Former H.W. Bush justice appointee ‘looking very good.’
By on Aug 28th, 2007 at 11:08 am
Former H.W. Bush justice appointee ‘looking very good.’
NBC reports the latest speculation on Gonzales’ successor: “Per a source close to the White House, ex-Deputy Attorney General George J. Terwilliger III is ‘looking very good’ to replace Alberto Gonzales. Former Solicitor General Ted Olson and former appellate judge Laurence Silberman are ‘also in the running.’ And Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and former deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson ‘are unlikely.’” Terwilliger was a leader of President Bush’s legal team during the Florida election recount, and served in the DoJ during the George H.W. Bush administration.
View Most Popular
Advertisement
What We're About
What We're Fighting For
What We're Fighting Against
Featured
Subscribe to the Progress Report
Topic CloudView topics sorted by popularity
Afghanistan
Bachmann
Beck
Boehner
Bush
Cheney
Civil Rights
Congress
Corporate Ethics
Dobbs
Economy
Election
Energy
Environment
Ethics
Fox News
Gingrich
Global Warming
Hannity
Health Care
Immigration
International Relations
Iraq
Justice
Kristol
LGBT
Lieberman
Limbaugh
Maddow
McCain
Media
Military
Obama
Palin
Pelosi
Public Plan
Race
Radical Right
Religion
Sports
Steele
Stimulus
Tea Parties
Technology
Women's Rights
Visit Our Affiliated Sites
Reports
In-depth studies on select topics
Got a hot tip?
Have a hot news tip? We'd love to hear from you. Use the form below to send us the latest.
ArchivesBlog Roll
See the pretty trial balloons! Lots and lots of pretty trial balloons!
August 28th, 2007 at 11:10 amTerwilliger was a leader of President Bush’s legal team during the Florida election recount
yup! he’s in! … that’s all it takes…
…
gee willikers! it’s terwilliger!
…
August 28th, 2007 at 11:12 amugh
99 Red Balloons Go By…
Yeah, let’s see Ted Olson, the man who silenced a closeted Repugnican hatchet man with the comment that they (the Repugs) needed to keep pouring money into arkansas and digging up dirt on Clinton, regardless of the veracity of the dirt, until something could be found to stick.
August 28th, 2007 at 11:13 amLooks like the clown is still going the “cronyism over competence” route.
August 28th, 2007 at 11:13 amWhy does Bush hate America?
Oh geez — an election stealer for AG. Sounds like he’ll fit right in.
August 28th, 2007 at 11:13 amGW has got to be asking himself WWRD?
August 28th, 2007 at 11:16 amANOTHER Daddy-era HW Bush cronie coming in to bail Junior out??? Yeesh!
August 28th, 2007 at 11:17 amLooks like Poppy’s Operation Save Chimpy is well under way.
-GSD
August 28th, 2007 at 11:19 amOlson, eh? It is a War on Terror position and Olson did lose his wife on 9-11. That has all of the scare tactic symbolism the Bushie’s like.
August 28th, 2007 at 11:19 amcannibalism
August 28th, 2007 at 11:20 amMy bet’s on Olson.
August 28th, 2007 at 11:22 amShrub has to keep milking 9/11.
The Bullhorn/Pile of Rubble Moment is all he’s got left…
We can’t expect Bushco to pick anyone but a partisan operator – no careerists without corruption….par for the course.
August 28th, 2007 at 11:23 amAll of this can only be good news for Republicans.
At least, that’s what the New York Times told me.
August 28th, 2007 at 11:23 amre:Terwilliger,
“Highlights of this service include his leadership in resolving matters such as BCCI, an international banking scandal”
hmmmm
August 28th, 2007 at 11:23 am#11 — totally agree. and also olson’s past history of slime against the dems has to be the extra special poke in the eye that monkeyboy couldn’t resist.
August 28th, 2007 at 11:26 amit is not appropriate for the criminal in chief to appoint the person that will arrest him. it would appear that the CIC would anoint someone that could not follow the law.
August 28th, 2007 at 11:26 amthis is a ridiculous joke from every aspect. the US is the laughing stock of the free world. those prescient enough might see the downfall of all civilization.
where is my congress? in a bathroom stall trying to get it trimmed? in iraq? getting personal treatment by the military for photo ops and more? alas, we have forgotten. they are on vacation.
can anyone imagine a system that allows the criminal to select his punishment?
Anybody have the goods on this guy? Votes, Library books borrowed over the last year and such?
August 28th, 2007 at 11:26 amOlson – now that will be fair and balanced!
August 28th, 2007 at 11:27 amWho cares about this.
August 28th, 2007 at 11:27 amWhy do you Leftist deny your racism?
Why do we need a replacement at all? Isn’t this all just a great Kabuki play?
We’ve shredded the Constitution SO far…why not just get rid of the Justice Department altogether?
August 28th, 2007 at 11:32 amComment by Almight Latin King Nation — August 28, 2007 @ 11:27 am
Silence is the best answer for this trolling GOPr fool!
August 28th, 2007 at 11:34 amthis is a ridiculous joke from every aspect. the US is the laughing stock of the free world.
Comment by oldtree — August 28, 2007 @ 11:26 am
Is the US still part of the free world?
August 28th, 2007 at 11:34 amYou can say that Terwilliger has got the experience. You just can’t say it’s the kind of experience you want in America’s top lawyer. Another Bush crony. “Let’s hire a group of people to storm the doors of Congress yelling ‘Shut it down’ and then maybe all these investigations will just go away.
August 28th, 2007 at 11:34 amThats a laugh. Calling liberals racist compared to the gop. haha
August 28th, 2007 at 11:36 amThe new Harriet Miers.
Why is she not being re-nominated?
August 28th, 2007 at 11:44 amDavid Brock, in his book “Blinded by the Right” outlines Judge Laurence Silberman’s role as the evil mastermind of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy.
August 28th, 2007 at 11:47 amThe Bullhorn/Pile of Rubble Moment is all he’s got left…
August 28th, 2007 at 11:47 amI have always believed that the voice that calls out to Bush, “I can’t hear you” leading Bush to reply, “well, they’ll hear from us” or something like that was a plant, meant to make Georgie look tough and smart.
But maybe that’s just me.
The only thing that matters is what Arlen Specter thinks. At least, that’s what I gathered from listening to NPR this morning. Could someone email those clowns the news that the GOPers no longer run the Senate Judiciary Committee ?
August 28th, 2007 at 11:48 am“Former Solicitor General Ted Olson and former appellate judge Laurence Silberman are ‘also in the running.’”
I can’t imagine any Democrat on the Judiciary Committee voting for either of these rabid-dog right-wing movement scum.
There is a paucity of Republicans actually capable of running any federal agency competently.
So what happens if he keeps sending nominations of this sort to the Senate?
Or will Bush break his word and make a recess appointment?
August 28th, 2007 at 11:53 amIt’s a real shame Bush can’t find someone who didn’t help him steal the Presidency to be Attorney General.
August 28th, 2007 at 11:56 amSilberman is the sickest partisan neo-con of all time…read “Blinded by the Right” for examples. No way he or Olsen would politicize the DOJ further.
August 28th, 2007 at 11:58 amSo what happens if he keeps sending nominations of this sort to the Senate?
Comment by cal1942 — August 28, 2007 @ 11:53 am
Reject, rinse repeat.
August 28th, 2007 at 11:59 amNot a one of them should get the nod. They need to pick Patrick J. Fitzgerald, he is the only Republican who can restore some semblance of respectability to the post.
August 28th, 2007 at 12:02 pmLaurence Silberman
Hm, none of y’all freaked out at that name? Do you understand how dangerous this guy is?
August 28th, 2007 at 12:02 pmThanks for the heads up Avedon.
Here, folks, try this on for size
http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2004/02/10/silberman/index.html
August 28th, 2007 at 12:07 pmHmm, nulled again. Perhaps the pasting of a link?
August 28th, 2007 at 12:07 pmIn 1980 Silberman served as a Reagan campaign aide carrying out some of the most delicate and politically sensitive assignments. He was dubbed the Reagan-Bush campaign’s “ambassador to Iran” for his behind-the-scenes contacts with the Khomeini regime.
The Republican campaign was seeking to determine whether Khomeini intended to release any American hostages, held in the US embassy in Tehran, before the election. By some accounts, Reagan and Bush sought to forestall any such “October surprise,” which would presumably have aided the Democratic incumbent Jimmy Carter, and Silberman conveyed their sentiments to the Iranians.
Silberman’s reward was a nomination to the Court of Appeals for Washington DC, the most political and powerful circuit court because it handles most cases involving the federal government. His most important decision on the Court of Appeals came in the case of Lt. Col. Oliver North, the principal figure in the Iran-Contra affair. Silberman and fellow justice David Sentelle, a former aide to arch-right-wing Republican Senator Jesse Helms, voided the convictions of both North and Admiral John Poindexter in 1990. Their intervention played a key role in sabotaging the investigation by Iran-Contra special prosecutor Lawrence Walsh.
Silberman’s close ally Sentelle was largely responsible for the 1994 decision to remove Whitewater prosecutor Robert Fiske and replace him with the more conservative and highly partisan Republican Kenneth Starr as Independent Counsel. Sentelle chaired the three judge panel which removed Fiske and appointed Starr in his place. The other two members of the panel were retired judges who normally follow the direction of chairman. When Silberman declares that Starr alone represents the US government, he is silent on how the right-wing judge–a former colleague of Silberman’s on the Circuit Court bench–came to be chosen.
http://www.wsws.org/news/1998/july1998/silb-j18.shtml
August 28th, 2007 at 12:10 pmNot a one of them should get the nod. They need to pick Patrick J. Fitzgerald, he is the only Republican who can restore some semblance of respectability to the post.
Comment by Bruce Gorton — August 28, 2007 @ 12:02 pm
That would certainly show that they are serious about cleaning things up! But I’d be very surprised if that’s what happens.
A quote from a Terwillinger article he wrote recently for the National Law Journal titled “Voluntary Disclosures”:
“The voluntary-disclosure question also should turn on the protection of reputational interests. This applies not just to public companies, but to other large institutions to which public confidence in the rectitude of their operations is essential.”
You mean, like the GOVERNMENT? Voluntary disclosure, how quaint!
http://www.whitecase.com/feature_06252007/
August 28th, 2007 at 12:10 pmSilberman may well be the worst of the bunch. I wonder what David Brock thinks of the choice of Silberman? Olson ain’t much better. I hope Harry is prepared to fight. Olson and Silberman are likely to be even more partisan than Fredo was.
August 28th, 2007 at 12:11 pmForget about it! It’s Jeb Bush all the way.
And then we get to hear all the lackeys explain how it was OK for the Kennedy’s, so . . .
August 28th, 2007 at 12:13 pmMonica Goodling
August 28th, 2007 at 12:14 pmThen again, if you remember the logic of the Scooter Libby commutation–”He might as well do it. His popularity is as low as it’s gonna go and he might win some of his base back”–you realize that the only realistic choice to head the Justice Department is Karl Rove.
August 28th, 2007 at 12:15 pmThe replacement candidates mentioned so far are all members of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy.
Silberman is an ethically challenged judge. Read David Brock’s book Blinded by the Right. He also has Iran Contra ties.
Ted Olson is a GOP dirty tricks operator. Dems voted against his nomination for Solicitor General.
Terwilliger is another GOP dirty trickster.
Chertoff is both corrupt and incompetent.
I hope Democrats block them all.
August 28th, 2007 at 12:17 pmi believe it should be illegal for a president to appoint one of his personal attorneys to be attorney general.
on general principle.
August 28th, 2007 at 12:20 pmI can’t imagine any Democrat on the Judiciary Committee voting for either of these rabid-dog right-wing movement scum.
two words:
samuel alito.
August 28th, 2007 at 12:21 pmThe names mentioned so far are all VRWC members. They have all been in the GOP dirty tricks business for decades. They are all members of the Federalist Society.
Democrats in the senate must block them all.
August 28th, 2007 at 12:21 pmActually, that’s a good litmus test.
NO MEMBERS OF THE FEDERALIST SOCIETY.
Why reward bad behavior by negotiating with them?
August 28th, 2007 at 12:41 pmChuck Todd looks suspiciously like Murray Hewitt from the Flight of the Conchords tv series.
August 28th, 2007 at 12:42 pm#44 Dirk – right on the money
Read Alexander Hamilton’s warning of the “Obsequious Instrument” in Federalist #76. A warning that the Senate ignored when it came to Abu Gonzales, and we have all seen the results.
I suggest you [we] all send a copy of Federalist #76 with the pertinent sections highlited. Since the admonition to the President who “would be ashamed” is not applicable to someone with no shame, the Senate needs to do it’s legitimate job of advise and consent. My guess is our Senators never read the damned thing.
August 28th, 2007 at 12:46 pm.
recess appointment.
August 28th, 2007 at 1:00 pmLaurence H. Silberman is a ‘playah’ himself in the war in Iraq, and has a vested interest in keeping the facts from being investigated accurately and legitimately. Whomever is put into the post of Attorney General is there to keep the secrets secret, and not allow investigations to go forward.
From “State of Denial,” Bob Woodward’s book, we learn that Silberman, a Bush family loyalist, was brought in to head the WMD Study Commission, which was intended to whitewash any negative findings from the 9/11 Commission in advance of the 2004 Presidential election, making sure that the war in Iraq continued. Silberman, a close friend of Dick Cheney’s, described Silberman’s report as “enormously helpful.”
There really are no true statesmen in Washington, no honorable men there anymore. Not Jim Baker, not Lee Hamilton, not Brent Scowcroft – they’ve all been compromised and tools of their own ambition and arrogance of power.
When are we going to stop giving Bush 41 a pass on the failure that is ongoing with his son’s presidency? Nothing that has happened these last six and a half years is troubling to the father, as the media would have us all believe. It’s one of the biggest con jobs ever perpetrated on the American people. The day will come when we will be talking about 2000-2008 as Bush 41’s “2nd and 3rd terms.”
August 28th, 2007 at 1:11 pmTerwilliger wrote an op-ed for the WSJ in support of the WH not responding to subpoenas regarding the US Attorneys and mismanagement of the DOJ.
August 28th, 2007 at 1:23 pmBush will not let his new AG go through the confirmation process. PERIOD! He will do what he’s famous for which is being a total pussy and a coward and install the AG in a recess appointment. Anyone he appoints is going to be a bigger disaster than Gonzo the liar. That’s how he rolls: when someone has to resign because they were caught comitting their shenanigans, Bush nominates someone even worse.
August 28th, 2007 at 1:46 pmRumor heard on Thom Hartmann: Joe Lieberman.
Enjoy.
August 28th, 2007 at 2:05 pmI know it doesn’t really go to the substance of DOJs current problems, but imagining either Silberman or Olson try to perpetuate the administrations ‘this is partisanpoliticsofpersonaldestruction’ trope would be rather giggle-inducing.
August 28th, 2007 at 2:33 pmHoe-boooy! I can see now that the Department of Justice is going to be given back it’s integrity, it’s fairness and returned to a sense of prevailing……justice.
NOT!!!!!
August 28th, 2007 at 3:42 pmI am not necessarily smarter than any of you, but I am older than most of you. “Wisdom” (which accidentally comes with advancing years) is the sum total of all our experiences.
August 28th, 2007 at 4:35 pmStand back, don’t miss the forest for the trees…….a new AG MUST have demonstrated superior integrity (and all that means) or NOT be approved. Given this administrations predelection for creeps, that means the Dems MUST be prepared to reject EVERY NOMINEE that doesn’t meet that criterion. Time is NOT of the essence here……clear-eyed judgement is…….including using any means available to stop an interim appointment….
olson’s career with the Bushies was shot when he basically sided with Acting Attorney General Jim Comey.
August 28th, 2007 at 4:36 pmForget Olson, he shot his wad when he sided with Acting Attorney General Jim Comey against Gonzo, Rove & Bush.
August 28th, 2007 at 4:57 pmHonest to Pete, the little dictator is such an abject creep. He’ll do whatever he figures it takes to further his dream of the United Totalitarian States of America. I’m betting on Lieberman, but he doesn’t have to do it with a recess appointment. The Kabuki Kongress will confirm whomever it is told to confirm.
August 28th, 2007 at 8:27 pm“Laurence Silberman
Hm, none of y’all freaked out at that name? Do you understand how dangerous this guy is?
Comment by Avedon”
Comments 29 and 31 at least. There are probably more.
August 29th, 2007 at 1:07 am“Rumor heard on Thom Hartmann: Joe Lieberman.
Enjoy.
Comment by pendergast ”
It would not be in Lieberman’s best interest to accept a nomination.
He would be out of public office in 17 months no matter who is elected in 2008.
I hope he’s not nominated because of the position it would put Democrats in. If he’s bumped off in committee he could very well switch caucuses which would cost Democrats control of the Senate. If Lieberman was nominated and approved, the Republican governor of Connecticut would appoint a Republican and Democrats would lose control of the Senate.
It would be the type of cynical play to be expected from Bush but I don’t believe Lieberman would go along. At least I hope he wouldn’t accept.
August 29th, 2007 at 1:18 amLieberman… could be. BushCo is in freefall right now, he has absolutely nothing to lose, but he still has to pick somebody the Senate can actually CONFIRM– the first major appointee to go before this new (just barely, alas) Democratic Senate. If it were me, I’d go for someone who would be absolutely the most infuriating to the majority party, while still being more or less solid as a candidate. Right from the get-go, all signs point to the Joe-mentum. Added bonus: Gov. Jodi Rell is a Republican. Bye-bye, Democratic majority!
Somebody said somewhere that Bush only really lets upper-echelon people resign on *his* terms, not theirs. Having a replacement you consider suitable waiting in the wings could well be one of those terms.
August 29th, 2007 at 2:03 am