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Schumer, Feinstein rescue Mukasey nomination

Via NY Transfer News Collective  *  All the News that Doesn't Fit
 
sent by Steven L. Robinson - activ-l

The New York Daily News - Nov 2, 2007
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wn_report/2007/11/02/2007-11-02_schumer_feinstein_rescue_mukasey_nominat.html


Schumer, Feinstein rescue Mukasey nomination

Sens. Chuck Schumer and Dianne Feinstein said Friday they would vote to
approve Michael Mukasey as attorney general, making his confirmation
likely.

Both Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Feinstein (D-Calif.) are members of the Senate
Judiciary Committee.

Schumer said the retired New York federal judge wasn't an "ideal
choice," but he said Mukasey was "far better than anyone could expect"
from the Bush administration.

Earlier, Mukasey's chances of confirmation looked slim after Sen.
Patrick Leahy, chairman of Senate Judiciary Committee, said he would
vote against the nomination.

Leahy (D-Vt.) said Mukasey, a pal of GOP presidential hopeful Rudy
Giuliani, had not taken a strong enough stand against the use of
torture on terror suspects.

"No American should need a classified briefing to determine whether
waterboarding is torture," said Leahy.

Mukasey once seemed a shoo-in to succeed Alberto Gonzales as the
nation's top cop. But his nomination moved to shaky ground when, during
hearings last month, he repeatedly refused to say whether he thinks
waterboarding - the simulated drowning of a suspect - is an illegal
form of torture.

Mukasey was nominated in September to replace Gonzales, who resigned
after months of pressure. Gonzales was accused of politicizing the
Justice Department after the firings of nine U.S. attorneys who were
not considered supporters of the administration's politics.

Earlier Friday, President Bush renewed his plea for Mukasey's
confirmation.

"He's a good man. He's a fair man. He's an independent man, and he's
plenty qualified to be attorney general," Bush said in Columbia, S.C.

With News Wire Services

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