President pushes for Mukasey

WASHINGTON – President Bush sought to save Michael Mukasey’s troubled nomination for attorney general Thursday, defending the retired judge’s refusal to say whether he considers waterboarding torture and warning of a leaderless Justice Department if Democrats don’t confirm him.

“If the Senate Judiciary Committee were to block Judge Mukasey on these grounds, they would set a new standard for confirmation that could not be met by any responsible nominee for attorney general,” Bush said in a speech at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

“That would guarantee that America would have no attorney general during this time of war,” the president said.

Nonetheless, opposition continued to grow. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., became the fourth of 10 Democrats on the 19-member Judiciary Committee to declare he will vote against Mukasey when the panel decides Tuesday whether to endorse or reject his nomination.

Kennedy said Mukasey’s unwillingness to say that waterboarding, an interrogation technique that simulates drowning, is torture increases the chances that it will be used against U.S. troops.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., planned to announce today how he will vote next week.

Bush framed Mukasey’s nomination with the familiar theme of national security and the attorney general’s role in it.

“It’s important for Congress to pass laws and/or confirm nominees that will enable this government to more effectively defend the country and pursue terrorists and radicals that would like to do us harm,” the president said earlier Thursday during a rare Oval Office session with reporters.

The comments raised questions about whether Bush would nominate anyone else to succeed Alberto Gonzales.

Bush could bypass Congress by filling the job with someone serving in an acting capacity or appointing someone while lawmakers are in recess.

There is a way for Mukasey to get a full Senate vote even if committee Democrats are united in opposing him. The Senate Judiciary Committee could agree to advance the nomination with “no recommendation,” allowing Mukasey the chance to be confirmed by a majority of the Senate.

Despite that prospect, opposition to Mukasey was growing among Senate Democrats. Most cited his refusal to say whether waterboarding is torture and thus illegal under U.S. and international law.

Democratic Sens. Joe Biden of Delaware, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Dick Durbin of Illinois said this week they will vote “no” in committee. Assuming all nine of the panel’s Republicans vote for Mukasey, only one Democrat would have to side with the president for the nomination to move to the full Senate with a favorable recommendation.