Mukasey Nomination Likely to Move Forward
After another day of lobbying by President George Bush, two key Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee say they will vote in favor of forwarding his nomination of Michael Mukasey as U.S. attorney general to the full Senate for confirmation.
Sen Charles Schumer of New York and Dianne Feinstein of California, announced at the end of the day that they will support Mukasey’s nomination, reports the Washington Post. Their move ends a revolt by a number of other Democrats on the committee, who said they would not support Mukasey because he refused expressly to declare waterboarding to be an illegal form of torture during his two-day confirmation hearing last month.
“I deeply esteem those who believe the issue of torture is so paramount that Judge Mukasey’s views on it should be the sole determinant of our vote,” said Schumer in a written statement. “But I must respectfully disagree. The Justice Department is a shambles: politicized and demoralized. The belief and hope that Justice Mukasey, with his experience, independence and integrity, can restore the department motivates my vote.”
As discussed in earlier ABAJournal.com posts, there had been growing criticism about Mukasey’s position on waterboarding which had threatened to derail his nomination when a follow-up letter still didn’t satisfy objecting senators. However, following lobbying yesterday and today by President Bush, a critical mass of senators appears ready to move the nomination forward at a scheduled vote on Tuesday.
Schumer said he decided to support Mukasey after the 66-year-old former federal judge “told him in a meeting today that he would enforce any anti-torture legislation passed by Congress,” the newspaper reports.
