Sen Leahy At Mukasey Hearing: "The Next Attorney General Has To Begin To Regain The Public Trust"

AP :

Attorney General-designate Michael Mukasey on Wednesday pledged to strike a delicate balance between keeping the nation safe and protecting the civil liberties of Americans.

"Protecting civil liberties, and people's confidence that those liberties are protected, is a part of protecting national security, just as is the gathering of intelligence to defend us from those who believe it is their duty to make war on us," Mukasey said as his confirmation hearing began. "We have to succeed at both."

Read the whole story: AP

Comments

[esquire07]

If Bush appointed him, you can bet he will break the law and betray his so called oath to "protect and defend the Constituion of the United Sates."

The Constituion is dead - plain and simple. All Bushites are criminals. The plan has been carried out. The US is a failed state.

Criminals like this bozo will continue to put nails into America's coffin. Next comes Dick Cheney's next 9/11 false flag operation, then comes Martial law.

Good luck with those 08 "elections."

Nations rise and Nations fall. America has destroyed itself from within - its fate sealed by the ignorance and bigotry of its populace and sold to the highest bidder.

The Entire "Confirmation" process is a joke - a dog and pony show.

Its all so sad.

[raker]

I heard Mukasey give the same kind of answer Romney did. He's not sure what torture is. He has to check the manual to know if it's wrong to torture a prisoner. He'd have made a good German.

[kay]

Why was the last attorney general forced to step down?

I forget.

It was probably unimportant.

Let's just forgive and forget and get on with it.

That's our basic legal premise, right? That if you slide away and crawl back under a rock all is forgiven?

I'm going to try that, in the future. I think all Americans should rely on this novel new conservative "legal" principle. Skedaddle, and you skate, we can call it.

[milo9]

Add one: Skedaddle, hide in Texas, and skate.

[kay]

Hey, what ever happened to the corruption investigations in California?

They fired the prosecutor, in a sort of timely manner, but conservatives assured us the investigations were ongoing.

Are we looking for the culprit on the golf course?

I know conservatives will not rest until this crime is solved. What's the hold up?

[PollM]

I don't see any difference between Gonzo the Bozo and Mukasy.
In your opinion should Michael Mukase be confirmed by the Senate as Attorney General? ----> http://www.youpolls.com/details.asp?pid=713
.

[facilitator]

Someone needs tell Senator Leahy that "We The People" are way, way, way past the Attorney Generals office. We have given up on you and the Congress and what decisions you come to. We want Bush and Cheney out of office and out now through their resignation. You ignored the issue of Impeachment just as you are ignoring the issue of a lawless Administration. Now, we do not want to wait for a long drawn out process. They need to leave now. Will a new Attorney General bring charges against Bush and Cheney? No, of course not, just as you have refused to look at the real issues. So what difference does it make who the Attorney General is? The ship is going down and you Leahy wants to talk about changing an oarman. Someone needs to tell Leahy and Pelosi that their time is up. We want action and we want it now. Bush must resign. Cheney must resign. There is no other way to preserve the integrity of the Office of the President and Vice-President. There is no other way to reinforce the premier law of the land, the Constitution. I have written my senators and representative, but expect little else than the same bs and misguided priorities. Our priority now is to preserve the Constitution. To preserve the Law of the Land. We will no longer wait for you to do your job, so we will be taking over from here and telling the Administration that they must vacate the their offices and do it now.

[dictatortot]

The executive branch is supposed to enforce the laws passed by the legislative branch. When the president routinely ignores the law (our law, international law, and morality in general), we're in trouble. The fact that an AG enabled the president to do so makes for double trouble.

I'm with Leahy on this one. Any man who could provoke Dick Cheney to tell him to go f!*k himself is okay in my book.

http://www.newsprism.com

[rras]

Why are they wasting the taxpayers time and money, there is nothing that they can do.
How about doing everyone some good and look into Mark Fuller, the crooked Alabama judge appointed by George Bush. He's been accused of pension fraud, misuse of his office, perjury, criminal conspiracy and obstruction of the FBI's background check for the Federal Judiciary. These charges were made well before Fuller was assigned to prosecute Don Siegelman, former Democratic governor of Alabama.
This is a win/win case unless these people are afraid of ruffling someones feathers.

[kay]

I don't know what the big deal is.

Conservative lawyers tell us that corrupt and compromised prosecutors are JUST LIKE employees of, say, the White House Travel office. Purely political.

Except federal prosecutors can throw you in prison and seize your assets. Except for that minor point, this is just "politics as usual".

Right, conservatives? Americans shouldn't sweat it. No big deal.

[paixa3]

What an understatement. I think he should have added that they also must initiate appropriate legal charges against the current culprits in the administration (where applicable in a court of law).

Peace.

[lthuedk]

If Makusey sees or suspects criminality in his midst, he'll simply recuse himself. How handy.

http://www.light-to-dark.com/gonzo_or_justice.html

Funny, I thought that act would be closer to negligence.

[irishgawdess]

I call *BULLSHIT*! It doesn't matter what this guy says, he was tapped on the shoulder by Cheney/BushCo. He starts out the confirmation hearings with 2 strikes against him, IMO. What a farce.

Anyone watch "Frontline" last night?

[Raster]

Why, oh Great Wisdom of the Ages moral turp one? Why should she be any less slimy than Cockeyed Al?

[mabinog]

ah, and he is going to do that by implying that it might be okay to hold US citizens indefinitely in prison. Fascist.

[conservativeoriginalist]

Maybe Senator Leahy should look in the mirror with the same rhetoric, given he is a long-standing member of the Congress with the lowest approval rating in the history of polling.

[jfredmuggs]

That's all you got? That's weak, really weak.

[kevenseven]

Their whole game is swirling down the toilet.

[conservativeoriginalist]

Do you honestly require me to go over the past decade of Congresses that have violated the public trust that would render minuscule anything the Democrats have accused Gonzales of?

When the Congress only has the approval of 1 out of 10 Americans, meaning 9 out of 10 are dissatisfied to disgusted, there's an obvious disconnect and mistrust of the Congress, inclusive of Senator Leahy.

Some things don't have to be said, being they're so evident except to the goose stepping lemmings, which apparently includes you.

What's weak is your support for a do-nothing Congress, as well as your inane retort.

[OckhamsElectricRazor]

Public Trust? Bologna! With the Executive at 24% and Congress at 12%, this will be one lonely tenure. If honest and capable, he will be a lone pilgrim in the wilderness trying to protect the Constitution despite the scandrels from BOTH parties.

[kevenseven]

What is John Ashcroft doing these days?

[jfredmuggs]

Singing quotes from the Bible, I'm sure.

[kay]

Regretting that he shirked his duty to expose the illegality.

"Stop it or we'll resign!"

Then no one resigned.

That was inspiring.