Mukasey seen as his own man

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Firm stances

In rounds of meetings with lawmakers late last week, Mukasey made it clear that he would fire any Justice Department employee who discussed sensitive cases with anyone at the White House. Under Gonzales, a pipeline developed between Justice and White House officials that critics believe opened the way to abuse. Mukasey also said that politicians calling the Justice Department would be given only two phone numbers -- his and that of his top deputy.

He is also expected to face demands from Democrats to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate whether crimes were committed in connection with the firing last year of nine U.S. attorneys. An internal Justice Department probe into the matter is already underway. It is far from clear what Mukasey will do on that score, although some note he hails from the same New York legal circles that produced former Deputy Atty. Gen. James B. Comey, who in 2003 appointed a special prosecutor to investigate the White House's involvement in the CIA leak case.

Mukasey could also have an effect on other Bush administration policies, including the 2-decade-old system under which criminals are sentenced in federal court. Gonzales was a strong proponent of strict guidelines that gave judges little discretion in sentencing. While on the bench, Mukasey was among a number of judges who thought that the guidelines, and the limits they placed on the power of the courts, violated the principle of separation of powers under the Constitution.

In 2003, when Congress enacted a law that required judges to report every case in which they ordered a sentence below the guidelines, Mukasey was among those threatening revolt. "They can have their blacklist," he declared in an interview. "But we have life tenure."

To be sure, Mukasey seems to think like Bush on many issues that Bush cares about. Mukasey is a relative hawk on national security matters and has supported aggressive measures in the war on terrorism. He approved the rounding up of scores of illegal immigrants after the Sept. 11 attacks with a controversial form of warrant that allowed their incarceration because they may have been witnesses to crimes. He has defended the Patriot Act and derided some of its major critics, including librarians who have said the law threatened citizens' 1st Amendment rights.