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Acting AG Was Last Minute White House Pick
On Monday, we noted that Peter Keisler was unexpectedly slotted in as the man to replace Alberto Gonzales until the President's nominee, Michael Mukasey, was confirmed by the Senate. This morning, The Washington Post is the first paper to take much notice of the move, and reports that it caught pretty much everyone, including officials in the Justice Department, by surprise:
While Mukasey's nomination is pending, the Justice Department will be run by former civil division chief Peter D. Keisler, a conservative appointee who this week was a surprise replacement in that role for Solicitor General Paul D. Clement. Clement, who was publicly tagged last month as the temporary replacement for Gonzales, wound up officially taking the helm at 12:01 a.m. Monday and relinquishing it 24 hours later, officials said.The switch was made on Sunday by the White House with no input from Justice Department officials, said two sources with knowledge of the matter. The change added another level of uncertainty to life at the Justice Department, where nearly every top senior official has resigned in the wake of controversies under Gonzales....
More:
The move raised eyebrows among liberal advocacy groups and Democratic lawmakers who had stalled Keisler's nomination by Bush for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Keisler's earlier nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit was blocked by Maryland's senators...."It's interesting that the White House chose to appoint a lawyer in this way . . . something that would be pleasing to ultraconservatives," said Nan Aron, president of the Alliance for Justice, a liberal group.
Comments (16)
M M wrote on September 19, 2007 10:56 AM:Bush/Cheney are like petulant children who can't stand it when they don't get their way,"you think you got us on Gonzo and will hold up Mukasey's confirmation for more memos from us, well take that!" As Cheney said the other day, he is also too smart to leave any fingerprints (memos) around for people to figure out his bureaucratic maneuverings. Thankfully, these children will be shown the door come January 2009 and welcomed to the waste bin of history.
Doc Rock wrote on September 19, 2007 11:35 AM:Was this a ploy to "motivate" expedited treatment for Judge Mukasey's nomination? If so, then there may be good reason to give Mukasey closer scrutiny than it may have appeared at first.
Anonymous wrote on September 19, 2007 11:36 AM:How can Bush just pick anyone to be Acting AG? Aren’t there laws governing this? If there isn’t a process, the acting selected could be unqualified. Something is amiss.
Not that Congress cares.
Plowboy wrote on September 19, 2007 11:37 AM:This looks very suspicious. What did Clement do or refuse to do that White House had no alternative to acting in such a unilateral manner? I suspect that a lot more is going on than Leahy's document demands.
mbbsdphil wrote on September 19, 2007 11:53 AM:Unexpected for whom? As Scott Horton and Marcy Wheeler point out, Keisler's appointment seems a well planned move that pushes Mukasey's nomination and which may also achieve considerable legislative or regulatory gains for the WH, Ed Gillespie and AT&T.
When will Congressional Democrats stop expecting to see a slo pitch softball meeting them at the plate when what they're getting is nothing but screwballs and curves at 90 miles an hour?
mbbsdphil wrote on September 19, 2007 11:55 AM:Bush can appoint anyone he wants as acting AG. He can nominate anyone he wants as AG, subject to the Senate's advice and consent.
mbbsdphil wrote on September 19, 2007 11:57 AM:Bush can appoint anyone he wants as acting AG. He can nominate anyone he wants as AG, subject to the Senate's advice and consent.
Jolly Ranchero wrote on September 19, 2007 12:18 PM:"How can Bush just pick anyone to be Acting AG? Aren’t there laws governing this? If there isn’t a process, the acting selected could be unqualified. Something is amiss."
Excellent point. In order to speed up the nomination of some crazy winger, for example, why couldn't Bush just declare his daughter Acting AG? Or Rove? Are there no procedures that must be followed, or can he literally name ANYONE to this post? What if they have no law degree?
bp wrote on September 19, 2007 12:34 PM:Just a thought: no one really wants the actg job. Keisler, who has struggled to get a judicial appt is hardly in a position to do much. Perhaps we give the WH too much credit for being savvy or artful when in fact their options are limited. The poor polling on the Bush speech and the Petraeus Report are indicators. The Shrub has lost his mojo. Whew! Thanks.
H.H. McCool wrote on September 19, 2007 12:55 PM:could it be that by appointing another crony who will cover the administration's ass as the acting attorney general, the white house is daring leahy, et al, to hold up the confirmation of mukasey, a more independent sort, with their demands for documents concerning the u.s. attorney scandal.
thus, if the senate committee does put a hold on mukasey's nomination, the white house will be more than happy to let keisler, a gonzo clone, continue in that role.
L.C. wrote on September 19, 2007 1:30 PM:Leahy had said that he would hold up nomination of an AG until he gets more documents from the WH which the WH has no intention of doing,so Bush puts his man in,Keisler,as acting AG and Mukasey will just sit on the side lines until...until Jan 2009
chisholm wrote on September 19, 2007 2:56 PM:Leahy is never going to get the documents.
Mukasey can wait.
What's the problem? Keisler is the party-first apparatchik the Republicans need anyway.
Nice one George!
jswift wrote on September 19, 2007 4:47 PM:"Bush can appoint anyone he wants as acting AG."
No, he can't. The person selected must already be a Senate-confirmed appointee.
apishapa wrote on September 19, 2007 6:26 PM:I think Emptywheel is right. Keisler was previously a lawyer for AT&T and will be instrumental inhelping them avoid prosecution for warrantless spying issues. I mean it's pretty obvious. Bush wants to grant immunity to telecoms so he appoints a telecom lawyer as AG.
anonoman wrote on September 19, 2007 6:42 PM:Congressional Judiciary committees should bring Keisler in for hearings on any role he played in the USA firings. In particular, what role did Keisler play in the Carol Lam firing, and by inference, what role did Medicare fraud play in the USA firings?
Keisler was part of the Bush team giving big time Bush contributors and the defrauding corporations sweetheart settlements. Carol Lam was prosecuting Alvarado, a Tenet HC owned hospital, when she as fired. Tenet was facing, on May 10, a (quoting Kyle Sampson's May 11 e-mail) "real problem we have right now with Carol Lam."
May 8, 2006 - OIG notified Tenet that OIG intended to propose to exclude Alvarado and Tenet based on Alvarado’s alleged payment of kickbacks to physicians.
May 17, 2006 - Tenet Healthcare Agrees to Divest Alvarado Hospital
May 18, 2006 - Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) provides false information to AP that Lam has prosecuted only 6% of 289 suspected immigrant smugglers.
June 2006 - Keisler and Yang announce Tenet agreed to pay over $900 million to the United States to resolve its liability under the False Claims Act. Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) ends investigations by DoJ and US Attorneys.
July 31, 2006 - London Times reported the existence of the US Department of Justice investigation of Novation’s conduct and quoted Professor Prakash Sethi, president of the International Center for Corporate Accountability at Baruch College in New York, "My most conservative estimates suggest that GPOs extract extra profits of $5 billion to $6 billion...."
Dec. 7, 2006 - Michael Battle, director of the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, calls seven U.S. Attorneys to ask for their resignations.
Dec. 13, 2006 - McNulty curbs USAs, Prosecutor powers, centralized decision at highest levels, quashes independent corporate fraud decision making.
Also, Tenet Healthcare paid $360,000 in 2006 to Quinn, Gillespie & Assoc., their new lobbyist.
The Oracle wrote on September 19, 2007 11:01 PM:The right-wing Republican Gestapo strikes again.