The Supreme Court Rumor Mill: The “I Guess It Was Roberts” Edition

19 Jul, 2005 by John Hawkins

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It’s an hour and a half until the announcement. Here are the latest rumors leading up until 9 PM:

Luttig is in DC. Could he be there for the announcement?

“While I am not terribly surprised to see the Luttig children in proper attire in DC even if there is not a special occasion, the fact that Luttig is there is interesting. After all, he was down in Richmond this morning to hear oral arguments in the Padilla case, so he clearly had to beat feet back.”

Over at Tradesports, Edith Jones is in the lead and Luttig is now number 2.

Confirm Them says Roberts:

“The President today referred to the nominee as a “he.” While we should be inclined to say he is using good english, we know better than that.
Media and political types are beginning to email that it is Roberts.
One House staffer emailed and said “everyone” is gathering data on Roberts.

Bench Memos says it’s not Edith Jones:

“As much as I would like it to be Jones, those casting bets in her favor are wrong. I’ve got very solid information that it will not be her. Place your bets.”

Here’s one more from Bench Memos:

“Rumors are running wild now that Judge Clement has confirmed she’s out.”

Wow, this is like getting the first pick of the draft for political wonks! Will we go with the quarterback with great potential, the can’t miss defensive end, or the unstoppable running back? Nobody knows, but it’s not stopping anyone from speculating…still, it’s fun isn’t it? Especially since Clement isn’t getting talked up anymore and it doesn’t look like Gonzales or Wilkinson are going to get the nod either…

PS: All the names that are hot right now, Luttig, Roberts, and Jones would be fantastic picks…

PS #2: Stop by RWN a little later tonight, around 10:00ish for a round-up of blogger reactions to the pick…

*** Update #1 ***: Yes, yes, yes! Bush came through in the clutch with a great candidate! From Drudge:

“President Bush has chosen federal appeals court judge John C. Roberts Jr. as his nominee to the Supreme Court, a senior administration official says…

Roberts: ‘No support in the text, structure or history of the Constitution’ for legal reasoning in Roe vs Wade…”