BUSH'S LAW: THE REMAKING OF AMERICAN JUSTICE
By Eric Lichtblau
Pantheon Books, 334 pages, $26.95

Back in another world, my undergraduate days in the early 1980’s, a roommate of mine loved the tidbit (gleaned from my Washington childhood) that if you uttered certain words on a long-distance call, a transcript might end up on the desk of some spy catcher at the National Security Agency. “Hey, Pete, got those I … C … B … M’s for me today?” became a sort of punch line. “The briefcase with cash will be in the phone booth!”

I doubt college kids today are playing the same sort of game, just as the rest of us know better than to joke about explosives in front of T.S.A. inspectors. You might actually get yourself in trouble.  read more »

What is most notable about President Bush’s decision to nominate Michael Mukasey for Attorney General is how tightly his hands were tied. This is not the selection the president would have made if he had a solid approval rating and if his party still controlled the Senate.  read more »

Here’s what state Inspector General Kristine Hamann just said about the notion of a conflict of interest in her investigation into Spitzer aide Rich Baum, who she reports to:

"You might want to know the federal inspector general, Glenn Fine, who reports to Alberto Gonzales, is investigating Alberto Gonzales."

She later said any investigation into Baum "would not have brought final resolution" to the issue, since the Albany district attorney was still reviewing the issue for criminal wrongdoing.

A number of conservatives have tried to make the argument that there's an obvious parallel between Alberto Gonzales, who was criticized for his lack of candor when testifying before congress, and Eliot Spitzer, whose top aides came under fire for their lack of cooperation when questioned by the state Attorney General.

Yesterday, Chuck Schumer tried turning around that analogy, saying people have begun to ease up on Gonzales now that he resigned his job as the U.S. Attorney General, and that people should do likewise when it comes to Spitzer.

At a community meeting in Manhattan last night, I asked Sheldon Silver if comparing Spitzer and Gonzales was fair. Here's what he said.

"I don't think it's a fair comparison. Number one, in the Spitzer case, the Spitzer-Bruno case, both matters were referred to the attorney general for determinations of legality. After an examination by the attorney general, who is the highest ranking legal officer in the state, he determined there were no laws broken.

"Second, the Ethics Commission, lead by Dean Feerick, who has an outstanding reputation for honesty and fairness, has undertaken to examine the issue. Third, the Albany County District Attorney has undertaken to examine the issue for points of legality, and whether any criminal laws [were broken]. That was only the Spitzer aspect of it.

"For me, I accept the determination of the attorney general. There were no illegalities. I accept that. And, you know, that should be the final word. In that respect, I believe we should move on, governing the state of New York and forget the political aspect of it.

"I mean, these hearings that the Senate thinks they want to do in addition to eveything that's been done by the ethics comission and the Albany County district attorney, I think, is superfluous. And I think its an attempt to politicize the situation, rather than deal with the issues that affect people..."

Chuck Schumer defended Eliot Spitzer and said everyone should move forward and "point to the future."

Someone at New York 1 News sent over a clip of the yet-to-be-aired interview with Schumer. In it, Schumer said:

I find him to be hands on, I find him to be smart. People make mistakes. No question about it. What his administration did, as he said, was a mistake. But he’s moving forward. And I hope everyone will move forward with him. Just as I said with the US Attorneys, now that Gonzales is gone, I hope we can wrap that up quickly and point to the future. I think the same thing would apply to the state.

One major difference there, of course, is that Gonzales resigned and the Spitzer aides involved in the scandal haven't.

In the same interview, Schumer was asked about the troubles surrounding Hank Morris, a political consultant who helped elect Schumer to the Senate. "Well, Hank has been an outstanding political consultant," he said. "He’s a man of great, great intelligence and perception and I find him to be a person of integrity." He added, "But as for this investigation, I don’t know the details."

The interview with Schumer will air tonight at 10.

'Where's Ed Levi now that we need him?'  read more »

Word of Alberto Gonzales’ surprise resignation broke at about 8:30 this morning and within minutes there was a clear front-runner to succeed him: Michael Chertoff, who now runs the Homeland Security Department. (Chertoff’s name actually emerged before the embattled Gonzales stepped aside.)

A Justice Department press conference has been scheduled for 10:30 Monday morning, presumably to formally announce the Attorney General’s resignation. President Bush, vacationing in Texas, is slated to make a statement at 11:30. In theory, he could also use that appearance to announce his new A.G. nominee, but given Bush’s affinity for Gonzales and his reluctance – the very end it seems – to cut him loose, it’s more likely Bush will use the occasion simply to heap praise on his longtime friend.

On the surface, Chertoff could be a problematic pick, since his D.H.S. tenure has been marked by prickly relations with Congressional Democrats – particularly over his department’s response to Hurricane Katrina and his nebulous “gut feeling” comment this summer about a supposedly looming terrorist attack.

Tellingly, however, Chuck Schumer – the Democrats’ de facto attack dog on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will hold confirmation hearings for the new A.G. nominee – just appeared on CNN and pointedly drew a distinction between Chertoff’s role and D.H.S. and his previous work as a United States Attorney and federal judge. That strongly suggests that Democrats may feel that, with Gonzales’ long-sought resignation, they now have their pound of flesh and thus won’t make a successor’s confirmation unduly torturous – unless Bush pushes the envelope with his pick.

On the off chance that Chertoff is not chosen, there are a few other names in the air. One is Ted Olson, who was Bush’s first Solicitor General. But Olson, who is beloved by the right for his legal work on behalf of the G.O.P. during the 2000 Florida recount, might touch some raw nerves among Senate Democrats. John Danforth, the former Missouri Senator who lost out to Dick Cheney for the second spot on the G.O.P. ticket in 2000, would be a slam-dunk for Senate confirmation, given his moderate reputation and the high regard his former colleagues have for him. And there’s also Orrin Hatch, the 73-year-old Utah Senator who stood alone among Senate Republicans in loudly defending Gonzales these past few months. Some believed Hatch, who long dreamed of a Supreme Court appointment, was angling to curry favor with the White House so that he might be tapped for a career-capping stint as A.G. if and when Gonzales stepped aside.

But if the White House was already leaning to Chertoff, Schumer’s comments a few minutes ago only made the D.H.S. secretary’s nomination that much more likely. The biggest down-side for Chertoff may be the short tenure: By the time he’s confirmed, he’d only get about a year on the job before the next President cleans house.

**UPDATE (10:35 AM): Gonzales used his 10:30 press conference to announce his resignation, effective September 17. True to form, his brief remarks didn't shed any light on the reasons for his departure, nor did he address any of the controversies that have enveloped him this year. He ignored questions from reporters.

**UPDATE II (11:53 AM): Bush just stepped off of Marine I in Crawford, Texas and made some equally brief remarks. He announced that Solicitor General Paul Clement will serve as the interim Attorney General after Gonzales' 9/17 departure and until a nominee is confirmed. He also praised Gonzales as "a man of integrity, decency and principle" and bemoaned that Gonzales' "good name was dragged through the mud for political reasons." Shortly after Bush's remarks, CNN reported that some administration sources are now waving reporters off of Michael Chertoff as Gonzales' likely successor, given the potential for an ugly, Katrina-fueled nomination fight.

The New York Times is reporting that the U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will announce his resignation later this morning:  read more »

While politicians of both parties have repeatedly denounced Alberto Gonzales for public mendacity and abuse of office, a few of them finally have stepped up to do what must be done.  read more »

If it’s true that Orrin Hatch is “campaigning” to succeed Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General, then he surely helped his cause on Sunday.  read more »