Bolton Vote Set For Thursday

President Bush's embattled nominee for U.N. ambassador, John R. Bolton, has gained momentum despite weeks of intense investigation, with at least one wavering Republican now falling into line with the White House.

Sen. Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., told The Associated Press on Tuesday he reluctantly would support Bolton when the Senate Foreign Relations Committee votes Thursday on whether to recommend Bolton's confirmation by the full Senate.

Democrats were looking ahead to a close committee vote and said they had not yet decided whether they would filibuster the nomination if it got to the Senate.

Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., said Tuesday that Democrats wouldn't stall the committee vote, but said he would push the panel's chairman, Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., to hold off until Democrats received information they'd requested from the State Department and the National Security Agency.

Another committee Democrat, Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said, "We've got another couple of days. I'm optimistic that we'll get a good committee vote.

"If we don't, then we'll decide" about a filibuster, said Dodd, who commented after committee Democrats met for more than an hour Tuesday afternoon.

Chafee, one of four committee Republicans who have been on the fence about the nominee, said he reviewed the reports that Bolton mistreated subordinates and abused his authority while a State Department official.

Chafee said that despite his apprehensions, he decided to support the nominee because he believes Mr. Bush, or any chief executive, should be able to choose his own team.

"I won't deny a lot of the information certainly brings great pause, but I fight the administration on so many issues; this is one of those that I've been with them on — to appoint their team," Chafee said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Three other GOP members of the committee also said they were leaning toward supporting Bolton or at least unwilling to write him off. And other Republicans predicted unified GOP support for Bolton when the committee votes.

"I think our team will be together," Sen. George Allen, R-Va., said Tuesday.

A 10-8 party-line vote on the GOP-led panel would send Bolton's nomination to the full Senate and probable confirmation.

Committee Democrats oppose Bolton on various grounds, including that he allegedly may have tried to bend government intelligence to suit ideological ends.

Democrats also sought information about whether Bolton tried to snoop on other government officials.The nation's No. 2 intelligence official, Deputy National Intelligence Director Gen. Michael Hayden, briefed leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday about Bolton's pursuit of names or other details about U.S. officials whose communications were intercepted by the NSA.

Sens. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va. — chairman and ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee — refused any comment after the approximately two-hour session. They would not say whether they would share details of the briefing with Senate colleagues.

Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, said he was reserving judgment on Bolton for now, although he has been lobbied intensely by the Bush administration. His misgivings forced a three-week delay in Bolton's confirmation vote originally scheduled for last month.

"I'm doing the best I can to get the best information I possibly can so I can make a good decision," Voinovich said.

Republican colleague Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said she remained inclined to vote for Bolton but wanted to hear from him directly before Thursday's vote. Bolton has held more than 20 private meetings with senators since his nomination was announced in March.

Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., has said he has yet to learn anything about Bolton that would keep him from supporting the nominee but planned to make his decision at Thursday's committee meeting.

Separately, The New York Times reported Tuesday that senior State Department officials were so angered by Bolton's public comments that they ordered two years ago that he be barred from making speeches unless they were cleared by superiors.

That's according to a transcript of an interview Lawrence S. Wilkerson, a longtime aide to former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, gave to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week.

Wilkerson told the panel that former Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage, the number two man in the department, had insisted on personally clearing all Bolton's speeches and testimony after unapproved comments Bolton made on North Korea and other sensitive issues caused "problems."

"The deputy made a decision, and communicated that decision to me, that John Bolton would not give any testimony, nor would he give any speech, that wasn't cleared first by Rich," Wilkerson said.

Wilkerson added in an e-mail message that the reins on Bolton "got more stringent" over time and that "No one else was subjected to these tight restrictions."

For his part, Armitage has backed Bolton's nomination, calling him "eminently qualified. He's one of the smartest guys in Washington."