Sullivan Adds Support for Thomas

Health and Human Services Secretary Louis W. Sullivan on Monday strongly backed Judge Clarence Thomas for the Supreme Court and said the nomination process needs to be examined.

In Washington, law professor Anita Faye Hill has alleged in televised hearings that Thomas sexually harassed her when he was her superior at the Education Department and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the early 1980s.

Sullivan, who, like Thomas and Hill, is black, told a lunch meeting: “I back Judge Thomas without question. I know him. There is nothing about him or his history that would lead me to believe that things that he has been charged with really happened.” Sullivan is on a five-day working visit to Japan.

He said that Thomas had worked vigorously to reduce bias, including sex discrimination and sexual harassment.

He said he had doubts about Hill’s testimony because it took her 10 years to make the allegations.

“I, personally, and I think the vast majority of Americans, have been astonished and shocked by this process,” Sullivan said.

“Both Thomas and Anita Hill are damaged by this public hearing of serious charges. We wonder what purpose it serves.

“Clearly, we need to look at this process. We need to have a process that is fair to everyone concerned. After this is over, there will be a careful discussion and examination of this process by the Congress and members of the Administration,” he said.