I hope they block the Mukasey nomination even though

Post #293,224 by Seamus 9/19/07 8:43:30 PM Reply	I hope they block the Mukasey nomination even though I am not sure about the interim AG: he clerked for Scalia, worked for Senator Aschroft, was a member of the Federalist society and filed a brief in the 2000 presidential election court case. As to Mukasey's connections with Giuliani? Forget this morning's papers if you want all the details. As Ron Mills pointed out yesterday in his cleverly named blog, Ron Mills \ufffd News And Commentary, Mukasey is a really close pal of Rudy's \ufffd he administered the oath of office to newly elected Mayor Giuliani twice in 1994 \ufffd once in Mukasey's apartment. Mukasey was already a member of the Giuliani campaign's "Justice Advisory Committee", and Mukasey's son Marc is a partner in Rudy's law firm. The apartment oath and the fact that Marc Mukasey is a law partner of Rudy's somehow didn't make it into this morning's New York Times story. But if Rudy wins the '08 election, you can be sure of one detail: Mukasey will stay on as AG. A bigger question is what he would do to help Rudy get elected. From the [link\|http://www.villagevoicenation.com/2007/09/war_of_terrors_new_front_mukas.php\|Village Voice.] Seamus
Post #293,247 by Seamus 9/19/07 10:15:00 PM Reply	Sorry the interim AG I spoke of was Clement The new interim AG, Peter Keisler, is even scarier. Naming him to the interim AG post is probably meant to insure a quick approval of Mukasey. Instead, Congress should actually hold up the Mukasey nomination until the Bush administration provides the requested documents by the Judiciary committee and brings Keisler before in front of the committee to explain how he is going to depoliticize the Justice Dept. Seamus
Post #293,254 by Another Scott 9/19/07 10:23:20 PM Reply	Yup. I'll be interesting to see how Sen Leahy parries.
Post #293,443 by Seamus 9/22/07 9:32:47 PM Reply	I think he will be probably be confirmed, but I hope not [link\|http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/23/us/23mukasey.html?hp\|NYT] ... And he showed little sympathy to people held as material witnesses after the Sept. 11 attacks. ... Judge Mukasey has attracted occasional criticism for what was said to be a hardhearted and overly formal application of the law. In 2004, for instance, he dismissed a class-action suit against an Italian insurance company brought by the estates and survivors of people who died or lost property in the Holocaust. He said he was deferring to \ufffda federal executive branch policy favoring voluntary resolution of Holocaust-era insurance claims\ufffd through a private commission. Thane Rosenbaum, who teaches law at Fordham University and is the author of \ufffdThe Myth of Moral Justice,\ufffd was critical of that decision and said it was suggestive of how Judge Mukasey might approach the job of attorney general. \ufffdThe fact that Mukasey ruled in favor of executive pre-emption in a case that was crying out for legal and moral relief,\ufffd Mr. Rosenbaum said, \ufffdmight reveal his sentiments when it comes to the ultimate power of the presidency, for instance, in fighting terrorism.\ufffd Outside of terrorism cases, I can appreciate his consistency and his stand on this case: Last year, when the Justice Department sought his permission to force a mentally troubled defendant to take psychotropic drugs to render her competent to stand trial, Judge Mukasey expressed a visceral disgust for the idea, even though the Supreme Court had endorsed it. Seamus

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