NOT SHOWING DONALD ANY LOVE:

"I am ready and willing to support strong candidates for our judicial vacancies that do not have lingering concerns about issues that could affect their decision-making process as a federal judge," Scott said in his statement. "This week, a Department of Justice memo written under President George H.W. Bush was released that shed new light on Mr. Farr's activities. This, in turn, created more concerns. Weighing these important factors, this afternoon I concluded that I could not support Mr. Farr's nomination."

The 1991 memo said that "Farr was the primary coordinator of the 1984 'ballot security' program conducted by the NCGOP and 1984 Helms for Senate Committee. He coordinated several 'ballot security' activities in 1984, including a postcard mailing to voters in predominantly black precincts which was designed to serve as a basis to challenge voters on election day."

Farr told attendees at a 1990 meeting that the need for "ballot security" measures, such as postcards, "was not as compelling as in 1984, since, unlike in 1984, the state had a Republican governor."

In 1990, the Helms campaign sent postcards to black voters who may have changed addresses warning of "voter eligibility and the penalties for election fraud." Farr said he did not know about the decision to send the postcards, and the memo does not state that he did.

Scott spent the past days studying this memo and speaking directly to the document's author. He spoke to the author Wednesday for at least part of a nearly 45-minute period as his colleagues voted on limiting debate on Farr's nomination. Scott agreed to the limit.

On Thursday, just half an hour before Farr's confirmation vote was set to take place on the Senate floor, Scott invited several colleagues to his office to discuss the memo and hear from the author, via conference call, once again.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, told McClatchy as he headed to that meeting he was still inclined to vote for Farr but as a practice always discussed nominees with Scott, especially when race has been a factor.

"Was (Farr) a lawyer representing a client, telling them what they were legally allowed to do, or was he a political consultant determining strategy and targeting? I don't know the answer to that. It was a long time ago," Rubio explained. "But I think that's kind of what we're focused in on."

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, another senator at the meeting, had earlier in the week said she would confirm Farr but was now "taking a look at this information which was not available previously." [...]

Farr was nominated by President George W. Bush in 2006 and 2007, but never received a vote. President Barack Obama nominated two African-American women for the court, but neither received a vote. Farr was nominated for the seat by President Donald Trump in 2017 and again in 2018.

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