Schumer, Feinstein Timed Mukasey Announcement To Avoid Liberal Anger

With the support of Schumer, Feinstein and the committee's nine Republicans, Mukasey has garnered enough support to clear the panel and move to the Senate floor.

Before Feinstein's announcement, sent to the media by e-mail at about 4:28 p.m., the nomination had seemed in doubt, especially after Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced his opposition to Mukasey at a 3 p.m. news conference in Burlington, Vt. Leahy became the fifth Judiciary Committee Democrat to announce his opposition over Mukasey's refusal to state explicitly that the interrogation technique known as waterboarding constitutes torture.

Hours before Leahy's press conference, however, Schumer in a telephone call already had laid out his thoughts to the chairman and also relayed a message that Feinstein had planned to support the nominee, according to aides.

But Schumer and Feinstein withheld announcing their decisions until late that afternoon. For Schumer, a decisive meeting came later in the day, around the same time as Leahy's press conference. Mukasey assured him he would enforce any law Congress passes to explicitly state that certain interrogation techniques -- such as waterboarding -- are illegal under U.S. torture laws.

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