SEPTEMBER 17, 2007 by Faiz Shakir, Amanda Terkel, Satyam Khanna,
Matt Corley, Ali Frick, and Jeremy Richmond
Who Is Michael Mukasey?
Today, President Bush nominated retired federal judge Michael Mukasey to replace Alberto Gonzales as the nation's Attorney General. Nominated as a New York federal district court judge by President Reagan in 1987, Mukasey has amassed a great deal of experience on national security issues. Over his career, he "presided over the trials of 'blind sheik' Omar Abdel Rahman and others in connection with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing." He also handled the case against Jose Padilla, who was declared an "enemy combatant" by Bush in 2002. In the Padilla case, "Mukasey ruled that the government had the power to make the declaration but found that [he] should have access to his lawyers." Given the the urgent need to repair a disheveled Department of Justice in the wake of Gonzales's departure, Mukasey is a sound pick that should draw bipartisan support. On the most important criteria for the next Attorney General nominee -- whether the person will be "someone who would simply be doing the president's bidding" -- Mukasey has shown an independent streak that should serve him well if he maintains it in his new job. Kenneth Bialkin, a partner at the New York office at Skadden, Arps, said of Mukasey, "There is nobody who has a greater sense of integrity and conscientiousness, and nobody who would be less corruptible than he." It will now be up to the Senate to receive commitments from Mukasey that he understands what being an independent Attorney General entails, the concept of checks and balances, and the need to cooperate with congressional oversight.
A RECORD OF STANDING UP TO BUSH: Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), who had previously recommended Mukasey to the White House as a Supreme Court pick, said, "While he is certainly conservative, Judge Mukasey seems to be the kind of nominee who would put rule of law first and show independence from the White House. . . .http://www.americanprogressaction.org/progressreport/
Good choice.
Matt Corley, Ali Frick, and Jeremy Richmond
Who Is Michael Mukasey?
Today, President Bush nominated retired federal judge Michael Mukasey to replace Alberto Gonzales as the nation's Attorney General. Nominated as a New York federal district court judge by President Reagan in 1987, Mukasey has amassed a great deal of experience on national security issues. Over his career, he "presided over the trials of 'blind sheik' Omar Abdel Rahman and others in connection with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing." He also handled the case against Jose Padilla, who was declared an "enemy combatant" by Bush in 2002. In the Padilla case, "Mukasey ruled that the government had the power to make the declaration but found that [he] should have access to his lawyers." Given the the urgent need to repair a disheveled Department of Justice in the wake of Gonzales's departure, Mukasey is a sound pick that should draw bipartisan support. On the most important criteria for the next Attorney General nominee -- whether the person will be "someone who would simply be doing the president's bidding" -- Mukasey has shown an independent streak that should serve him well if he maintains it in his new job. Kenneth Bialkin, a partner at the New York office at Skadden, Arps, said of Mukasey, "There is nobody who has a greater sense of integrity and conscientiousness, and nobody who would be less corruptible than he." It will now be up to the Senate to receive commitments from Mukasey that he understands what being an independent Attorney General entails, the concept of checks and balances, and the need to cooperate with congressional oversight.
A RECORD OF STANDING UP TO BUSH: Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), who had previously recommended Mukasey to the White House as a Supreme Court pick, said, "While he is certainly conservative, Judge Mukasey seems to be the kind of nominee who would put rule of law first and show independence from the White House. . . .http://www.americanprogressaction.org/progressreport/
Good choice.
