Specter Says Obama Did Not Consult Him on Nominees

Key members of the Senate Intelligence Committee complained this week that they had no advance notice of President-elect Barack Obama’s choice to lead the Central Intelligence Agency. Sen. Arlen Specter, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, says Obama was equally tight-lipped with him about nominees for the Department of Justice.

Specter said in prepared remarks Tuesday that Obama did not consult with him before choosing Eric Holder Jr. to be attorney general, and he tells Legal Times that Obama also did not consult with him or notify him before announcing four other Justice Department nominees Monday.

“History demonstrates that presidents who seek the advice of members of the Senate prior to submitting a nomination frequently see their nominees confirmed more quickly and with less controversy than those who do not,” Specter (R-Pa.) said. “A recent example is that of President Clinton who consulted with then-Chairman [Orrin] Hatch prior to nominating Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Justice Stephen Breyer to the Supreme Court. Both nominees were confirmed with minimal controversy.

“In contrast, on the nomination of Mr. Holder, President-elect Obama chose not to seek my advice or even to give me advance notice in my capacity as Ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, which is his prerogative.”

Specter skipped over that part of his remarks when speaking on the Senate floor Tuesday, but the full remarks are included on his Web site. In an interview, he added that the nominations announced Monday also took him by surprise.

“You ought to seek the ranking member’s advice,” Specter said in the interview. He added, “If he had, I had quite a number of things that I could have told Obama that could have been helpful to him.”

Obama’s transition team did not respond to a request for comment. Obama apologized to Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), the incoming chair and outgoing chair of the Intelligence Committee, on Tuesday when word leaked that he had chosen former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta to head the CIA before telling them.

All five of the Justice Department nominations require Senate confirmation. Holder, whose confirmation hearing is set to begin Jan. 15, will come first and is expected to draw tough questions about his time as deputy attorney general under President Bill Clinton. The other four, including Solicitor General-designate Elena Kagan and Deputy Attorney General-designate David Ogden, have been met mostly with praise, though several Republicans said they're withholding judgment.

Asked whether any of the four raise red flags, Specter replied, “They’re colorless flags. I don’t really know anything about them. But I’ll find out.”