Democrats attempt a power grab at Justice

Ronald Cass:

In the next few days, President George W. Bush will choose a new Attorney General to succeed Alberto Gonzales. Even before he does, Democrats and their allies are announcing that the President cannot name anyone they believe would be staunchly committed to Republican policies, to protecting the constitutional preserve of presidential authority, and especially anyone who has been associated with or served President Bush.

Senator Harry Reid flatly declared that former Solicitor General Ted Olson, a widely respected lawyer and enormously successful Supreme Court advocate, would not be confirmed. The New York Times applauded Reid and editorialized that the President must appoint someone who is "above politics," not a partisan who has been connected to this or prior Republican administrations. And Senator Pat Leahy weighed in as well with his demand for an Attorney General fully independent of the President. After all, he said, the Attorney General isn't like other Cabinet officers.

At the outset, even the hardest of hard-core Democrats should concede that the President enjoys wide latitude in selecting his Cabinet. The Constitution vests the executive power of the United States in the President, and the Cabinet officers who assist him in administering the laws and exercising that power serve at the President's pleasure. From the beginning of the Republic, Senate confirmation of Cabinet members has been a deferential affair, with a few notable exceptions.

During Reconstruction, Congress tried to take away many of the President's constitutionally-committed prerogatives, including controlling the make-up of his Cabinet. The impeachment of President Andrew Johnson followed his refusal to obey the blatantly unconstitutional Tenure of Office Act, restricting his ability to remove wayward Cabinet members. Following that high water mark of congressional interference, matters returned to the accepted division of responsibility, with Congress recognizing that the President has substantial scope to pick the people he deems best to assist him.

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Now, Democrats are trying out explanations for changing the rules of the game to justify their pre-announced opposition to possible AG nominees. One creative entry comes from Senator Leahy, who asserts that the nation's Founders wanted those in charge of our justice system, including the AG, "buffered" from political influence. Leahy infers the Founders' intention to treat the AG differently from other Cabinet officers from the fact that North Carolina's 1776 constitution granted that state's AG life tenure. He conveniently overlooks the fact that, knowing this, the Founders chose a different structure for our national government, did not mention the Attorney General in the Constitution, and did not differentiate him from other Cabinet officers either in the founding documents or in the treatment they gave to Cabinet appointments under the early Presidents.

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It is hard to imagine a person with less credibility on this issue than Pat Leahy who believes himself so above the law that he leaked classified information for political purposes. His opinion is not deserving of any respect and that the Democrats would put him in charge of this committee shows how little regard they have for the rule of law. That should not be too surprising considering one of his colleagues is nick named the "swimmer" for his escape from a car where a woman drowned, and who subsequently fled the scene. These are two of the "high character" demagogues who want to in effect name the next AG.

Then there is the disgusting Chuck Schumer who has been trying to obstruct justice by running a campaign against the firing of US Attorneys so that he could cover up Democrat vote fraud. Which brings us to what they really want which is someone who will ignore voter fraud cases involving Democrats.

Opinion Journal also has a good piece on the shameful Harry Reid's attempt to preempt the appointment of a good man, Ted Olson. The Bush administration should expect continued bad faith from Democrats.