One Air Force recruiter’s memo concludes: “We shouldn’t allow [Harvard Law School] to play this game.”
Critics view Kagan’s stance in seeking to limit the access of military recruiters on the law school campus as a reflection of antimilitary bias. Supporters see it as a manifestation of her deeply held belief that the Pentagon’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy banning gay men and lesbians from serving openly in the military is a civil rights travesty.
“She was right,” Vice President Joe Biden told ABC’s "Good Morning America" in mid-May. “This is not a single bit of antimilitary bias.”
Sen. Jeff Sessions, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, disagrees.
“Ms. Kagan … kicked the military out of [Harvard’s] campus recruitment office,” he said in a speech on the Senate floor. “She gave big law firms full access to recruit bright young associates, but obstructed the access of the military as it tried to recruit bright young JAG officers to support and represent our soldiers as they were risking their lives for our country. It was an unjustifiable decision.”
'Kagan disregarded the law'
Senator Sessions added: “Ms. Kagan disregarded the law in order to obstruct military recruitment during a time of war.”
Defense Department documents show that Kagan’s efforts to hinder military recruiting immediately attracted the attention of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, among other Pentagon officials. “What can we do about that?” Mr. Rumsfeld asked in a memo to his general counsel.
