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http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/harry_reid_AG/2007/09/12/32215.html
Reid to Block Ted Olson from AG Post
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
WASHINGTON -- Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid vowed on Wednesday to
block former U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson from becoming attorney
general if President George W. Bush nominates him to replace Alberto
Gonzales.
Congressional and administration officials have described Olson as a leading
contender for the job as chief U.S. law enforcement officer, but Reid
declared, "Ted Olson will not be confirmed" by the Senate.
"He's a partisan, and the last thing we need as an attorney general is a
partisan," Reid, a Nevada Democrat, told Reuters in a brief hallway
interview on Capitol Hill.
Reid and other Democrats argue that after Gonzales' stormy tenure the
Justice Department needs to become less political.
Gonzales resigned last month, effective next Monday, amid a series of
congressional investigations into his firing of federal prosecutors and his
handling of Bush's domestic spying program.
White House press secretary Tony Snow, amid word that Bush was nearly ready
to pick a new attorney general, said, "We don't have a decision yet."
Snow brushed off Reid's opposition, saying, "The president will pick who he
thinks is best."
Current and former administration officials said they did not expect a
decision until next week at the earliest.
"Something happened. I don't know what," said one official, who had earlier
expected an announcement this week.
Olson has been among a handful of possible nominees to head the U.S. Justice
Department that the White House had been considering, congressional and
administration officials said.
Others include federal appeals Judge Laurence Silberman, former Deputy
Attorneys General George Terwilliger III and Larry Thompson, and Paul
Clement, the current solicitor general.
The solicitor general serves as the administration's chief advocate in cases
before the Supreme Court.
One Justice Department official said Thompson was widely liked and highly
regarded. "People here would be happy with Ted, but they would be thrilled
with Larry," the official said.
Olson was confirmed by the Senate in 2001 as solicitor general on a largely
party-line vote of 51-47. Democrats had accused him of underplaying his role
in a multimillion-dollar conservative effort to dig up scandals to undermine
Democrat Bill Clinton when he was president.
Olson played a key role in defending the administration's controversial
legal strategy in the war on terrorism as solicitor general from 2001 to
2004.
His then-wife, Barbara Olson, a conservative television commentator and
author, died in the September 11 attacks when the hijacked plane she was on
crashed into the Pentagon. Olson has since remarried.
Reid said selection of Olson, who represented Bush in the court fight over
the 2000 presidential election, as attorney general would trigger a
confirmation battle.
Democrats control the Senate 51-49. But even if a few Democrats backed
Olson, Reid could raise a procedural roadblock that would need 60 votes to
clear.
"I will do everything within my power as majority leader to stop Ted Olson
from being confirmed," Reid told Reuters.
Both Republicans and Democrats in Congress had demanded the resignation of
Gonzales over his firing of nine federal prosecutors last year, dismissals
that critics charged appeared to be politically motivated.
Mostly Democratic lawmakers also accused Gonzales of giving misleading and
possibly false testimony before Congress about his firing of the prosecutors
and the administration's warrantless spying program.
Reid to Block Ted Olson from AG Post
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
WASHINGTON -- Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid vowed on Wednesday to
block former U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson from becoming attorney
general if President George W. Bush nominates him to replace Alberto
Gonzales.
Congressional and administration officials have described Olson as a leading
contender for the job as chief U.S. law enforcement officer, but Reid
declared, "Ted Olson will not be confirmed" by the Senate.
"He's a partisan, and the last thing we need as an attorney general is a
partisan," Reid, a Nevada Democrat, told Reuters in a brief hallway
interview on Capitol Hill.
Reid and other Democrats argue that after Gonzales' stormy tenure the
Justice Department needs to become less political.
Gonzales resigned last month, effective next Monday, amid a series of
congressional investigations into his firing of federal prosecutors and his
handling of Bush's domestic spying program.
White House press secretary Tony Snow, amid word that Bush was nearly ready
to pick a new attorney general, said, "We don't have a decision yet."
Snow brushed off Reid's opposition, saying, "The president will pick who he
thinks is best."
Current and former administration officials said they did not expect a
decision until next week at the earliest.
"Something happened. I don't know what," said one official, who had earlier
expected an announcement this week.
Olson has been among a handful of possible nominees to head the U.S. Justice
Department that the White House had been considering, congressional and
administration officials said.
Others include federal appeals Judge Laurence Silberman, former Deputy
Attorneys General George Terwilliger III and Larry Thompson, and Paul
Clement, the current solicitor general.
The solicitor general serves as the administration's chief advocate in cases
before the Supreme Court.
One Justice Department official said Thompson was widely liked and highly
regarded. "People here would be happy with Ted, but they would be thrilled
with Larry," the official said.
Olson was confirmed by the Senate in 2001 as solicitor general on a largely
party-line vote of 51-47. Democrats had accused him of underplaying his role
in a multimillion-dollar conservative effort to dig up scandals to undermine
Democrat Bill Clinton when he was president.
Olson played a key role in defending the administration's controversial
legal strategy in the war on terrorism as solicitor general from 2001 to
2004.
His then-wife, Barbara Olson, a conservative television commentator and
author, died in the September 11 attacks when the hijacked plane she was on
crashed into the Pentagon. Olson has since remarried.
Reid said selection of Olson, who represented Bush in the court fight over
the 2000 presidential election, as attorney general would trigger a
confirmation battle.
Democrats control the Senate 51-49. But even if a few Democrats backed
Olson, Reid could raise a procedural roadblock that would need 60 votes to
clear.
"I will do everything within my power as majority leader to stop Ted Olson
from being confirmed," Reid told Reuters.
Both Republicans and Democrats in Congress had demanded the resignation of
Gonzales over his firing of nine federal prosecutors last year, dismissals
that critics charged appeared to be politically motivated.
Mostly Democratic lawmakers also accused Gonzales of giving misleading and
possibly false testimony before Congress about his firing of the prosecutors
and the administration's warrantless spying program.
