.

A summary of the private papers of Rusher — also the publisher of the National Review, a prominent conservative magazine, from 1957 to 1988 — notes that several boxes include "records pertaining to [CAP] documenting his objections to the intolerance by liberals of conservative views and traditional values at Princeton University and other colleges."

A list describing the contents of Rusher's papers says that included in the several boxes of material dating 1972-1987 are correspondence and memoranda, financial records, minutes of meetings, lists of supporters and fundraising material.

Former New Jersey superior court judge Andrew Napolitano '72, the only CAP member who could be reached by The Daily Princetonian, earlier said that he has "zero recollection" of Alito participating in the group. "His recollection and mine — which is that there's no recollection of him attending any of this stuff — are the same," Napolitano said earlier this month. "In my opinion, it's a dead issue."

But in his letter, Kennedy argued the opposite.

"Judge Alito's assertion that he cannot recall anything about his controversial involvement in CAP, requires us to find other ways of fulfilling our constitutional responsibility to get at the facts," Kennedy wrote. "The Rusher papers provide a readily available means of doing so. Certainly we do not want to leave the Committee, the Senate, and the nation open to an unwelcome surprise when the papers eventually become public after Mr. Rusher's death."

He also noted that former Sen. Bill Bradley '65, who originally served on the advisory board of CAP's magazine, "publicly separated himself from the group in 1973, because he felt it promoted a 'right wing view' rather than the 'balanced view' he had been led to believe it would present."

Elliot Mincberg, vice president and legal director for People For the American Way, a liberal advocacy group that opposes Alito's nomination and called for the release of the Rusher papers in November, praised Kennedy's letter.

"We frankly did not know about Sen. Kennedy's request until it happened, but we think it was an appropriate request and we hope that Sen. Specter will take its seriously," Mincberg said in an interview. "Now [Alito] is attempting to get what would clearly be the most important job of his entire career and we think that it is perfectly appropriate to try and obtain documents that may shed light on his views."

Kennedy also noted in his letter that the Congressional Research Service, the nonpartisan research and analysis arm of Congress, had tried and failed to access to documents in Rusher's papers that may relate to CAP. "Mr. Rusher has refused to permit access unless he is told which member(s) or committee(s) are seeking it, and unless he can control the use of the materials released," Kennedy wrote, adding that a formal request from the committee "would be received with more cooperation."

Specter's office did not return a request seeking comment, and Rusher could not to be reached this afternoon.

Related: