By Brian Bohl

Charles Schumer pontificating in front of any available microphones occurs about as often as a Senate roll call, yet the Democratic senior senator from New York could be a key ally for a Republican cause.

Schumer, who forged a national reputation by chiding President George W. Bush’s administration, could actually be a key supporter for the White House’s attorney general nominee. He’s gone on record praising Judge Michael Mukasey, who should be confirmed to save the Justice Department from the brutal stewardship of Alberto Gonzales.

“By every account, the Justice Department is leaderless and rudderless,” Schumer said. “It is dysfunctional and in disarray. It is demoralized and decimated. Our investigation this year demonstrated the department’s prior leadership sorely lacked credibility, competence, independence.

“The most important qualities we need in an attorney general right now are independence and integrity, and looking at Judge Mukasey’s career and his interviews that we have all had with him, it seems clear that Judge Mukasey possesses these vital attributes.”

Mukasey, who served as a U.S. district court judge, might have won over a staunch White House opponent. But he’s still facing questions from influential senate Democrats, putting his nomination on hold after the hearing this week. Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), said his vote hinges on how Mukasey goes on record with his thoughts on the legality of interrogation techniques that use torture.

Along with Leahy, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the majority whip, also said he will withhold casting a positive vote until Mukasey officially states that drowning simulation is a form of torture, a point of contention during the judge’s testimony.

Considering the mess Gonzales left, the apprehension of choosing his successor is understandable. Public officials like Durbin and Leahy deserve to have legitimate questions answered, though Mukasey’s answers to questions provide hope that a new era could be forthcoming if his nomination is approved. According to one account in the Chicago Tribune, the retired federal judge “explicitly [told] a Senate panel he disapproved of the position on abusive interrogation practices backed by his predecessor.”

The only reasonable take any senator can ask of an attorney general is the Justice Department ensures the law is being implicitly followed. The nominee’s answers suggest the rogue actions under Gonzales will not be duplicated.

Only one ambiguous answer has sparked this temporary impasse: when Mukasey refused to say if waterboarding, which simulates drowning, is considered torture. Democrats insist that it does, and it seems clear that the potential attorney general agrees.

“It is not constitutional for the United States to engage in torture in any form, be it waterboarding or anything else,” Mukasey said. He later refused to condemn the practice as torture, but only because he said he wasn’t sure how it was conducted.

If Mukasey needs more time to understand the specifics of different interrogation techniques, then the Senate should allow him to become educated before forcing him to make a statement for the record. After Mukasey gets all the facts in, he owes the panel-and the public-an honest answer. Saying he is against all forms of torture is a good start, though there can be no wiggle room when it comes to a policy subject this important.

Before being confirmed, the only other major question left unanswered is the prospect of closing down the jail at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Disbanding the facility is a plan supported by key members of both parties. Mukasey, however, said the detainees currently being held in Cuba shouldn’t be afforded more rights than they currently possess, prompting a rebuke from Sen. Arlen Spector (R-Pa.)

“Judge Mukasey, you’re punting now,” Specter said.

Countered White House spokesman Tony Fratto: “As he always does, Judge Mukasey will answer all questions from the Judiciary Committee in a clear and forthright manner.”

At a time when hostility between the parties is fostering a contentious atmosphere around Washington, Mukasey’s hiring could also end the politically based employment decisions that wrecked the current administration and undermined the department’s credibility. He also promised the one thing that should earn the respect of Democrats: a pledge to maintain autonomy and independence from the White House.

Schumer’s backing is a harbinger for an eventual confirmation. If the questioning drags out too long, then Leahy and Durbin would no longer be stalling for practical purposes. They would then be guilty of grandstanding: holding up a confirmation of a White House-nominated official for the mere fact that they can hold something over a Republican Party weakened in the previous election.

Brian Bohl is a senior print journalism student. You may e-mail him at [email protected].

(Alex Murray)