Chuck Schumer

In an interview with Chuck Schumer for a story in tomorrow's Observer, the senator said he still stands by the present nominee for the Attorney General position, Michael Mukasey, because he believes Mukasey will be politically independent from the Bush administration.

Since Schumer introduced Mukasey, a fellow New Yorker, at the confirmation hearings, the nominee has stumbled in his responses about torture and the legal extent of presidential power. Presidential candidates Chris Dodd and Barack Obama have since said that they will vote against Mukasey in the Senate, potentially putting pressure on other candidates to follow suit.

But Schumer isn't budging yet.

"I'm going to give him the chance to put in detail what he means," said Schumer, referring to Mukasey's somewhat convoluted answer about torture.

More after the jump.  read more »

Bob Kerrey thinks boosting the Democrats' chances of increasing their Senate majority is not a good enough reason for him to leave his job and run for office.

Talking about his decision, made public today, not to seek the Nebraska Senate seat vacated by retiring Republican senator Chuck Hagel, Kerrey told me a few minutes ago that he was less worried about the Democratic majority than he was about the country as a whole.

"What I feel responsibility for is the possibility of putting the country in danger," Kerrey said. "I do worry about the direction and don't like the direction the country is going in a number of areas." 

"The idea of increasing the Democratic majority is not a motivator for me," he said. " Because it is me personally. I cannot run just to increase the number. If that's all that's motivating, that's a very, very small factor."   

More after the jump.  read more »

In case you missed it, Chuck Schumer had a pretty easy time of it Sunday, facing off on This Week against John Ensign to talk about electoral prospects for 2008.

Senator John Ensign, the Nevada Republican who is heading up his party’s effort to win back the Senate in 2008, doesn’t have a lot to work with—and it showed on Sunday.  read more »

Chuck Schumer's reaction to Karl Rove's resignation seems to boil down to this: if he thinks leaving will spare him from the Alberto Gonzales mess, he's wrong.

From a statement released by Schumer's office: "Karl Rove's resignation will not stop our inquiry into the firings of the U.S. attorneys. He has every bit as much of a legal obligation to reveal the truth once he steps down as he does today."

Chuck’s flack will join an ex-Spitzer aide at Global Strategy Group.  read more »

Warren Buffet will be headlining a fund-raiser for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee tomorrow night at the Regency in midtown that is expected to bring in $1.5 million, according to a source with a role in planning for event.

In case you thought Chuck Schumer was slacking.  read more »

I followed up with Chuck Schumer this morning about his much-scrutinized defense of Harry Reid's remarks last week that the war in Iraq "is lost."

Schumer had said that Reid’s verdict was related only to the war as it is currently being prosecuted, and that the overall mission, if redefined, could be a success. 

Today, Schumer was again careful to avoid repeating the Senate majority leader's phrase, though he continued to agree with Reid’s bleak assessment.    "What Senator Reid,” Schumer started, before changing course.  “If the war continues on its present course we cannot win," he said. "If we change course we can make a success of this but it needs a change in course." 

When asked what would constitute success, Schumer said "We want to prevent terrorism emanating from Iraq and striking our country.  We are not going to solve the age old problems of Iraq which was created by the British for oil purposes. Nor is that our job or is that the mandate."

I asked if there was not some American responsibility to stay and help build a secure Iraqi given that it was an American invasion that unleashed the chaos.

"There is some," said Schumer, who pointed out that the Iraq government was not doing enough to help rebuild the country. "But they are not doing that."

The Millennium UN Plaza Hotel in midtown, Senate Democratic leaders made a public plea for President Bush not to veto a $124 billion war spending measure that would order troops to begin leaving Iraq by October.

"We call on the president to look into his heart, give it one more thought and sign the bill that the American people want," Chuck Schumer said.

The inevitability of the veto made the Democratic overture little more than a publicity exercise designed to convey the message that they had done all they could.

But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid indicated that there was a point to it all, and that there was a possibility of reaching some kind of post-veto accord.

"If you look at his statements over the last few days, I think they have been promising," Reid said, citing what he called “buzz words” by the administration. "The president's changed his tune."

He added, "We understand that legislation is the art of compromise."

Chuck Schumer is having a busy time in Washington at the moment -- what with his Gonzales-related duties -- but in typical fashion, he's making time to raise money for his party.

He'll be hosting a major Fifth Park Avenue fund-raiser tomorrow night featuring Democratic Senators from across the country: Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Ben Cardin of Maryland, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Patty Murray of Washington, Bill Nelson of Florida and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island.

It’s taking place from 5 to 6:30p.m. at the home of Debra and Leon Black.  read more »