Posted on 01/04/2007 10:33:13 AM PST by xzins
Miers Resigns As White House Counsel
In this Oct. 27, 2005, file photo, White House counsel Harriet Miers smiles as she walks into the White House in Washington. Miers has submitted her resignation as White House counsel, the White House announced Thursday. CHARLES DHARAPAKBy DEB RIECHMANN (Associated Press Writer) From Associated Press January 04, 2007 12:57 PM EST WASHINGTON - Harriet Miers, President Bush's failed Supreme Court nominee and longtime adviser, on Thursday submitted her resignation as White House counsel.
White House press secretary Tony Snow said the president reluctantly accepted her resignation, which takes effect Jan. 31. He said a search for a successor is under way.
Bush nominated Miers in October 2005 to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, but she dropped out under fire from conservatives who questioned her qualifications and would not support her.
Asked why she was leaving, Snow said: "Basically, she has been here six years."
He said Miers, 61, a loyal adviser to the president for years, has been having conversations with White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten about leaving for some time and both agreed that it was time for a change at the White House office of legal counsel.
At the White House, Miers is known as a diligent adviser, one of the first to arrive and one of the last to leave.
"Harriet is one of the most beloved people here at the White House," Snow said, adding that she was a scrupulous lawyer who aggressively defended the Constitution.
"As somebody said earlier today, 'She put 12 years of service into six years,'" Snow said.
Snow said Miers' departure did not signal the beginning of an exodus of senior officials after six bruising years at the White House. Asked if other officials were poised to go, Snow said, "I'm aware of none and anticipate none."
As White House counsel, Miers works behind-the-scenes overseeing a team of attorneys who provide legal advice to Bush on matters large and small. But when Bush picked her to fill an opening at the Supreme Court, she became a household name, albeit briefly. Her background and every word were scrutinized. Television cameras rolled as she walked up Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers charged with confirming her as a justice.
She dropped out under fire from conservatives who criticized her for having thin credentials on constitutional law and no proven record as a judicial conservative. That forced Bush to scramble for a new Supreme Court nominee who could calm a conservative rebellion and walk sure-footedly through a Senate confirmation hearing. He turned to Samuel Alito, a federal appeals court judge from New Jersey, who was ultimately confirmed.
Ironically, one of Miers' tasks as counsel was to vet potential nominees for openings on the federal bench - and the Supreme Court.
"Participating in the process to help identify the best nominees for the American people has been among the most rewarding of my experiences," Miers wrote Bush in a resignation letter dated Thursday. "Your commitment to nominating judges who will interpret the law and who know the proper role of a judge has made this nation stronger and our justice system fairer."
Miers, who grew up in Dallas and received her undergraduate and law degrees from Southern Methodist University, was the first woman hired by her law firm, in 1972; first woman president of the Dallas Bar Association, in 1985; first woman president of the Texas bar, in 1992; and first woman president of her law firm, in 1996.
The soft-spoken Miers has described herself as a "Texan through and through." White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove said she can be "tough as nails." Bush once called her "a pit bull in size 6 shoes."
She clerked for a federal judge there and then joined Locke Purnell Rain Harrell, rising to become its first female president. After the firm merged with another, she was co-managing partner of the 400-lawyer Locke Liddell & Sapp.
She was Bush's personal lawyer in Texas, took on the thankless job of cleaning up the Texas Lottery when he was governor, and followed him to Washington to serve as staff secretary until Bush appointed her White House counsel, succeeding Alberto Gonzales when he was named attorney general.
Praying to god Ginsberg isn't sick, didn't see her at the Ford funeral...
Your heroine has quit her job... on the bright side, perhaps she needs someone to run errands for her now that she is back in the private sector.
this was already posted. My search under "Miers" didn't turn it up.
However, Ginsberg's illness would make us long for a reliable vetting agent in the WH.
The Senate is tied at the moment, but there's no way to overcome a filibuster at this time.
Justice Stevens did show at the funeral, so he must be in fairly good health.
Ginsberg isn't sick - I saw her on the TV news last night administering an oath of office in D.C.
Two years to go, now they will all start cashing out and cashing in with lucrative job offers.
Don't expect much but bad over the next two years - the fight is out of them. The Democrats can't believe their good luck. They will steamroller everything.
You probably are right.
I'm guessing that she leaves the WH an offended woman. Wonder what she'll do?
Wasn't it Stevens the one who was rumoured to be in bad health?
I agree - but if she was well enough to make an appearance for a Democrat swearing-in, she was well enough to attend the Ford funeral.
Um...not so fast there. Do you really think that K-Street law firms all falling all over themselves to have Harriet Miers on their roster?
This is bad news?
The Lone Ranger beat you to the draw...;^)
Additionally, Condi appears to me to have her thoughts elsewhere these days. She looks worried, pre-occupied, not entirely there. So different from her usual intense focus.
Just my observation.
Happy New Year, Chappy.
Yes they are. The precise reasons why she was a bad supreme court pick make her a great lobbyist i.e. doesn't believe in much, good connections, dealmaker, etc.
I agree about Condi. She doesn't seem to be on her game.
Another freeper gave me a different perspective and pointed out that Condi is working to change us from Euro-focused to Asia-focused...and is succeeding.
Interesting perspective.
What about if the Senate rejects a vote on all of Bush's conservative judges and Bush waits for a vacation time and then appoints a conservative judge to fill in temporarily. Although not a perfect plan, it would fit the bill for at least another year. Then do it again and hope and pray conservatives win at the ballot box in 2008.
That is what makes FR so great. Different perspectives are intellectually stimulating. Makes you go, Hmmmmmm.....
I like the idea. If we lose the presidency, we'll end up with a liberal anyway.
There is no such thing as a moderate liberal. They either support the constitutional preeminence of life or they don't.
Life is the premier God-given right.
Take it and none of the others matter.
Getting ready for the coming impeachment fight?
It is my understanding that those "recess" appointees do not get paid. And Bush would rather have a John Paul Stevens, Jr., type, I believe, than to wage a futile fight for a true conservative.
It may be that though John Paul Stevens, Sr., admires the Ford who appointed him, Ginsburg does not!
To my way of thinking, it would be a matter of respect for the Office of the Presidency rather than one's personal opinion of the person.
Stevens died in 2003. But with the help of Hollywood liberals and studio FX technicians, they used his body to make an animatronic Stevens, like the ones of dead presidents at Disneyland. The StevensBot isn't due to be refueled with more plutonium rods until 2014, by which time it may not matter.
Last one out, turn off the lights.
I have a friend who is a former Republican congressman from my district here in Arkansas. He told me at Christmas that he sort of hoped the dims would try an imeachment. He thinks it will cost their party nationwide support. Americans do not want to see a President put on trial particularily in a time of war. His thoughts on the matter, and I agree.
Why is Negreponte going to State? I have questions there..
Whatever her merits, her access to George W. Bush is almost unmatched.
Taking that logic to its natural conclusion, the only people fit to judge Bill Clinton's actions are Jimmy Carter, George HW Bush, and George Bush. All other criticism is a waste of time.
Right?
So I suppose you never criticize anyone who has been in washington longer than you? heh.
She was at Ford's funeral. She looked as well as usual...
I think she had a lot to do with the signing statements that Congress hates. I'll bet she gets on a slow boat to China to avoid their sopenas. However, I had another thought. Loyal Bushies, especially ones knowledgable about the WOT, could do a lot of good on speaking tours disseminating correct info to the public.
That will be decreasingly useful for the next two years.
True, but previous presidents have enjoyed influential careers after the White House, and the current one may be no different.
Besides, Miers is a very pleasant person to have working for you. She'll tell her boss how he's "the best," how he's "really cool," and so on.
Well, I do not believe that Bush would settle for a John Paul Stevens, Jr. type. I guess you haven't paid attention to the last two Supreme Court Justices Bush nominated.
I agree.
How could Miers have vetted the constituional qualifications of judges when the woman apparently has little understanding of constitutional law? Even Republican Senators were criticizing her application.
Do we yet know if Justices Roberts and Alito are conservatives? I am not sure we do. I think (as I vaguely recall) that the liberalism of Souter was not revealed for two years after he was on the court, correct me as needed.
because reforming CIA is likely an impossible task, the "cabal" that runs it cannot be rooted out. Bush tried, with Goss et al, but there is only so much that can be done.
she may see the ultimate hugest fight on the horizon...impeachment threats. The White House may be shoring up its legal counsel now for such a battle.
Now what?
its up to the next president (if so inclined) to try again.
Scary. Pat Robertson's New Year vision may come true because no one can bring this Clinton-infected department under control.
Here's an interesting perspective on this:
http://conways.nationalreview.com/post/?q=Y2Q2ZGQ3ODdkZDg2MjM2YzA4YjVmYTFmYzI3N2E0MzI=
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