Bush Selects Mukasey for Attorney General
President Bush has selected retired federal judge Michael B. Mukasey to be the next Attorney General, and is expected to formally announce his decision tomorrow morning.
The Washington Post’s piece announcing the nomination gives a general impression that Democrats may view Mukasey more favorably than GOP conservatives. However, both Mukasey and his son have strong ties to Rudy Giuliani, which has already generated a guilty-by-association view.
[A] GOP source… said that Mukasey — the former chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York — has a solid reputation and is seen by Bush aides as “confirmable.” (emphasis added)
That posture may not sit well with some conservatives in the legal world, who have relished the prospect of a confirmation fight over [former solicitor general Theodore] Olson.
Mukasey would probably enjoy the crucial support of Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), who has frequently mentioned him as a good choice to replace Gonzales.
Both Mukasey and his son, Marc, are connected with Rudolph W. Giuliani’s presidential campaign, as members of the Republican candidate’s justice advisory committee. Michael Mukasey worked as a federal prosecutor alongside Giuliani early in his career.
Outside the Beltway, there are indications Mukasey may be acceptable to liberal bloggers, but not to conservative bloggers.
On the liberal side, Mr. Futomaki at Kos wrote this earlier today:
Mukasey…is a leading contender (or the leading contender) to replace the amoral and incompetent Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General…If this is true, Dems should truly breathe a sigh of relief. While the man is no liberal, he is a true lawyer’s lawyer and a staunch upholder of justice and the rule of law.
Rick Moran at the American Thinker opines that the mere notion of Chuck Schumer’s approval may upset conservatives, “raising suspicions that the former judge might not be as much to their liking as someone else.”
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