More Lawmakers, Pols Say Mubarak Must Go

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY), as we noted before, have called for President Mubarak to step aside and allow a new leader for Egypt. Several other lawmakers have also called for his resignation:

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL): "Mubarak will have to go."

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney: "He needs to move on."

Leahy Closes It Out: 'I Believe You"

"I respect your pledge...that you will do your best to consider every case impartially, modestly, with commitment to principle and in accordance with law," Leahy says. "Solicitor General Kagan, I believe you."

With that, the open session has ended.

Leahy: Over 1000 People Watched Hearings In Person

"I'm pleased that over 1,000 members of the public were able to attend your hearings in public, and thousands more watched your confirmation hearing on television," Leahy says.

Leahy: Kagan 'Impressive'

In his closing argument today, Leahy praises Kagan and her "impressive, some would say encyclopedic knowledge of the law."

"I can see what so many of your students...consider you a wonderful teacher of the law," Leahy said. "I really wish I could be back in law school taking a course with you."

Sessions: I'm Worried About The Idea Of 'Legal Progressivism'

Sessions takes on Kagan in his final remarks of today's open session. Expresses "concern" with the military recruiting at Harvard issue -- "I think your actions there are not consistent with the law." He also attacks her as a "legal progressive."

Says after 3 days of hearings, he still feels "uneasy" about Kagan.

Sessions And Leahy Close Out Open Session

With pair of statements.

Even With Closed Session Looming, We Might Not Be Done Yet

Per Christina, TPM's crack reporter in the room: "They might come back [into open session] tonight."

Open Session Coming To An End

After Sen. Coburn's final 10 minutes of questions (starting now) the session will break again and then reconvene in closed session, Leahy announces.

Grassley And Kagan Talk Defense Of DOMA

Kagan again refuses to discuss the issue because she expects the issue will come before the Court soon.

Sessions Returns To Foreign Law Again

Similar conversations as we've already heard on the topic. Kagan again affirmed that she will use American legal precedent to make rulings on the Supreme Court.

Sessions Goes Back Up

Kagan: Isn't Email A Wonderful Thing?

Sen. Amy Klobuchar just revised her earlier comments that no women were in the Senate back in 1980 after receiving "many emails" reminding her that former Sen. Nancy Kassebaum (R-KS) was already in the Senate at the time.

"Isn't email a wonderful thing?" Kagan said. "You can learn you're wrong right away."

Franken Defends Marshall

"This is the man who won Brown v. Board of Education...the man who proved that separate but equal was inherently unequal," Franken said. "This is a giant of the American legal system."

"Justice Marshall wasn't some activist radical -- rather his views were very much in the mainstream," he added. "I just think that we need to be aware of that and to remember that."

More Media Freedom Talk From Franken

Asks Kagan if she believes the First Amendment could "inform how the government looks at anti-trust cases" in the media landscape.

"I think I would defer to people who know a lot more about anti-trust policy than I do," Kagan said.

Franken Back Up

Talking about media consolidation and the Comcast-NBC merger.

WATCH: Sessions And Kagan On Abortion Rights

Video from earlier today.

More On Women And The Law From Klobuchar And Kagan

Kagan notes advances but said "there's just not the kind of diversity I think anybody would want."

Klobuchar Compares Today To 1980

Kobuchar pushes back on Coburn's statements that people feel less free today than they did 30 years ago by pointing out that no women served on the Supreme Court and none on the Judiciary Committee, and only two in the Senate 30 years ago.

Klobuchar Back Up

Starts with a question about "the Anita Hill hearings."

Leahy To Coburn: Ask Something Or Shut It

Leahy just cut off Coburn's second round, who asked for more time. "With all due respect to the Senator," Leahy said, "if they're questions fine, if they're 10-15 minutes speeches...I'd prefer questions."

Coburn Asks The Grassley Question On Guns

Coburn: "Do you believe it is a fundamental pre-existing right to have an arm to defend yourself?"

Kagan: "I very much appreciate how deeply important the right to bear arms is to millions of Americans and I accept Heller, which made clear that the 2nd Amendment conferred that right onto individuals."

Kagan Says She 'Hopes' She Would Have Voted For Miguel Estrada

Yesterday, Kagan told a Republican questioner that she personally supported Miguel Estrada's 2001 nomination to the appeals court, which was defeated by a filibuster in Congress. Today, Coburn asked her to elaborate -- would she have voted for Estrada if she were in the Senate at the time?

"I hope I would have," Kagan said. "Who knows what it feels like to be one of you guys? And to be subject to all the things that you guys are subject to?"

"I'm gonna let you in on a little secret," Coburn said. "It's not all that much fun."

Coburn Up For Round 2

Roberts Court Again Focus Of Whitehouse Questioning

As he did this morning, Sen. Whitehouse (D-RI) is asking Kagan about precedent -- and specifically what the five Republican appointees on the Court have done to it. Whitehouse says the 5 member majority has "steered" the Court "far to the right."

Whitehouse Up For Round 2

Leahy Updates Schedule

All Kagan questioning will end today/tonight, including closed session questioning where press is not allowed.

...And We're Back

13,000 Fresh Emails Added To 'Elena's Inbox'

Awesome Sunlight Foundation project updated with 13k new threads of emails Kagan received while working in White House.

Reminder: Watch The Hearings Live Here

Not near a TV? You can watch all the Kagan confirmation fun on our live link here.

Time For Recess

Leahy calls a break in the "action" at the end of Cornyn's questions.

Military Recruitment Takes Center Stage Again

Cornyn's talking about military recruitment with Kagan again.

"Explain to me what impact the policy had other than to stigamtize the military?" he asked.

"It certainly was not to stigmatize the military," Kagan said. "Every time I talked about this policy and many times besides I talked about the honor I had for the military and how much the military meant to our country and how we all have the freedoms that we have thanks to the military."

"The purpose of the policy was to express support for our students who were being discriminated against," Kagan added, referring to gay and lesbian students who are not allowed to serve openly in the armed forces.

Cornyn: Do You Think We Hate Justice Marshall?

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) asks Kagan if she thinks, like some observers do, that Republicans have been been disparaging Thurgood Marshall when they've called him an activist judge recently.

"I take everything that has been said here...as people that are operating in good faith," Kagain said. "I take no offense on behalf of myself, on behalf of Justice Marshall or on behalf of anybody else at anything that's been said here."

Cornyn Up

Pincus On Senators' Favorite Constitutional Provisions

More from our hosted liveblog today:

Of course campaign finance and the Second Amendment have been the big winners. As I noted yesterday, abortion used to be a hot topic but it's only had one mention thus far (from Senator Hatch). But we've had questions about the prohibition of establishments of religion (Senator Feinstein), the Sixth Amendment right to confront witnesses (Senator Klobuchar), the Constitution's restriction of federal courts' jurisdiction to "cases and controversies"--called "standing" in legalspeak (Senator Feinstein); the First Amendment, in particular limitations on libel claims and the recent Supreme Court case dealing with animal "crush" videos; and the Takings Clause, which requires the government to pay just compensation for any property taken for a public purpose (Senator Grassley).

Cardin Up

One of the few Democrats to ask a second round of questions today.

More Sessions On Marshall

""One of the greatest justices in history even though I disagree with a lot of his rulings."

Sessions: 'Our Guys Say Justice Marshall Was An Activist Judge...

...Do you agree with that?"

Kagan: "I'm not going to characterize any Justice as an activist judge, as a restrained judge. I think the best I can do is set forth the principles that I think are appropriate and to say that if I'm lucky enough to serve, Justice Kagan would abide by those principles."

WATCH: Kagan Dodges Gay Marriage Questions

Kagan's refusing to give an opinion on gay marriage in the hearings so far. Check out our video.

What A Difference A Day Makes

Andrew Cohen, via Twitter:

"Yesterday, Sen. Graham was warm and fuzzy and flirty with #Kagan. Today, he's tossing red meat to his conservative supporters on abortion."

Sessions Gets Constructionist

Sessions asks Kagan how the Court could rule one way in Plesse vs. Ferguson on segregation and the other in Brown vs. Board "without the language of the Constitution changing."

"How could the Court do that and still be consistent with strict constructionism?" Sessions asked.

"The words of the Constitution did not change," Kagan replied. "But two things did change: the precedence changed and understandings and circumstances in the world changed."

Sessions Up

Says he "might not" need a third round of questions later.

Foreign Law Bogeyman Back Again

The GOP meme about Kagan respecting foreign law is back again in Kyl's questioning. You'll recall this has been a big deal for Republicans since the Supreme Court struck down the Texas anti-sodomy law by, in part, citing foreign legal opinions on the subject back in 2003.

Yesterday, Kagan faced many questions about her respect for foreign court opinions and whether or not she'll respect them in legal opinions should she be confirmed.

"I do believe that this is an American Constitution," Kagan told Kyl today. "One interprets it by looking at the text, the structure, our own history and our own precedence and that foreign law does not have precedential weight."

Kagan said that judges "can learn something" from foreign legal opinions though, just as they might "from a law review article about a similar subject."

Kagan: Gitmo Letter Could Lead To Recusals

She's not saying it's probable, but Kagan is saying it's possible that the 2005 letter about Gitmo she signed could lead her to recuse herself from cases surrounding the military prison there and at Bagram.

Gitmo Vs. Bagram

In response to a question from Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Kagan says that her 2005 letter on the prison at Guantanamo Bay does not express "a view on the question of habeus rights at Bagram."

Kyl Up

Kicks things off with question about the 2005 letter Kagan and several other law school deans wrote to Congress opposing a bill that would strip courts of most jurisdiction over Guantanamo Bay.

Kyl Up

Kicks things off with question about the 2005 letter Kagan and several other law school deans wrote to Congress opposing a bill that would strip courts of most jurisdiction over Guantanamo Bay.

...And We're Back

Everyone fed, Leahy kicks off the afternoon round of the hearing.

Kagan Headlines Around The Web

A sample of headlines from this morning's Q&A:

"Kagan tries to assure senators she has no ideological agenda" - McClatchy

"Senate Republicans Told To 'Keep Their Powder Dry' Until Kagan Hearings End" - NPR

"Sessions Questions Kagan's Commitment to Defending DADT as Solicitor General" -- CBS

"Kagan: World Doesn't Turn Around Judges" - Fox News

"Elena Kagan Declines To Criticize Roberts Court On Third Day Of Hearings" - AP

Greenwald: Kagan 'Marginally More' Forthcoming Than Recent Noms

On Twitter, Glenn Greenwald -- who criticized the Kagan nomination from the outset -- is having it out with commentators praising Kagan for being open and honest about her views.

"Yes - more forthcoming than Sotomayor and Roberts, who said NOTHING," he tweets. "But only marginally more."

Greenwald has praised (sort of) Kagan in the hearings for being " is definitely as smart as her friends have been claiming - no denying that."

Specter's Tough, Part II

Per MSNBC's Carrie Dann, live blogging the hearings from inside the room:

"As he was yesterday, Specter - a former Republican chairman of this committee and now a Democrat - is visibly frustrated with Kagan's reluctance to answer his questions. "You haven't answered much of anything," he said."