Posted on 05/24/2003 10:49:01 AM PDT by Joy Angela
Judiciary panel OKs appeals court choice
Partisan `hackles' lacking at hearing
WASHINGTON --
The Senate Judiciary Committee, serious and humorous by turns,
approved Michael Chertoff's nomination to an appeals court Thursday
after a late allegation and debate that ranged all
the way to a disgraced New York Times reporter
and McCarthyism.
On the good-natured side, a smiling Sen. Charles
Schumer D-N.Y., said across the committee table at one
point to Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, "Lucky for you
there aren't two of me."
Hatch, the committee chairman who is as conservative as
Schumer is liberal, smiled back as he
, "It's a great blessing for the country."
Chertoff, the head of the criminal division at the
Justice Department and a former federal prosecutor
in New Jersey, was nominated to a seat on the 3rd
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
And while the Judiciary Committee has been the setting
for several fierce battles over President
Bush's judicial nominees in recent months, his
appointment hasn't been one of them.
The appointment "doesn't raise hackles" among senators
who have helped filibuster two of Bush's appeals
court nominees so far, Schumer said at one point.
But on the eve of a scheduled vote, Judicial Watch, a
conservative group, circulated letters to lawmakers alleging
it had "important evidence concerning the misuse of organized
crime operatives by the FBI" and other agencies.
During the time of the alleged illegal activity, the letter said, Chertoff
was U.S. attorney for New Jersey.
Democrats, in particular, pressed Hatch to hold up
committee approval of the nomination until a review
of the charges could be made. "I don't see holding
him up for an unsubstantiated allegation," said
Hatch
Additionally, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., raised
issue of a former Justice Department lawyer
suspected of leaking internal documents relating to
the propriety of an FBI interrogation of John Walker
Lindh. Lindh is the so-called "American
Taliban" who pleaded guilty last July to supplying
services to the Taliban and carrying an explosive
during commission of a felony.
Kennedy won a one-week delay in Chertoff's confirmation
last week, saying he was dissatisfied
with Chertoff's answers to questions about the
case.
The New York Times published an article during the day
about the attorney, Jesselyn Radack. In a reference to
Chertoff, Hatch said, "It's disgraceful that at this
last minute The New York Times is attempting to impugn anybody."
Moments later, Hatch noted that the author of the
article had "shared bylines with the infamous Mr.
Blair."
That was a reference to Jayson Blair, a reporter who
resigned from the Times on May 1 after the
newspaper found fraud, plagiarism and inaccuracies
in three dozen of his articles.
Hatch's remark sent a buzz through the committee room,
and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. broke in, "Before we
get into McCarthyism here." That was a reference to
the technique of guilt by association that Sen. Joseph
McCarthy used 50 years ago in his communist witch hunts.
LOL I wonder if Mr. Estrada and Ms. Owens wouldn't think that McCarthyism is EXACTLY what Leahy has been practicing on them.
Hatch must be getting ready to carry another load of liberal trash. Why else the need to build him up as the opposite of Schumer? He is by no means as Conservative as Schumer is Liberal. Hatch is luke warm at best and Schumer is a 'rabid foaming at the mouth' liberal, strike that, commie.
That's good news, it's about time. The Supreme Court vacancies, sure to occur, will bring all this into the open. Clarence Thomas could not have won confirmation if these morons had been practicing this obstruction them. Time to go NUCLEAR!
It will only be fun to watch if the DEMS lose, which I think they will, one way or the other, at the ballot box.
The rat you smell is Larry Klayman.
Michael Chertoff
Nominated to: U.S Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
Status of nomination: committee hearing scheduled
Michael Chertoff is currently the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division. He has had a long career in Republican legal circles and has been an active member of the Federalist Society for many years. Chertoff is known as a tough prosecutor and single-minded advocate whose demeanor has been described as "intimidating" by those who work with him. 1
Though Chertoff is a loyal Republican, he has refrained from aligning himself with the right wing of the party, particularly on social issues. He has not compiled a public record of pushing ideological extremes on issues such as abortion, school prayer or vouchers.
Michael Chertoff received a "well qualified" rating from the American Bar Association. There is little doubt that he is a talented attorney and an intelligent, committed public servant. Nevertheless, his behavior in the Whitewater investigation and his current role in the War Against Terrorism raise questions about his ethics and his belief in the civil liberties of all people. Senators should question him carefully on both these matters.
Brief Biography
Personal
49 years old
Married to Meryl Chertoff, two children
U.S. Justice Department: Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division Chertoff was nominated as head of the Criminal Division under Attorney General John Ashcroft by President Bush. His nomination was seen originally as a balance to the more right wing, ideologically-driven and controversial Ashcroft.
Since September 11th, however, Chertoff has played a key role in the war against terrorism, pursuing an aggressive agenda against suspected terrorists and Arab Americans from countries that the U.S. government claims have strong terrorism networks. Chertoff supervised the prosecution of the Zacarias Moussaoui case and has been described as "the driving force behind the Justice Department's most controversial initiatives in the war on terrorism." 3 Civil liberties advocates blame him for what they see as dangerous curtailments to free speech and the rights of criminal defendants. According to press reports, Chertoff has played a key role in several matters: first, the increase in FBI agents’ authority to conduct domestic surveillance; second, the use of "material witness" warrants to lock up people of Middle Eastern dissent; third, the interviewing of thousands of Middle Eastern men who entered the United States before and after the 9/11 attacks; fourth, the aggressive prosecution of Moussaoui, despite concern that the FBI had not found sufficient evidence to link him to the nineteen 9/11 hijackers. Chertoff’s has not only played on active role in these cases, he has also been the first to defend controversial Justice Department policies. He spoke up for the government's right to hold suspects indefinitely without counsel as "enemy combatants," as well as the government's decision to interview 5,000 Arab Americans after the 9/11 attacks.
1 USA Today, Tony Locy and Kevin Johnson, 8-14-02
2 The Record, Editorial, 3-11, 2003
3 USA Today, Tony Locy and Kevin Johnson, 8-14-02
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