WASHINGTON — Atty. Gen.-designate Michael B. Mukasey promised Wednesday to infuse the Justice Department with a renewed sense of integrity and independence, saying that he would not allow partisan politics to affect the cases he brings or the prosecutors he hires, and that he would quit if he thought the White House was ignoring his advice.
His statements amounted to a repudiation of the tenure of his predecessor, Alberto R. Gonzales, and appeared to put him at arm's length from President Bush, who selected the retired federal judge to lead the department over the remaining 15 months of his presidency.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday, October 20, 2007 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 2 inches; 55 words Type of Material: Correction
Attorney general confirmation: An article in Thursday's Section A about the confirmation hearings of Atty. Gen.-designate Michael B. Mukasey said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) asked Mukasey whether he believed that holding detainees at Guantanamo Bay for years without charges was a form of mistreatment. Assistant Senate Majority Leader Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) asked the question.
Laying out a road map for reform in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mukasey, 66, sought to reassure lawmakers and Justice Department employees that he would work to restore confidence in the beleaguered department and attempt to insulate it from the political influence that crept in under Gonzales.
Mukasey disavowed a 2002 Justice Department memo that gave Bush a green light to torture terrorism suspects. And he said he would review several other internal Justice opinions that gave the White House broad powers on detention and intelligence issues.
He outlined a new protocol for handling inquiries from the White House and other elected officials, and said he would overhaul rules that Gonzales ordered up giving political subordinates powers to hire and fire.
"Legal decisions and the progress of cases are decided by facts and law, not by interests and motives," Mukasey declared in his opening remarks.
His guiding principles, though far from revolutionary, resonated with Republicans and Democrats on the committee, who came to view Gonzales as an arm of the White House political apparatus, leading to controversies such as the dismissal of nine U.S. attorneys last year.
Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), an outspoken critic of Gonzales, was effusive in praising Mukasey and predicted that he would win unanimous support from fellow Democrats who control the Senate Judiciary Committee.
"The most important qualities we need in an attorney general right now are independence and integrity," Schumer said, "and looking at Judge Mukasey's career and his interviews that we have all had with him, it seems clear that Judge Mukasey possesses these vital attributes."
Questioning of the nominee is expected to continue today, with a panel vote likely to come next week.
