[Infowarrior] - Senate confirms Mukasey as attorney general

[Richard Forno]

Senate confirms Mukasey as attorney general

By Richard B. Schmitt, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
November 9, 2007

http://tinyurl.com/yoz9do

WASHINGTON -- The Senate voted Thursday night to confirm the nomination of
Michael B. Mukasey as attorney general, despite often emotional opposition
from Democrats who said his refusal to disavow a controversial interrogation
method made him an unsuitable leader for the U.S. Justice Department.

The vote was 53 to 40, with six Democrats -- including Sen. Dianne Feinstein
of California -- and one independent supporting the nominee.
 
The 66-year-old retired federal judge from New York is expected to be sworn
in today as the third attorney general of the Bush presidency. Among the
challenges he will face in the next 14 months is the perception that the
department was heavily influenced by political considerations under his
predecessor, Alberto R. Gonzales.

The late-night vote came after a procession of Democrats took to the Senate
floor to denounce Mukasey -- and the Bush administration -- as failing to
take a firm stand against the use of torture in questioning terrorism
suspects.

Mukasey in particular has come under fire for refusing to say whether he
believed that waterboarding -- an interrogation technique simulating
drowning that dates to the Spanish Inquisition -- was unlawful.

American interrogators are believed to have resorted to the technique in
questioning some high-value terrorism suspects captured after the Sept. 11,
2001, attacks, but the administration has refused to say whether it was ever
employed.

Democrats chided the nominee Thursday night for refusing to acknowledge what
they said was an obvious and long-standing truth, and they said his
reticence raised questions about whether he would act as an independent
check on President Bush.

"We need an attorney general to tell this king that he is wrong and that the
rule of law will apply," said Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa). Harkin said Mukasey
"may run a good department" if confirmed but expressed doubt that Mukasey
would stand up to Bush.

"There is no question that this time will be remembered as a dark chapter in
America's otherwise steady march toward justice," said Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). "But for now, all we can do is . . . turn the
page to a brighter day. What we can do today is reject this nomination."

The margin of confirmation -- narrower than that for either Gonzales or John
Ashcroft, Bush's first attorney general -- was hardly the vote of confidence
that the White House or even Senate Democrats expected when Bush tapped
Mukasey in mid-September to succeed Gonzales. Gonzales and Ashcroft were
confirmed with "yes" votes of 60 and 58, respectively.

With 18 years on the federal bench and experience as a federal prosecutor
and private lawyer, Mukasey impressed lawmakers with his legal acumen and
judgment during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary
Committee last month. From the start, he was considered a compromise choice
by the White House, calculated to avoid a prolonged confirmation battle, and
he was recommended by Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), one of the Senate's
most liberal thinkers.

Ultimately, Schumer and Feinstein gave Mukasey the votes needed to move his
nomination from the committee to the Senate floor.

Feinstein said Thursday night that Mukasey was being treated unfairly and
that her fellow Democrats should focus more on shoring up the embattled
Justice Department than "pounding our chests" against torture. She noted
that the White House indicated it would not nominate another candidate if
the Senate rejected Mukasey.

"Some people, I think, want to keep the issue [of torture] alive rather than
solve the problem. I am not one of those people," Feinstein said. "This is
the only chance that is going to be offered to put new leadership in the
Department of Justice. If you believe it is in disarray, there is only one
action to take."

rick.schmitt at latimes.com