WASHINGTON, Sept. 17, 2007
Bush Taps Mukasey As Attorney General
President Nominates Retired Federal Judge To Replace Alberto Gonzales
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Play CBS Video Video Judge Mukasey Next AG?
Following Alberto Gonzales' resignation, President Bush has nominated a former U.S. Attorney, with a good reputation, who might end up tangled in his predecessor's mess. Bob Orr reports.
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Video Bush Nominates Mukasey
President Bush nominates Michael Mukasey for attorney general. Mukasey is a retired federal judge who has presided over high-profile terrorism cases. Susan Roberts reports.
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Video Bush Nominates Mukasey
President Bush has nominated former federal judge Michael Mukasey to replace Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. CBS News Legal Analyst Andrew Cohen weighs in on the nomination.
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Photo
Retired federal judge Michael Mukasey listens as President Bush announces him as his nominee for attorney general, Monday, Sept. 17, 2007, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
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Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigns amid firings firestorm, questions over handling of terror investigations.
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Justice Department at center of controversy over firing of eight U.S. attorneys.
"Judge Mukasey is clear-eyed about the threat our nation faces," Mr. Bush said.
If confirmed by the Senate, Mukasey, a retired federal judge who has handled terrorism cases for more than a decade, would become Mr. Bush's third attorney general. The president said that as chief judge of the busy U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Mukasey presided over high-profile national security cases.
"He knows what it takes to fight this war effectively and he knows how to do it in a manner consistent with our laws and our Constitution," Mr. Bush said, standing next to Mukasey in the Rose Garden.
Mr. Bush urged the Senate to quickly confirm Mukasey.
Mukasey oversaw the convictions of the blind sheik, Omar Abdel Rahman, and 11 others in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, reports CBS News correspondent Bob Orr. More recently, he supported the president's detention of Jose Padilla as an "enemy combatant" but rejected arguments that the al Qaeda sympathizer be denied a lawyer.
If he gets a nod from the Senate, Mukasey would take charge of a Justice Department where morale is low following months of investigations into the firings of nine U.S. attorneys and Gonzales' sworn testimony on the Bush administration's terrorist surveillance program.
Mukasey said he was honored to be Mr. Bush's nominee to take the helm of the department.
"My finest hope and prayer at this time is that if confirmed I can give them the support and the leadership they deserve," he said.
"I look forward to meeting with members of Congress in the days ahead and, if confirmed, to working with Congress to meeting our nation's challenges," Mukasey said, just before shaking the president's hand and walking back with him into the Oval Office.
It won't be a cakewalk, but Mukasey will likely win Senate confirmation, reports CBS News correspondent Bob Fuss.
New York Democrat Chuck Schumer, who led the charge to oust Gonzales, said that while Mukasey "is certainly conservative," he "seems to be the kind of nominee who would put rule of law first and show independence from the White House - our most important criteria."
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he believes the president listened to Congress and decided against a more partisan replacement for Gonzales. He said Mukasey had "strong professional credentials and a reputation for independence."
"A man who spent 18 years on the federal bench surely understands the importance of checks and balances and knows how to say no to the president when he oversteps the Constitution," said Reid, D-Nev. "But there should be no rush to judgment. The Senate Judiciary Committee must carefully examine Judge Mukasey's views on the complex legal challenges facing the nation."
In picking Mukasey, the president bowed to pressure from Democrats, who had threatened to fight the nomination of any conservative insider, adds Orr.
Last week, top Democrats specifically warned against naming former Solicitor General Ted Olson, who was thought to be at the top of the president's list.
The White House, however, denied that Mr. Bush chose Mukasey to avoid a battle in the Senate.
"It's not the president who is looking for a fight. The Senate Democrats have made the Department of Justice their cause celebre for the past several months and they have decided that that's where they wanted to fight," Perino said. "If they decide to make an issue about this nomination, that will be at their feet and they're going to have to explain that to the American people. ... We're not looking for a fight."
Perino dodged a question about whether the president saw Mukasey as a consensus nominee. "I think what he is is a very solid nominee," she said.
Perino said Mukasey will "bring fresh perspective" to the Justice Department and to the president, reports CBS News correspondent Peter Maer.
Mukasey currently serves as a judicial adviser to GOP presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani. Perino said that if Mukasey is confirmed, he will sever ties with the Giuliani campaign. Perino said that Mr. Bush offered the nomination to Mukasey on Friday, and he accepted.
Bush critics contended the Mukasey nomination was evidence of Mr. Bush's weakened political clout as he heads into the final 15 months of his presidency. The president's supporters say Mukasey has impeccable credentials, is a strong, law-and-order jurist, especially on national security issues, and will restore confidence in the Justice Department.
Mukasey has drawn lukewarm reviews from some members of the GOP's right flank. Some legal conservatives and Republican activists have expressed reservations about Mukasey's legal record and past endorsements from liberals, and were drafting a strategy to oppose his confirmation.
William Kristol, editor of the conservative Weekly Standard, said some of his fellow conservatives are upset that Olson, the former solicitor general, who represented Mr. Bush before the Supreme Court in the contested 2000 election, was not chosen.
Mukasey, chosen in large part for his experience in national security matters, noted the threat of terrorism in his brief remarks. "Thirty five years ago, our foreign adversaries saw widespread devastation as a deterrent," he said. "Today, our fanatical enemies see it as a divine fulfillment."
Mr. Bush gave a quick, final nod to the departed attorney general, Gonzales, who resigned after months of turmoil and accusations of mismanagement.
"I've known Al and his family for more than a decade," Mr. Bush said. "He's a dear friend and a trusted adviser."
Until a new attorney general is confirmed by the Senate, Mr. Bush said, Assistant Attorney General Peter D. Keisler will serve as acting attorney general. Keisler oversaw the Bush administration's lengthy legal fight over the rights of terrorism war-era prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.
Keisler had announced his resignation from the department in early September. He had been nominated by Mr. Bush earlier in the year for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The Senate has not acted on Keisler's nomination.
Mr. Bush said that Keisler had agreed to stay on at the Justice Department, which will allow Solicitor General Paul Clement to focus on his duties as the government's chief advocate as the Supreme Court nears the opening of its new fall term.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 68 CommentsGoogle ''Susan Lindauer'', someone else who challenged the Bu$h WMD lie, and ended up held in a mental health facility for years, drugged into silence. Mukasey had her released, and ruled that the US government was wrong to hold someone as a political prisoner for challenging the Bu$h/Cheney coup...
This woman''s heart is as black as Satan. How does she sleep at night. How do any of these sleep?
This administration never explains ANYTHING to the American people but they are the first to hold others up for accountability. Get these hypocrites out of the White House before they stain it permanently black.
This woman''''s heart is as black as Satan. How does she sleep at night. How do any of these sleep?
This administration never explains ANYTHING to the American people but they are the first to hold others up for accountability. Get these hypocrites out of the White House before they stain it permanently black.
Posted by AaaBee
This was exactly my thought as well. It just looks like the WH is chomping at the bit for a fight according to her words. They are already threatening veto on the children''s insurance bill, now she wants to start trouble on this. She learned her bullying techniques from Mr. "Bring ''em on!"
GWBUSH has appointed
Just another CRIMINAL with out HISTORY so the CRIMINALS can
buy TIME until they STEAL EVERY THING EVERYONE OWNS
========================
UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT
Veasaw v. Domingues,et al.
No: 05-1467
Securities and Exchange Commission was giving away and/or selling Govt. jobs,
and Government employees commit CRIMES against the people,
Government employees (SEC DOL EEOC) commit CRIMES
in order to GAIN the upper hand in the Court room
Perjury, mail/wire fraud, conspiracy, obstruction of justice,
and NOT ONLY did the Justice Dept covered it up..
and NOT ONLY did the COURTS COVERED IT UP.
and the GREAT US SUPREME COURT were helping them it COVER UP..!
PEOPLE don''t worry about your retirement
the CRIMINALS working for the SEC
are going to take care of that.
On the US SUPREME COURT BUILDING
it reads
EQUAL JUSTICE FOR ALL
PEOPLE it isn''t
Left / Right
Clinton / Bush
Democrat / Republican
CAN''T YOU SEE
THEY ARE TREATING EVERYONE LIKE PUPPETS
It is
who are the ELITE
and
who are the PEASANTS
JUSTICE is FOR SALE
either in the COURTS or by the POLITICIANS
NO MONEY - GO TO JAIL
NO MONEY - LOOSE YOUR COURT CASE
NO MONEY - NO RIGHTS
IF YOUR A BUREAUCRAT (or part of Family..etc )-
THE LAW DOESN''T APPLY TO YOU
On the US SUPREME COURT BUILDING
it reads
EQUAL JUSTICE FOR ALL???
non muslims of the world unite... fight against the tyranny of the fascist nazi terrorslam imperialist empire of the darkside...
I was a fanatic...I know their thinking, says former radical Islamist
By blaming the Government for our actions, those who pushed this "Blair''s bombs" line did our propaganda work for us.
More important, they also helped to draw away any critical examination from the real engine of our violence: Islamic theology.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=465570&in_page_id=1770
Bless the Beasts and Children
Fascist nazi terrorslam kills every man woman and child in the village again%u2026 typical mo for terrorslam%u2026
http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/bless-the-beasts-and-children.htm
Our Prophet commanded us to fight the kaafirs when we are able and to attack them in their homelands and to give them three choices before we enter their lands: either they become Muslim and be like us, sharing our rights and duties; or they pay the jizyah (poll tax) and feel themselves subdued; or they fight, in which case their wealth, women, children and homes become permissible as booty for the Muslims.
http://islamqa.com/index.php?ref=13759&ln=eng&txt=before%20islam%20arabia%20pagan
the truth about fascist nazi terrorislam...
http://www.terrorismawareness.org/what-really-happened/
Qaeda warns of attacks ''worse than 9/11''
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=070530102648.wuwa6k96&show_article=1
Hizbullah Deputy Sec-Gen Sheikh Naim Qassem: We Have Jurisprudent Permission to Carry Out ''Martyrdom'' Operations, Fire Missiles on Israeli Civilians From Ayatollah Khomeini
http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD154907
Switching Sides: Inside The Enemy Camp
But then in 2000, well before his arrest, something happened which would make Abas question everything he believed in: a fatwa, a religious edict, was issued by Osama bin Laden.
"It should be understood that killing Americans and Jews anywhere found are the highest act of worship and the highest form of good deeds in the eyes of Allah," Simon quotes bin Laden.
Abas and his fellow commanders were ordered to read the fatwa to their men and make sure they carried it out. The others obeyed, but Abas refused. It was his moment of truth. He firmly believed that jihad was to be fought only on the battlefield in defense of Islam; he had always been taught that the killing of civilians had nothing to do with holy war and that it was forbidden.
The fatwa justified killing non-Muslim civilians everywhere.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/04/60minutes/main2761108.shtml?source=RSSattr=60Minutes_2761108
American Al Qaeda Member Threatens Attack
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/29/terror/main2865282.shtml
dnc are like john adams and want to give the jihadist their lunch money hoping they will leave us alone....
gop are like thomas jefferson and want to spend their lunch money on weapons and go kick the jihadists in their arses.....
What Thomas Jefferson learned from the Muslim book of jihad
Thomas Jefferson knew about fascist nazi islam..... he killed plenty of them....
In 1786 Jefferson and John Adams went to negotiate with Tripoli''s envoy to London, Ambassador Sidi Haji Abdrahaman or (Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja). They asked him by what right he extorted money and took slaves. Jefferson reported to Secretary of State John Jay, and to the Congress:
The ambassador answered us that [the right] was founded on the Laws of the Prophet (Mohammed), that it was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have answered their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as prisoners, and that every Mussulman who should be slain in battle was sure to go to heaven.[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Barbary_War
http://www.usvetdsp.com/jan07/jeff_quran.htm
muslim justifies slavery and piracy%u2026
http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?6bdec278-6a71-4436-bc4d-29d1c54b0ad7
I doubt that, if he did Bush would not appoint him.
Posted by briannorwood at 10:06 AM : Sep 17, 2007
and you thought gonzales was bad... CHECK OUT JANET BENO...
HSU A NO HSU AT HEARING%u2026 LOL
Democratic Donor a No Show at Hearing
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070906/D8RFKG500.html
Dems Dirty Donor Norman Hsu Fails to Show for Bail Reduction Hearing Leading to Speculation He''s On the Run
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295828,00.html
china buys usa elections???
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=chinese+campaign contributions democrat
Big Source of Clinton''s Cash Is an Unlikely Address
Family''s Donations Closely Track Those Of Top Fund-Raiser
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118826947048110677.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news
Report: Hillary Clinton Big Money Donor Wanted for Grand Theft
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Hillary Clinton Big Money Donor Wanted for Grand Theft&btnG=Search
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295031,00.html
Leading Clinton Donor Stays Below the Radar
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB118835199704811801.html?mod=blog
''DIRTY CASH'' MAN FLEES
http://www.nypost.com/seven/03042007/news/nationalnews/pro_clinton_dirty_cash_man_flees_nationalnews_christine_field.htm
RNC pushing the China angle
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0807/RNC_Pushing_the_China_angle.html
I declare a cut and paste jihad on all jihadies who jihad against Bush''s global jihad.
I declare a cut and paste jihad on all jihadies who jihad against Bush''''s global jihad. Fascist nazi jihadies!
I doubt that, if he did Bush would not appoint him.
Posted by pepperp1 at 11:50 AM : Sep 17, 2007"
I don''t know. Remember they invited Colbert to the correspondents'' dinner 2 years ago. I bet they still regret it. ;-)
Bush appointed Fitzgerald in the CIA leak case and it didn''t go that smoothly.
This might be Bush''s last (of numerous) mistakes, hopefully.
Posted by socrates392 at 12:19 PM : Sep 17, 2007"
We should all feel sorry for him. It seems that by accident, Bush did the right choice for the people (maybe not for him). Only a few repugs disagree. But Bush is the decider in chief, remember.
Lars0000000008 cannot post anything on topic, what could he say ?
Lars0000000008 cannot post anything on topic, what could he say ?
Posted by abbe91 at 12:33 PM : Sep 17, 2007
I don''t think he even reads the posts. He cut n pastes the same *** everywhere. I doubt that Lars008 is even aware that Bush has made an appointment that he does not approve of because that would require reading.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=chinese+campaign contributions democrat
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/campfin/background.htm
In late 1996, a Justice Department task force started investigating allegations of campaign fund-raising abuses by the Clinton reelection campaign. Critics accused Attorney General Janet Reno of botching the investigation and demanded that she appoint an independent counsel. In a Dec. 3, 1997, Post story, Roberto Suro wrote about Reno''s decision not to appoint an independent counsel to investigate telephone fund-raising by President Clinton and Vice President Gore. See Reno Decides Against Independent Counsel To Probe Clinton, Gore.
Trie to Plead Guilty
May 22, 1999
Controversial fund-raiser Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie entered into a plea agreement with the Justice Department, winning leniency in exchange for telling all in an investigation of improper campaign contributions originating in China.
Reno Delays Decision on Ickes Investigation
December 1, 1998
Reno Rejects Probe of Gore on Lying
November 25, 1998
Panel Votes to Hold Reno in Contempt
August 7, 1998
Reno Unmoved in Senate Grilling
July 16, 1998
Reno Concedes Problems in Funds Probe
October 16, 1997
Reno Formally Rejects Independent Counsel
April 15, 1997
I guess John Edwards is supporting the war with his hedge funds. No use responding to the Witless one, he''s quite the islamofascist wonder. Always quoting his Hitler, Nazi, Communist, Socialist remarks and ascribing them to the U.S. The guy is a muslim sympathizer who pawns himself off as an American. Not creditable, not trustworthy.
the south thinks bush is the best prez, ever!
southerners are looking to draft rush limbaugh as the republican dixie candidate.
chritian creeps, redneck snakes, republican white trash...
oh well, that''s the south for you, folks!
"Judge Mukasey is clear-eyed about the threat our nation faces," Mr. Bush said.
"He knows what it takes to fight this war effectively and he knows how to do it in a manner consistent with our laws and our Constitution," Mr. Bush said
So now the AG is fighting "this war"? The last time I checked the AG was simply the top lawyer for the government and that duty extends WAY beyond terrorism.
Im not sure if this guy is right for the job or not. I don''t know much about him. Maybe the focus should be on his overall abilities and not his support of the president''s "war on terrorism".
INVESTIGATION OF ILLEGAL OR IMPROPER ACTIVITIES
IN CONNECTION WITH 1996 FEDERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGNS
FINAL REPORT of the COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
SENATE Rept. 105-167 - 105th Congress 2d Session - March 10, 1998
The China Connection: Summary of the Committee''s Findings Relating to Efforts of the People''s Republic of China to Influence U.S. Policies and Elections
The individuals who facilitated the contributions have either elected to take the Fifth Amendment or flee the country. Beijing has denied the Committee''s request for assistance. Moreover, after its hearings concluded, the Committee learned that the Chinese leadership was pleased no PRC agencies have yet been implicated in the campaign finance scandal.
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/1998_rpt/sgo-sir/2-18.htm
Add a few more to your list
Hillary Clinton
Obama
Dianne Feinstein,
Barbara Boxer,
Edward Kennedy
John Kerry,
Reps. Michael Honda
Doris Matsui
Joe Sestak
Al Franken,
Antonio Villaraigosa,
$7,000 to former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg
$10,000 to a failed initiative for universal preschool pushed by entertainer Rob Reiner.
Just to name a few people Hsu has contributed to as of late. Yeah,
SHE SHOULD BE CHARGED WITH TREASON ALONG WITH THE KLINTOONS AND THE DNC,,,
Clinton Attorney General Janet Reno blocked investigators%u2019 efforts at the Justice Department.
Many of the Chinagate donors were successfully prosecuted even though Clinton Attorney General Janet Reno blocked investigators%u2019 efforts at the Justice Department. More than 100 people connected to the fundraising scandal fled the country, however. Norman Hsu seems to be following their lead.
http://www.corruptionchronicles.com/2007/09/hillary_donor_flees_like_china.html
Since the Dimnowits feel it is their place to fight the war by imposing restrictions on our Generals and the President, I don''t see any problem with getting the DOJ invovled in the act too. Seems nobody on the Hill knows their place but they continually try to fool the uninformed to believe it is they that run the country and they that were elected to make foreign policy.
---
And even more concerned ont what Guiliani would do, he has less experiance than any on either side, he profiteered into the multi-millions off of 9/11 & got thown off of his duty to the Iraq Study Group to stuff more money in his pockets.
,,,, Or how about Fred Thompson the lawyer for Lybia in defending the Lockerby Pan Am Flight 103 terrorist bombing ??????
Alas, since we have a two-party system, I''m with you.
----- TRY LISTENING FOR ONCE BUSH LOVERS --- IT AIN''T GOING TO HAPPEN ------
The only think I wonder about is how CBS lets anti-semitic A_HOLES like you post here!
Re: "Bush Taps Mukasey As Attorney General"
Wouldn''t it be a better idea to "tap" this man as an organ donor for Afghan/Iraqi victims?
hahaha even bill maher calls you moonbats hahaha
Bill Maher takes a jab at the 9/11 Truth movement in a recent "New Rules" segment.
"Crazy people who still think the government brought down the Twin Towers in a controlled explosion have to stop pretending that I''m the one who''s being naive," says Maher.
How big a lunatic do you have to be to watch two giant airliners packed with jet fuel slam into buildings on live TV, igniting a massive inferno that burned for two hours, and then think ''Well, if you believe that was the cause...''
Stop asking me to raise this ridiculous topic on the show and start asking your doctor if Paxil is right for you."
http://rawstory.com//news/2007/Bill_Maher_Thinks_911_Truthers_should_0915.html
hahaha even bin laden calls you moonbats hahaha
Bin Laden Wants ''Caravan'' of Martyrs
Osama bin Laden urged sympathizers to join the "caravan" of martyrs as he praised one of the Sept. 11 suicide hijackers in a new video that emerged Tuesday to mark the sixth anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070911/D8RJ9V900.html
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=osama+bin laden claims responsibility 911
WTC
New Three-D study supports federal finding in 9-11 tragedy
http://www.fox19.com/Global/story.asp?S=6683593&nav=0zHF
Study Supports Fed''s Finding On WTC Collapse
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=nation_world&id=5401655
Simulation Finds 9/11 Fireproofing Key
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4905202.html
Debunking The 9/11 Myths - Mar. 2005 Cover Story
PM examines the evidence and consults the experts to refute the most persistent conspiracy theories of September 11.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military_law/1227842.html
Study Backs Up Feds'' Theory of Why World Trade Center Collapsed on Sept. 11
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,284816,00.html
Posted by king77shaw at 02:40 PM : Sep 17, 2007
Have you ever read a book called "Protocols of the Elders of Zion"? I think you''d like it. Full of Jewish Conspiarcies. Too bad its fiction written by the Tsarist secret police.
You, my friend, are an anti-semitic moron. Do you think all Catholics are trying to pursue the aganeda of the Vatican too? Man, you''re stupid.
Feeble and even hateful ideas must be allowed in public discourse so that they may be defeated openly by better ideas. If bad ideas are suppressed, they acquire a certain allure and the proponents of hate and idiocy can claim to be martyrs. Best to let weak ideas be eliminated by being exposed as weak.
Still, it is a disgrace to see Mukasey condemned for his religion and also to see his reputation attacked by the mental midgets.
You are highly anti-semitic. Really, the fact that the Judge is jewish, doesn''t make him any less qualified unless you like the witless wonder are CAIR supporters. Otherwise take you very stupid, prejudice remarks and choke on them.
Posted by j-whitman
Hey, Lars, Witless is getting pretty desperate. But then we know Witless is a propogandist.
The involvement of Mr. Thompson, who worked part-time for Arent Fox as a lawyer and lobbyist from 1991 until shortly before his election to the Senate in 1994, never became public. But Arent Fox%u2019s chairman, Marc L. Fleischaker, confirmed that Mr. Thompson, who is now seeking the Republican presidential nomination, briefly provided Mr. Culver with advice about the suspects%u2019 case, billing the firm for 3.3 hours of his time. The firm was hired to provide guidance on the tense questions surrounding where the two men should be tried, Mr. Fleischaker said, and Mr. Thompson%u2019s background as a former prosecutor, as well as his government relations experience %u2014 he had close ties to senior officials in the first Bush administration %u2014 %u201Cgave him insight on jurisdictional issues such as that.%u201D I would hardly say that 3.3 hours of billing time constitutes defending the terrorists that blew up the plane over Lockerbey.
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