Maneuvering but little ire greet AG pick

President Bush won early acclaim from both parties on Monday for tapping former federal judge Michael Mukasey as his new attorney general, but signs of a delayed confirmation and uneasiness from conservatives could add up to trouble in the Senate.

{mosads}The choice of Mukasey, whose handling of terrorism cases from his Manhattan bench earned plaudits from liberals and conservatives alike, appeared designed to avert serious opposition from Senate Democrats. Even as they hailed Mukasey’s distance from the White House, however, Democrats stopped short of setting the timetable for confirmation eagerly sought by his GOP supporters.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) put the administration on notice that he could not schedule a Mukasey hearing until a deal is reached on compliance with several outstanding subpoenas.

“I stand ready to work with [the White House] in the coming weeks to get the material we need, and then once that material is available, to find the appropriate time to schedule a hearing,” Leahy said on the floor.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) epitomized his party’s reaction to Mukasey, appearing pleased that the president heeded his warning not to pick former solicitor general Ted Olson while cautioning: “But there should be no rush to judgment.”

Atop Democrats’ list is testimony from former White House aides on the mass firings of U.S. attorneys and documents on the legal rationale for the administration’s warrantless wiretapping program. Yet Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), a senior member of leadership and the Judiciary panel, suggested that Democrats should not insist on getting a reply to their subpoenas before agreeing to a Mukasey hearing.

“I think that to hasten an attitude of confrontation when the White House has taken a step forward would be a mistake,” Schumer said, calling the attorney general pick “a sign of good faith.”

Schumer’s criticism of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales made him a bugaboo of congressional Republicans, who blasted the Democratic Senate campaign chief for a fundraising appeal tied to the U.S. attorneys probe. Now some Republicans are watching closely how Schumer approaches Mukasey, noting that the New Yorker floated the judge as a consensus pick for the Justice Department this year and for the Supreme Court in 2003.

“If you’re Chuck Schumer in this situation, and you’ve called for new leadership [at Justice], said this guy is qualified … how are you going to make it subject to a political process without appearing political?” one Senate GOP aide asked.

Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.), ranking Republican on the Judiciary panel, said he shared Democrats’ desire to obtain subpoenaed information but urged the majority to place no conditions on a Mukasey hearing.

Referring to the U.S. attorneys and wiretapping inquiries, Specter said, “These are all very, very important matters. But I don’t think they are as important as what’s happening in Justice day in and day out today.”

Mukasey has reached out to senior senators of both parties, meeting Monday with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), GOP Conference Chairman Jon Kyl (Ariz.), Specter and Schumer. The nominee’s Capitol courtesy visits will continue through this week, the White House said.

Meanwhile, introducing Mukasey to conservatives may be as crucial as winning Democratic backers. Skepticism about the nominee from some conservatives, including the Catholic group Fidelis and editors at the National Review, raised the prospect of a backlash from Bush’s already-alienated base.

“Their concern seems to be less about the nominee in particular than it is about the idea that [Bush should have picked] an Olson or someone who may have been more contentious,” the Senate GOP aide said.

One potential red flag for conservatives is Mukasey’s presence on a 2005 list of consensus Supreme Court nominees assembled by the liberal-leaning Alliance for Justice. But while Nan Aron, president of the Alliance, hailed the Mukasey pick as “a step in the right direction,” she headed off any implication that Mukasey would coast to approval.

“I’m sure the worry for ultra-conservatives is that, at first glance, he’s not one of theirs, not a Bush partisan,” Aron said in an interview. “But he’s very conservative, very law-and-order.”

A senior administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told reporters that Mukasey met privately with conservative activists on Sunday, the day after Bush offered him the job, but declined to discuss any specifics. The visit appeared aimed at assuring Bush allies that Mukasey could meet with their approval even while winning over Democrats.

“I think that for the conservatives who care about issues that we care about, it’s only fair that they get a chance to meet him and to have a chance to think about if they could support his nomination,” White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said yesterday.

Mukasey denied a 1994 asylum request from a Chinese man who sought refuge in the U.S. to help his wife avoid a forced abortion under Beijing’s “one child” policy. Perino noted on Monday that Mukasey’s ruling then was in line with that year’s asylum law, and that the judge’s later rulings reflected a 1996 change in the law.

Mukasey denied a restraining order to Operation Rescue in 1992 after the anti-abortion group alleged that its members were blocked from protesting in front of a New York City church, according to local media reports. He also ruled against the Justice Department last year in its high-profile case against former congressional aide Susan Lindauer, who was accused of acting as an agent of Saddam Hussein’s regime.

Mukasey left the federal bench last July to enter private practice. In a strange echo of past confirmation fights, he was replaced by Kimba Wood, whose nomination to become attorney general derailed in 1993.

The White House also said Monday that Assistant Attorney General Peter Keisler, whose nomination for the federal appellate bench has languished in the Senate, will serve as acting head of Justice until Mukasey is confirmed.