Attorney-general debate heats up

WASHINGTON — Conservatives on Saturday lined up for and against potential attorney-general nominee Michael Mukasey, the man they believe has ascended to the top of President Bush's list of successors for Alberto Gonzales.

Last week, Democrats in the Senate threatened to block confirmation of another prospect: Theodore Olson, a longtime GOP ally and former solicitor general who represented Bush before the Supreme Court in the contested 2000 presidential election.

The behind-the-scenes battle over who will succeed Gonzales heated up as the president, who was at Camp David, Md., moved closer to announcing his choice.

So far, the White House has stayed quiet about who will replace Gonzales.

An announcement is expected this week, and some legal conservatives and Republicans said the White House appeared to be signaling Mukasey was Bush's pick.

That prompted questions and praise for the former U.S. district judge from New York, who is an adviser to Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign.

Brian Burch, president of the Roman Catholic-based advocacy group Fidelis, said he started getting calls early Saturday from members of his group and other conservative groups worried that Bush was getting ready to nominate Mukasey.

"His federal judicial record has been at times hostile to the issues that we care and have concern about, like abortion," Burch said.

Others hailed Mukasey's record.

"He is really tough as nails. He was a really first-rate, brilliant judge, and he's got impeccable conservative law-and-order values," said Jay Lefkowitz, a former adviser at the Bush White House who handled Justice Department issues. "He would be coming from outside the White House and ... could restore confidence in the department."

Mukasey also has boosters among some of Bush's toughest Democratic critics.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., previously recommended Mukasey for a Supreme Court vacancy.

In June 2005, the liberal Alliance for Justice put Mukasey's name on a list of four judges who, if chosen for the Supreme Court, would show the president's "commitment" to picking someone who could be supported by Democratic and Republican senators.

Nan Aron of the alliance said that if Bush nominated Mukasey, the Senate would view it as a "conciliatory" act.

Attempts to reach Mukasey on Saturday were unsuccessful.

Besides Mukasey and Olson, others being eyed for the post include former Deputy Attorney General George Terwilliger and 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge William Wilkins.

Mukasey has handled terrorist cases in the U.S. legal system for more than 10 years.

He was nominated to the federal bench in 1987 by President Reagan and eventually became chief judge of the high-profile federal courthouse in Manhattan.

Gonzales quit after 2 1/2 years at the Justice Department amid investigations into whether he broke the law and lied to Congress. He has denied any wrongdoing. Solicitor General Paul Clement will serve as acting attorney general until the Senate confirms Gonzales' successor.