Tuesday, January 11, 2005

Sizing Up Chertoff

Nothing says "I fucked up ROYALLY with that Kerik nomination" like nominating a guy who's already been confirmed by the Senate three times (a point Bush himself made less than one minute into his press conference). Can't find much about Homeland Security Secretary nominee Michael Chertoff yet, but Michelle Malkin seems to like him, which can't be good. (As far as this post goes, it would make perfect sense if liberals WEREN'T influential in a government that, however slyly, condoned torture. If Malkin wants to credit right-wing legal thinkers with the "accomplishments" of this Administration, more power to her.) He did get a good grilling in 2001 from the Senate Judiciary Committee (by Pat Leahy, especially, but also the embattled Arlen Specter, who will no doubt hold his tongue this time) for his support of military tribunals as Assistant Attorney General. Was Chertoff an architect of the tribunals' two-thirds rule and modified rules of evidence, or just an apologist for them?