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.
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE LAUNCHES JOINT INVESTIGATION OF NOMINEE MICHAEL CHERTOFF AND ALLEGED JUSTICE DEPARTMENT MISUSE OF ORGANIZED CRIME OPERATIVE
Illegal Activity by FBI and Other U.S. Agencies While Mr. Chertoff was U.S. Attorney in New Jersey
Judicial Watch Requested a Meeting to Brief the
Judiciary Committee Earlier This Week
(Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption and abuse, announced today that the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary has launched a joint investigation of judicial nominee Michael Chertoff, who was slated to join the bench of the U.S. Court of Appeals to the Third Circuit, and the alleged Justice Department misuse of organized crime operatives by the FBI and other U.S. government agencies in the District of New Jersey (among other northeastern U.S. jurisdictions), while Mr. Chertoff served as the U.S. Attorney. The announcement by Judiciary Committee Chairman, Senator Orrin Hatch, came during a contentious committee “mark-up” hearing, this morning.
Judicial Watch requested a meeting with members and staff of the Judiciary Committee on Monday, May 19, 2003, in order to present information concerning the evidence it had developed. When the Committee did not respond, Judicial Watch Chairman and General Counsel Larry Klayman wrote letters to, and personally approached, senators in a last-ditch effort to have the Committee examine and consider the evidence.
Today’s Judiciary Committee mark-up hearing became the forum wherein Judicial Watch’s earlier request surfaced. Senators from both parties expressed caution and a keen interest and urgency in examining the evidence. Based on their serious concerns, Committee Chairman Hatch and Ranking Member Senator Patrick Leahy urged and then launched a joint investigation into the matter. Importantly, all Democrats on the Committee refused to vote for Chertoff, and instead registered “present.”
“We offered our information to the Senate with the hope of providing transparency and accountability in government to the American public. It is a matter of the Senate conducting a serious investigation and we are pleased to cooperate with its investigation,” stated Judicial Watch Chairman and General Counsel Larry Klayman.
There's clearly one Republican on this thread who still doesn't get it, LOL.
IMO, Chertoff knows more about the Clintons than anyone in the Judicial Dept of the US Govt. Too, too bad he can't be turned loose to get the scuzzy thieves off the streets.
IMO, Schumer overstates his importance.
We can't go into the 2004 Election without knowing the Truth about Bill and Hillary Clinton!
Why not?
Why is Klayman playing?
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