If you take it as a given in our democratic society that the president has a right to appoint attorneys general who share his judicial philosophy, then Mukasey is a great choice. Everyone agrees he's a "lawyer's lawyer," a lawman for whom the law comes before political considerations.
But now the Dems are in a bind. They can only go so far in pressing the White House for heretorefore withheld documents unless they want to be seen as "obstructionist" in Mukasey's confirmation hearings.
Two Senate Democrats warned today that they might delay confirming President Bush’s next attorney general unless the White House turns over documents relating to several investigations, a move that could provoke the kind of confirmation fight that the Bush administration was hoping to avoid.
These are documents of considerable value to ongoing Congressional investigations about the infamous former AG, and the White House has been obdurate about letting them leave the premises. How far can the Senate Judiciary Committee go in its insistence on seeing them?
“All I want is the material we need to ask some questions about the former attorney general’s conduct, on torture and warrantless wiretapping, so we can legitimately ask, ‘Here’s what was done in the past, what will you do?’ ” Mr. Leahy, the committee chairman, told reporters.
Whether that is a negotiating tactic, or a threat that could turn into an all-out battle, was unclear today. But Mr. Leahy did say he had told the White House counsel, Fred F. Fielding, that the nomination could not go forward without the information, and that “cooperation with the White House would be central” to scheduling hearings.
Fortunately, the right wing of the Republican party is not enthusiastic about Mukasey (he isn't known to burn crosses or bomb abortion clinics along with Bush's most argent "base"). So Bush is not free of feeling pressure from both sides on both sides of his nomination. The Democrats have some wiggle room in the timing of the hearings and a little leverage for forcing the White House to release possibly damaging material about Alberto Gonzales. Other than that, their goal is to make sure Mukasey is a reliable "anti-crony." Mukasey's independence would seem to be a pretty good bet.
But didn't many say that about our new Supreme Court Chief Justice whom this blog dismissed from the start because of his glittering, mad blue eyes?
