Bush Expected to Nominate Attorney General Next Week - WaPo

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President Bush is expected to choose a replacement for Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales by the middle of next week, and former solicitor general Theodore B. Olson has emerged as one of the leading contenders for the job, according to sources inside and outside the government who are familiar with White House deliberations.

Other candidates still in the running include former deputy attorney general George J. Terwilliger III and D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Laurence H. Silberman, according to the sources, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the discussions.

Others whose names continue to be mentioned in congressional and political circles include Pepsico general counsel Larry D. Thompson, a former deputy attorney general; Solicitor General Paul D. Clement; and Verizon general counsel William P. Barr, who served as attorney general for Bush's father. A person close to Barr said yesterday, however, that he does not appear to be on the short list of candidates now being considered.

Administration officials emphasized that no decision has been made, in part because Bush has been traveling abroad for the past week and is not scheduled to return to the White House from Australia until tomorrow. A final choice is not expected until at least several days after that, and the nominee could be someone whose name has not surfaced publicly, the officials said.

The search for a new attorney general follows Gonzales's announcement last month that he would resign effective Sept. 17 after seven months of conflict with Congress, primarily over his handling of the firings of nine U.S. attorneys in 2006.

Leading Democrats have urged Bush to choose a nominee who is not unduly partisan or divisive, but White House officials have said they are willing to fight for the right candidate. Whoever takes the short-term post will face a strained relationship with Congress and ongoing internal investigations by the department's inspector general and the Office of Professional Responsibility into the prosecutor firings and related issues.

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Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/07/AR2007090702560.html

This should be interesting.

:popcorn:

This is a fight the Dems can win. After all, how can they confirm the right candidate if they have no idea what his predecessor has been doing?
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:headbang:
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