Bush Urged To Avoid Attorney General Fight

Senators Advise Making A Unifying Pick To Replace Gonzales

(AP)  Senators urged President Bush on Wednesday to avoid a confirmation battle over the next attorney general by picking a unifying nominee to heal a Justice Department reeling from accusations of playing politics.

The White House has dispatched some of its top aides to talk to key lawmakers on Senate and House judiciary committees, seeking names of candidates to replace Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who will step down Sept. 17.

Gonzales, who announced his resignation Monday, has been criticized over the firings of nine U.S. attorneys. Republicans and Democrats alike have challenged Gonzales' credibility over the firings and the Bush administration's terrorist surveillance programs.

In a letter Wednesday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said he looks forward to advising Mr. Bush in selecting a new attorney general who "will unite the nation."

Leahy's committee will largely decide whether to approve Mr. Bush's nominee to be the nation's 81st attorney general.

"There are a number of candidates, any one of whom could be a unifying nominee and serve as an outstanding attorney general," Leahy wrote, asking that Sen. Arlen Specter, the Judiciary Committee's top Republican, also be included in talks with Mr. Bush.

"We all want a Department of Justice worthy of its name and great tradition," Leahy wrote.

Republicans, too, said Mr. Bush needs to pick someone known more for his professional credentials than for ideology or politics.

"We need somebody with real stature and a proven record who can restore the morale at the department and be more than a caretaker," Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and a Judiciary Committee member, said in a telephone interview.

So far, no clear favorite has emerged out of more than two dozen names - most of them highly speculative - that have surfaced as possible candidates. The White House has signaled it is seriously considering five contenders, but has declined to name them, and won't likely decide on a nominee until after Mr. Bush returns from an overseas trip Sept. 9.

But three candidates - Solicitor General Paul Clement, former Deputy Attorney General George Terwilliger and former Solicitor General Ted Olson - were singled out by Judiciary Committee senators interviewed Wednesday by The Associated Press. All three are considered conservative, skilled lawyers.

Clement is meticulous and affable, has friends across the political spectrum, and is said to be interested in a seat on a federal appellate court. He will serve as acting attorney general after Gonzales leaves.

Terwilliger was the Justice Department's No. 2 for two years under President George H. W. Bush after serving as U.S. attorney in Vermont. While in Vermont, he prosecuted bomb smugglers coming over the Canadian border and was tough on drug defendants. He also was accused of making insensitive comments to a female deputy in his office - a topic that came up during his confirmation hearings.

Olson was an assistant attorney general during the Reagan administration and solicitor general from 2001 to 2004. He is said to have sided with the Justice Department, and against the White House, in refusing to approve potentially illegal terror surveillance activities in March 2004 - an episode that would endear him to Democrats. However, Olson also served as Mr. Bush's lawyer in the Supreme Court case that determined the result of the disputed 2000 presidential election.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., praised Olson as "a legendary figure in the law" and said Clement "understands how the Justice Department works." Sessions called Olson and Terwilliger "good" candidates.

And Clement "has an excellent reputation," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y. "He seems to understand the importance of rule of law. It is too early to tell, but he might - and underline might - be the kind of compromise candidate we're talking about."

Top White House aides - including chief of staff Joshua Bolten and his deputy, Joel Kaplan, presidential counsel Fred Fielding, and political advisers Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie - have been quietly seeking recommendations from lawmakers since Gonzales' abrupt resignation.

In his own discussion with Bolten, Sen. Sam Brownback said he urged the White House to "try to get somebody we could clear through relatively quickly with the Democrat Congress."

Ultimately, the new attorney general needs to be someone career Justice Department lawyers can respect, said Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md. "You need a leader who will be able to put the Justice Department back on the right path," he said.

[fizzal-2009]

Since congress wants too go beyond the legislative branch of gov,t and be judge and jury, who will be the next attourny general to be whiped and when is the judicial branch of the gov,t going to start passing laws?

They are urging him to do what? You''ve got to be kidding! Bush can''t do anything but appoint another CRONY to the position that will swear to be loyal to Him and his agenda. If he does anything else Cheney, Rove, Rumsfeld, Chertoff(the Israeli citizen), Rice(so completely incompetent that no one even bothers to report on what she does other than playing the piano and playing golf), and of course Bush himself will be on their way to JAIL for TREASON....Unless, of course, they can pull off another 911 to blame on Iran so they can declare martial law, suspend elections and arrest anyone that dares to protest....

[clestes-2009]

This is a vain hope. Bush will pick someone he can trust to cover his behind and it won''t be a unifying choice!

[clestes-2009]

This is a vain hope. Bush will pick someone he can trust to cover his behind and it won''t be a unifying choice!

[abbe91]

What about Patrick Fitzgerald ? He is republican and did a good job when Bush hired him before.

[pwrslm]

Essentially, this means CBS advocates cowtowing to the democrat majority and picking a loser for the justice departements most important possition.

[bobnjersey]

[In his own discussion with Bolten, Sen. Sam Brownback said he urged the White House to "try to get somebody we could clear through relatively quickly with the Democrat Congress." ]

thanks for being clear there mr. brownback ... cause if it was a republican congress anyone would have been ok ... as long as they didn''t represent the ideals of democracy and the rule of law (ie. ''the constitution is outdated'')

[formrusmcsgt]

The "decider" will reject this advice as he rejects, out-of-hand, anything that he doesn''t wish to hear.

The word "compromise" just does not exist in his lexicon.

[formrusmcsgt]

The "decider" will reject this advice as he rejects, out-of-hand anything that he doesn''t wish to hear.

The word "compromise" just does not exist in his lexicon.

[formrusmcsgt]

The "decider" will reject this advice as he rejects, out-of-hand anything that he doesn''t wish to hear.

The word "compromise" just does not exist in his lexicon.