Schumer and Feinstein Hand Torture a Victory

Do we really need another attorney general who doesn’t know what torture is? The Senate Judiciary Committee just barely approved the nomination of Michael Mukasey on Tuesday. He is expected to breeze through the rest of the process. Remember some weeks from now, when the head of the Justice Department is a man who, despite fact and testimony and common sense, can’t call torture by its name, Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Charles Schumer are responsible.

Washington Post:

The Senate Judiciary Committee narrowly approved the nomination of Michael B. Mukasey as attorney general yesterday, moving him a step closer to virtually assured confirmation on the Senate floor as the new head of the troubled Justice Department.

The committee’s 11 to 8 vote in favor of Mukasey was accompanied by an impassioned exchange of views between his supporters and opponents, who divided principally over of his refusal to say whether an aggressive interrogation tactic that mimics drowning amounts to illegal torture under U.S. law.

Two prominent Democrats, Sens. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) and Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.), joined nine Republicans in voting for Mukasey, arguing that the former federal judge was the best candidate they could expect as the Bush administration’s replacement for Alberto R. Gonzales, who resigned as attorney general in September under a cloud of scandal.

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