Statement Of Senator
Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),
Chairman, Senate
Judiciary Committee,
On The Nomination Of
Mark Filip To Be Deputy Attorney General
March 3, 2008
Today we continue the process of rebuilding the integrity and
independence of the Justice Department by confirming the nomination of
Mark R. Filip to be the new Deputy Attorney General, the number two
position at the Department of Justice, who acts as the Attorney General
in the absence of the Attorney General.
Regrettably, this important nomination has been stalled for over a month
due to the bad faith of the Bush-Cheney administration in failing to
process Democratic recommendations to independent boards and
commissions, and Senate Republicans’ rejection of up or down votes on
nominations to the Federal Election Commission.
I commend the Majority Leader for his efforts to resolve this impasse. I
also thank him for agreeing with me to allow the Filip nomination to
proceed at this time. It is a demonstration of good faith on his part
and I thank him. I strongly support the Majority Leader in his efforts
to make progress by calling up Judge Filip’s nomination today.
A little more than a year ago, the Judiciary Committee began its
oversight efforts for the 110th Congress. Over the next nine
months, our efforts revealed a Department of Justice gone awry. The
leadership crisis came more and more into view as Senator Specter and I
led a bipartisan group of concerned Senators to consider the United
States Attorney firing scandal, a confrontation over the legality of the
administration’s warrantless wiretapping program, the untoward political
influence of the White House at the Department of Justice, and the
secret legal memos excusing all manner of excess.
This crisis of leadership has taken a heavy toll on the tradition of
independence that has long guided the Justice Department and provided it
with safe harbor from political interference. It shook the confidence
of the American people. Through bipartisan efforts among those from
both sides of the aisle who care about federal law enforcement and the
Department of Justice, we joined together to press for accountability
that resulted in a change in leadership at the Department, with the
resignations of the Attorney General and many high-ranking Department
officials – including then-Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, whose
successor we consider today.
The tired, partisan accusations the President engaged in at the White
House recently, in which he used Republican Senators and nominees as
political props, are belied by the facts. They are about as accurate as
when President Bush ascribed Attorney General Gonzales’ resignation to
supposed “unfair treatment” and suggested “his good name” was “dragged
through the mud for political reasons.” The U.S. Attorney firing scandal
was of the administration’s own making. It decimated morale at the
Department of Justice. A good way to help restore the Justice
Department would be for this administration to acknowledge its
wrongdoing.
We need a new Deputy Attorney General. We need someone who understands
that the responsibilities and duties of that office are not to act as a
validator for the administration, or as the chief defense lawyer for the
White House. We are reminded by the examples of Elliot Richardson and
William Ruckelshaus from the Watergate era -- and more recently the
examples of James Comey, Jack Goldsmith, and Alberto Mora -- that law
enforcement officials must enforce the law without fear or favor to
their benefactors at the White House. We have now seen what happens
when the rule of law plays second fiddle to a President’s agenda and the
partisan desires of political operatives.
The truth is that it was the President who deferred the critical work of
restoring the Department’s independence and credibility by delaying this
nomination for half a year. This administration knew from at least May
14, 2007, when Mr. McNulty announced that he was resigning, and should
have known for weeks before, that there was to be a vacancy in the
important position of Deputy Attorney General. Yet even after the
former Deputy announced his resignation and proceeded to resign months
later, the administration failed to work with the Senate to fill this
vital position.
The President did not nominate Judge Filip until last
December. I announced that the Judiciary Committee would hold a hearing
less than two weeks later, before Congress adjourned for the year,
immediately upon receiving the necessary background materials from the
White House. The Committee moved as expeditiously as possible and we
reported out Judge Filip’s nomination at our first executive business
meeting of the 2008 session.
What is being ignored by the President and Senate Republicans as they
play to a vocal segment of their Republican base is that we have worked
hard to make progress and restore the leadership of the Department of
Justice. In the last few months, we have confirmed a new Attorney
General, and held hearings for the number two and number three positions
at the Department of Justice, as well as for several other high-ranking
Justice Department spots.
It is vital that we ensure that we have a functioning, independent
Justice Department. A month ago, the Judiciary Committee held our first
oversight hearing of the new session and the first with new Attorney
General Michael Mukasey. We will hold another oversight hearing this
week with FBI Director Mueller. These are more steps forward in our
efforts to lift the veil of White House secrecy, restore checks and
balances to our government, and begin to repair the damage this
administration inflicted on the Department, our Constitution, and
fundamental American values.
We continue to press for accountability even
as we learn startling new revelations
about the extent to which some will go to avoid accountability,
undermine oversight, and stonewall the truth. We find shifting
answers on issues including the admission that the CIA used
waterboarding on detainees in reliance on the advice of the Department
of Justice; the destruction of White House emails required by law to be
preserved; and the CIA’s destruction of
videotapes of detainee interrogations not shared with the 9/11
Commission, Congress or the courts. The only constant is the demand for
immunity and unaccountability among those in the administration. This
White House continues to stonewall the legitimate needs for information
articulated by the Judiciary Committee and others in the Congress, and
contemptuously to refuse to appear when summoned by congressional
subpoena.
In spite of the administration’s lack of
cooperation, the Senate is moving forward with the confirmation of Judge
Filip today. In spite of the partisan, political display at the
White House last month, staged while a convention of right-wing
activists were in town, we are proceeding today.
With Judge Filip’s confirmation, we will have
confirmed 23 executive nominations, including the confirmations of nine
U.S. Attorneys, four U.S. Marshals, and the top two positions at the
Justice Department so far this Congress.
We could be in a position to make even more progress if the Republican
members of the Judiciary Committee would work with us in considering the
nominations of this Republican President. We have had the nominations
of Kevin O’Connor to be Associate Attorney General, the number three
position at the Department, and Gregory G. Katsas, to be Assistant
Attorney General of the Civil Division, on our agenda since the middle
of February. Three weeks ago, I placed the O’Connor and Katsas
nominations on the Committee’s agenda but Republican Members of our
Committee did not show up to make a quorum at that meeting
or at our meeting last week. I adjourned both our February 14 and
February 28 meetings for lack of a quorum. At the first meeting, only
one Republican Senator was present. At the latter, the Ranking Member
chose to leave. I hope we will be able to act on those nominations this
week.
Of course, we could have made even more
progress had the White House sent us timely nominations to fill the
remaining executive branch vacancies with nominees who will restore the
independence of federal law enforcement. There are now 19 districts
across the country with acting or interim U.S. Attorneys instead of
Senate-confirmed, presidentially-appointed U.S. Attorneys, and for which
the administration has still failed to send the Senate a nomination.
For more than a year I have been talking publicly about the need to
name U.S. Attorneys to fill these vacancies to no avail and urging the
President to work with the Senate.
I was disappointed but not surprised to see
the administration return to tired political attacks. What
better time than right now, when the economy is slipping farther off the
tracks, when the President’s budget shows record annual triple-digit
deficits, when al Qaeda is stronger and more virulent than ever,
according to General Hayden and Director McConnell, and with Osama bin
Laden is still at large, when gas prices and unemployment are rising,
and a mortgage crisis grips many parts of the country. I wish the
President would put aside his partisan playbook and work with us.
I trust that Mark Filip understands that the duty of the Deputy Attorney
General is to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law — not to work
to circumvent it. Both the President and the nation are best served by
a Justice Department that provides sound advice and takes responsible
action, without regard to political considerations — not one that
develops legalistic loopholes to serve the ends of a particular
administration.
I congratulate Judge Filip and his family on his confirmation.
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