According to the AP, Obama has interviewed Judge Sidney Thomas of Montana for the Supreme Court.
He was a bit of a dark horse, so it's VERY interesting that the WH chose to leak this interview.
Obama interviews Sidney Thomas
President Barack Obama on Thursday interviewed federal appeals court Judge Sidney Thomas of Montana for an opening on the Supreme Court, a person familiar with the conversation told The Associated Press.
The roughly hour-long session at the White House was the first known formal interview that Obama has conducted for the upcoming vacancy on the high court. It is not clear whether Obama has interviewed other candidates in person.
Vice President Joe Biden also interviewed Thomas at the White House in a separate meeting Thursday, said the person familiar with the conversations, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss Obama's private deliberations.
So who is he? Sidney Thomas Bio
After graduating from law school, Thomas entered private practice at Moulton, Bellingham, Longo & Mather, a law firm in Billings, Montana.[3] He became a senior partner at Moulton Bellingham, where he specialized in commercial litigation,[3] as well as government, bankruptcy and media law.[4]
Thomas also served as the standing bankruptcy trustee for all bankruptcy cases filed in the Billings Division of the United States District Court for the District of Montana from 1978 until 1981, and served as an adjunct instructor in law at Rocky Mountain College from 1982 to 1995.[5]
On July 19, 1995, President Bill Clinton nominated Thomas to his current seat on the Ninth Circuit. The United States Senate confirmed Thomas in a voice vote on January 2, 1996. Thomas's nomination had been briefly held up by then U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns of Montana, who had wanted the nominations of Thomas and judicial nominee A. Wallace Tashima delayed until the passage of a bill to split the Ninth Circuit.[2]
Judge Thomas authored the opinion in Nadarajah v. Gonzales,[6] a 2006 civil rights case.
For those who don't know, Nadarajah v. Gonzales was a case about in immigrant who had been held indefinitely. Judge Thomas wanted none of that, and ensured that the individual was treated fairly.
So, it's clear the WH let this name leak to reporters as virtually EVERY reporter confirmed this information. What's less known is whether Obama has interviewed others. According to Savannah Guthrie of MSNBC on Twitter:
POTUS has met with multiple candidates for SupCt, including Sidney Thomas (that mtg first reported by AP). These have been in person at WH.
Again, interesting that he was interviewed by Obama. There usually is an interview process with the top 4 contenders. I didn't think he was on that list.