Sure, Michael Mukasey might be a consensus choice for attorney general, the non-political appointee whose leadership might put an end to the rancor, intrigue, and embarrassment that's marred the high-level workings of the Justice Department of late. But that doesn't mean Senate Democrats are going to let the guy walk right on in.
The Associated Press reports that Senate Judiciary Chairman Pat Leahy (D-Vt.) has informed Mukasey that, before he gets confirmation, he'll have to answer some questions that his predecessor, and the Bush administration, have declined to address.
Among the things Leahy intends to press Mukasey on at his confirmation hearing are whether Justice would stay out of electoral fraud investigations that might sway a race's outcome, whether Mukasey would allow a contempt citation against White House officials to go forward if necessary, and whether he shares the Bush administration's belief in its right to withhold information from Congress on a number of fronts.
"Regrettably, the White House has chosen not to clear the decks of past concerns and not to produce the information and material it should have and could have about the ongoing scandals that have shaken the Department of Justice and led to the exodus of its former leadership," Leahy wrote in the letter. "Those matters now encumber your nomination and, if confirmed, your tenure."
And in other AG nominee news, more Mukasey disclosure documents have become public, including Mukasey's list of the top 10 matters he's litigated. Heading straight for the juicy bits, the AP says that among his clients in private practice were the New York Daily News (libel suit) and a dial-a-porn operation (interstate transportation of obscene materials).
One bullet that the nominee seems to have dodged: Mukasey reports he quit the University Club when it refused to admit women.
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