US: United States senators have told Harriet Miers, President Bush's nominee for the Supreme Court, to give more comprehensive answers to questions about her legal career, judicial philosophy and possible conflicts of interest.
Angry members of the Senate Judiciary Committee have sent back to Ms Miers a questionnaire they say she answered only sketchily, complaining that White House lobbying on behalf of the nominee is "chaotic".
Patrick Leahy, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said senators were astonished by the inadequacy of Ms Miers's answers to a lengthy questionnaire about her record. "The comments I have heard range from incomplete to insulting."
The committee's Republican chairman, Arlen Specter, criticised White House efforts to shore up conservative support for Ms Miers, including a conference call during which two Texas judges allegedly predicted the nominee would vote to overturn federal law guaranteeing abortion rights.
Mr Specter said: "I think it's been a chaotic process, very candidly, as to what has happened, because of all of the conference calls and all of the discussions which are alleged in the back room. We're looking into them."
Documents showing Ms Miers's past support for a tough anti-abortion agenda may have persuaded most Republican senators to support her nomination despite conservative grassroots disquiet. But Ms Miers could face difficult questions during hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee due to start on November 7th.
Some of the toughest could concern her role as chairwoman of the Texas Lottery Commission nine years ago, when Mr Bush was the state's governor.
The commission's former executive director claimed in a lawsuit that he was fired because he had uncovered corruption in Gtech, the company that managed the lottery. Lawrence Littwin claimed Ms Miers protected Gtech because its lobbyist, Ben Barnes, had helped to push Mr Bush ahead of other applicants for the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War.
The case was settled for $300,000 and Mr Lettwin agreed not to discuss it further. Mr Specter is free, however, to subpoena Mr Littwin and Mr Barnes to talk about the allegations before his senate committee.
Ms Miers' difficulties have added to a sense of crisis in the White House where the outcome of a prosecutor's investigation into the leaking of a CIA agent's name is awaited with anxiety.
The Washington Post reported yesterday that Karl Rove, Mr Bush's top political adviser, has admitted to a grand jury that he first heard the CIA agent's name, Valerie Plame, from the vice-president's chief of staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby.
Mr Rove had previously claimed he could not remember where he heard the name of the agent, who is married to a former US diplomat who criticised the administration in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. The special prosecutor is expected to wrap up his investigation next week.
