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CNNWASHINGTON (CNN) -- The three leading Democratic presidential candidates announced Tuesday they will oppose President Bush's nomination for attorney general, citing his recent testimony on torture and executive power.
Retired Judge Michael Mukasey was nominated by President Bush to replace Alberto Gonzales, who stepped down last month amid controversy. Earlier this month, Mukasey's refusal to directly disavow waterboarding and other interrogation techniques frustrated Senate Democrats during confirmation hearings.
"After the dismal performance of the last attorney general, I had hoped that Judge Michael Mukasey would represent a badly needed change in direction for the Justice Department and the nation," Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, said in a written statement. "But his testimony before the Senate was stunning.
"While his legal credentials are strong, his views on two critical and related matters are, in my view, disqualifying," Obama said. "We don't need another attorney general who believes that the president enjoys an unwritten right to secretly ignore any law or abridge our constitutional freedoms simply by invoking national security.
"And we don't need another attorney general who looks the other way on issues as profound as torture," said Obama, who called the nominee's "ignorance" of the debate over waterboarding and other interrogation techniques "appalling."
On the heels of the Obama announcement, Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York and former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina made their own similar announcements....
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http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/30/democrats.mukasey/index.html