Bush picks retired federal judge to be attorney general

Washington, Sep 18 (Xinhua) A retired federal judge, Michael Mukasey, was named to replace Alberto R. Gonzales as the US attorney general, President George W. Bush announced.

'I'm pleased to announce my nomination of Judge Michael Mukasey to be the 81st attorney general of the United States,' Bush said Monday.

Noting that the attorney general has 'an especially vital role to play in a time of war' and when the US faces challenges protecting its people 'on a daily basis from deadly enemies', Bush said Mukasey brings impressive credentials to this task.

The 66-year-old judge, the former chief of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, was described by Republicans as a conservative on counter terrorism issues, such as electronic surveillance, who has a solid reputation and trust of Bush and his aids.

'With Mukasey, the Justice Department will be in the hands of a great lawyer and an accomplished public servant,' Bush said. 'Mike has shown good judgement in the courtroom. He's shown good judgement outside the courtroom.'

'I am, of course, deeply honoured to be selected as the nominee for attorney general of the US,' Mukasey said standing beside Bush.

'The department faces challenges vastly different from those it faced when I was an assistant US attorney 35 years ago. But the principles that guide the department remain the same: to pursue justice by enforcing the law with unswerving fidelity to the constitution,' he added.

Mukasey can officially take office after Congress confirms his nomination.

The jurist also has rich experience in anti-terrorism through presiding over some of the nations' most high-profile trials of terrorist suspects. After spending 19 years on the federal bench in New York, he formed bonds with former mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and became a member of the justice advisory committee for his presidential campaign.

Michael was put on table after Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid vowed last week to block another top candidate, former US Solicitor General Theodore Olson, for being too partisan.

However, Mukasey is expected to be more easily green lighted in Congress. Senate Democrats have signalled, as the Washington Post said Monday, that they were likely to accept Mukasey without a big fight and said they saw the pick as a conciliatory gesture from the White House.

Gonzales resigned late last month from the Justice Department after he was suspected of lying to Congress on his dismissal of nine federal prosecutors. Congressional Democrats claimed they had evidence to show the White House was actually behind the dismissal but Gonzales denied any wrongdoing. He officially left his office Monday.

(c) Indo-Asian News Service

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