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For Mukasey, a quiz about independence at Justice
The nominee for attorney general appears Oct. 17 at the Senate. Democrats aim to size up his will to resist political pressure from the White House.
By Peter Grier | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the October 16, 2007 edition
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Washington - Many Democrats in Congress like and respect retired federal judge Michael Mukasey, President Bush's pick to serve as the next attorney general of the United States. One key lawmaker – Sen. Charles Schumer (D) of New York – even listed Mr. Mukasey as an acceptable conservative prior to his actual nomination.
All this bodes well for Mukasey's confirmation hearing Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee. But it also is not likely to deter the panel's Democratic majority from asking sharp questions about one key theme: whether Mukasey will ensure that the Justice Department stands up to perceived political pressure from top administration officials.
"I will inquire whether you share my view that the integrity and independence of federal law enforcement should not be compromised by political operatives from the White House," wrote Sen. Patrick Leahy (D) of Vermont, chairman of the Senate Judiciary panel, in a letter to Mukasey earlier this month.
Democrats have long charged that the mass firings of eight US attorneys last year, among other actions, showed that the Bush administration was improperly meddling in Justice Department issues for reasons of GOP political gain.
Republicans have replied that US attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president – and that Democrats have been overly harsh in their attacks on former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
Indeed, the simple fact that Mukasey is not Mr. Gonzales may help him considerably in his confirmation hearing. Democrats pushed so hard for so long to oust Gonzales that it might be difficult for them to oppose any reasonable proposed replacement.
At the nexus of US law and terrorism
Mukasey is also something of an expert on crucial issues involving US law and the war on terrorism. He presided over the criminal prosecutions of Omar Abdel Rahman and El Sayyid Nosair, who were sentenced in 1996 to life in prison for their plot to blow up the United Nations and other US landmarks.
He also ruled that terror suspect and American citizen Jose Padilla could be held by the US as an enemy combatant – but that he was entitled to see his lawyers.
"Mukasey has considerable experience, at least in trying cases involving terrorism suspects," says Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond in Virginia.
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