AG: Who's on First?

When Alberto Gonzales finally resigned as Attorney General, President Bush said that Solicitor General Paul Clement would be acting AG until a successor was confirmed by the Senate. Clement's photo even went up on the Department of Justice web site. Now, Bush has proven himself a liar once again. After nominating Michael Mukasey as the new AG, the President announced that the acting AG will not be Clement, but "Peter Keisler, an assistant attorney general who had just announced his own resignation and whose nomination to the D.C. Court of Appeals has been held up for months by Senate Democrats." Here is the reason:

So while putting forward what purports to be a consensus nominee, in Mukasey, Bush also puts a lightning rod in as acting AG. Presumably, Bush wants to keep the heat on Dems to confirm Mukasey, by making them face the prospect of a long Keisler tenure if the Mukasey nomination is held up. This is especially true given Democrats' demands that the White House and DOJ comply with document requests pertaining to the U.S. attorney firings and the administration's warrantless wiretapping program before the Senate considers confirmation.

Considering that the President has broken so many laws, it makes sense that he wants to protect himself. It is just too bad for the country.

17 September 2007