Statement Of Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee,
On The Nomination Of Judge Michael Mukasey
To Be Attorney General Of The United States
Senate Floor
September 17, 2007 

The Judiciary Committee will approach consideration of this nomination in a serious and deliberate fashion.  The Administration took months determining that a change in leadership was needed at the Department of Justice and then the President spent several weeks before making his nomination public.  Our focus now will be on securing the relevant information the Committee needs to proceed to schedule fair and thorough hearings.  I have been in discussions with White House officials about some of the Committee’s outstanding requests and let them know that cooperation from the White House will be essential in determining that schedule.   

This is a big job that becomes even bigger as the next Attorney General must regain public trust and begin the process of restoring the Department of Justice to its proper mission.  I am hopeful that once we obtain the information we need and we have had the opportunity to consider this nomination, we will be able to make progress in this regard.  

I look forward to meeting with Judge Mukasey in the coming days and learning more about his record and his ideas on improving the relationship between Congress and this Administration so that we can conduct more effective oversight and take the steps toward rebuilding the Justice Department to be worthy of its name.   

# # # # #