Former judge Michael Mukasey top AG pick.

AMERICAblog notes that CNN is reporting that Michael Mukasey appears to be the administration’s top pick to replace Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General. Mukasey is a former federal judge who “presided over many high-profile trials, including that of Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and 11 co-defendants, who were charged with plotting to destroy New York City landmarks.”

UPDATE: Mukasey also issued the first ruling in the Jose Padilla case after 9/11. While he ruled that “President Bush did have the authority to hold Mr. Padilla as an enemy combatant without charging him for a crime,” he also “ruled that the government must allow Mr. Padilla to see his attorneys.”

UPDATE II: Mukasey is an adviser to Rudy Guiliani’s presidential campaign.

UPDATE III: AP reports that some conservatives are already “drafting a strategy to oppose him.”