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New York (AP) -- No criminal prosecutions are planned for former Justice Department officials accused of allowing politics to influence the hiring of prosecutors, immigration judges and other career government lawyers, Attorney General Michael Mukasey said Tuesday. Mukasey used his sharpest words yet to criticize the senior leaders who took part in or failed to stop illegal hiring practices during the tenure of his predecessor, Alberto Gonzales. But, he told delegates to the American Bar Association annual meeting, "Not every wrong, or even every violation of the law, is a crime. In this instance, the two joint reports found only...

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- Republican Sen. Arlen Specter has a suggested question for Wednesday's Democratic presidential debate: Ask the candidates if they support faster confirmation of judicial nominations. Specter said Tuesday he sent letters to Democratic Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, as well as Republican nominee-in-waiting Sen. John McCain posing that question. He shared the letters with ABC News, sponsor of the debate. Specter, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, wrote that he wants to take, or "discharge," three appellate court nominations from the committee and bring them straight to the Senate floor for a vote. "I write...

The Bush administration, trying to push through judicial nominations before Republicans lose control of the Senate, on Wednesday resubmitted the names of six nominees who Democrats say are too conservative for the federal bench. Five of the nominees in question were the subject of an angry exchange in August when Democrats charged that their selection was a sop to the president's conservative base. The White House submitted six names Wednesday: Terrence Boyle of North Carolina and William James Haynes II of Virginia to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va.; Michael Brunson Wallace of Mississippi to the...

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=17869 The Rumor About John Paul Stevens by Sean Rushton Nov 04, 2006 For weeks, commentators have speculated that significant numbers of conservatives, alienated by over-spending, the Iraq War, and other perceived GOP disappointments, will stay home on Election Day, giving one or both Houses of Congress to Democrats. But for those who care about reforming the Supreme Court, sitting this one out may soon look like a mistake of historic proportions. For the past several weeks, there has been a rumor circulating among high-level officials in Washington, D.C., that a member of the U.S. Supreme Court has received grave...

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=17771 Judiciary Halloween Scare: Harry and Nancy Send Chills Through Conservatives by Kay R. Daly Posted Oct 31, 2006 Imagine it is 2007. Imagine further that the leftists’ hopes and dreams for the decimation of the GOP congressional majorities has happened. Can you see the beehive of activity that ensues? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D.-Nev.) are presiding over their new committee chairmen who are busily attempting to dismantle anything that has the faint aroma of the GOP agenda. Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D.-Mass.) is holding hearings to roll back the tax cuts...

PEOPLE FOR THE ALITO WAY PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - JANUARY 13, 2006 THE ENVELOPE, PLEASE…… ALITO HEARING WEEK AWARDS (WASHINGTON , DC ) – People for the Alito Waytoday released a list of awards for those Senators who truly distinguished themselves during the nomination hearing of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. Congratulations to all the winners! Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) “It’s All About Me” Award Senator Joe Biden holds the record this week for asking the longest questions of the entire hearing, and that’s saying something! In one thirty-minute session, Biden spoke for 24 minutes and Alito...

Another skeleton Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers was deeply involved in an American Bar Association scheme that forces lawyers to pool their clients' funds into checking accounts and pass on the interest to "public interest" law firms, Evan Gahr reports at www.chimpstein.com. The program, known as Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts, or IOLTA, was intended to provide legal services to the poor but often ends up promoting left-wing causes, Mr. Gahr said. IOLTA has helped fund "a panoply of left-wing advocates, including a California group that sued to overturn the state's parental consent law for abortion, a gay organization that...

October 06, 2005, 1:49 p.m. A liberal minority in the Senate will have the upper hand. I am hearing two primary arguments for Harriet Miers by those who are close to the president: 1. The president knows her, believes she is the best candidate, and we should trust him because his past judicial picks have been excellent; and 2. There are not enough Republican votes in the Senate to win an ideological fight over a nominee like Michael Luttig, Edith Jones, or Janice Rogers Brown. I and others have already addressed the first point at some length over the last...

NOW declares 'state of emergency,' plans march after news of O'Connor's retirement ASSOCIATED PRESS ROSE FRENCH Sat July 2, 2005 09:41 EDT NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ The president of the National Organization for Women declared a ``state of emergency'' for women's rights and planned a march on the state Capitol as news of Sandra Day O'Connor's retirement reverberated through the group's annual convention. NOW president Kim Gandy told about 800 NOW members Friday that women need to send a message that they won't tolerate ``extremist'' judges who set back women's rights. ``This is our time. This is our challenge,'' Gandy...

It is beginning to dawn on Democrats that the compromise in the Senate that averted the "nuclear option" over judges was not the victory they thought it was. Republicans, meanwhile, are beginning to come to terms with what it means to get not half a loaf, but I'd say three-quarters to seven-eighths, rather than the whole.

During the next 15 years, the United States could see some incredible transformations. Every young adult would be given $80,000 via a new tax on the "rich." Felons would be allowed to vote. A second Bill of Rights would be instituted, complete with a slew of new entitlements to ensure social and economic "equality." And most amazingly, no one will need – or even be allowed – to vote on these sweeping changes. Unelected judges could simply mandate each of them – for our own good, of course. None of these changes are inevitable, but lest you chalk it all...

The "Compromise" on Judicial Nominations is Unconstitutional The sellout by the seven John McCain-led Republicans on judicial nominations has undermined the majority rule of the Republican Party. The Democrats have a right to celebrate they won on all counts. By agreeing to allow votes on three of the ten Bush nominees the Democrats ensure their ability to filibuster all judicial nominees. The Republican grassroots has worked extremely hard for thirty years to make the Republican Party the Majority Party in both Houses and the Executive Branch. And they are going to resent the sellout by McCain and his merry band...

-Victory? [Kathrynn Jean Lopez 05/24 05:47 PM] From Hotline's "Last Call": DNC Chair Howard Dean, on the filibuster deal: "I would be hesitant to say it's a win for the Democratic Party" (AP). MoveOn invited supporters "to a victory conference call" with Senate Min Leader Harry Reid (Last Call! sources). -------------------------------------------The Hard Spin [Kathryn Jean Lopez 05/24 05:12 PM] An e-mail out today from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee: By now I'm sure you have heard about the last night's historic agreement that ended the Senate standoff over the use of the filibuster and protected our rights to filibuster a...

I agree with John Podhoretz that politics in the real world calls for some compromise — at least when a matter of principle is not involved. But he’s dreaming if he really thinks the filibuster “compromise” struck last night in the Senate is a “victory.”

WASHINGTON -- Republicans argued strenuously Wednesday that the Senate should vote on Texas jurist Priscilla Owen, opening debate on the Democratic-blocked appeals court nominee and setting events in motion that could bring a historic showdown over filibusters. As lawmakers clashed on the Senate floor over the Democrats' blockade of Owen, negotiators from both parties worked behind the scenes trying to craft a deal that would avert a constitutional confrontation. In the floor debate, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist argued that it was wrong for several of President Bush's appeals court nominees to be blocked by stalling tactics. "Judicial nominees with...

This site on JohnKerry.com was forwarded by a friend. Through it, you can send a quick email encouraging Sen. Frist to push the button, go nuclear, and break the back of the Democrats' obstruction...all on John Kerry's dime.

Based on the clear language of the U.S. Constitution the Democrat Senators are engaging in an illegitimate and unconstitutional action – the filibuster of judicial nominations – to prevent the President’s judicial nominees from being appointed with the Advice and Consent of the Senate. Article II of the Constitution sets out the powers, authorities, and responsibilities of the President and of the Senate regarding appointment of Judges of the Supreme Court and all other Officers of the United States, which includes federal lower-court judges. Article II grants “Executive Power” to the President and lists a number of those powers. Section...

Bob Dole says that amending the Senate's rules would be unnecessary if only Senate Democrats would forswear use of the filibuster. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Pete Du Pont recounts that many Democratic Senators have had a change of heart when it comes to the propriety of filibusters: "Other Democratic senators have had similar changes in belief: Joe Biden and Robert Byrd, Tom Harkin, Ted Kennedy, Joe Lieberman, Pat Leahy, Chuck Schumer and their erstwhile colleagues Lloyd Bentsen, and Tom Daschle have all vigorously opposed the use of the filibuster against judicial nominations. Mr. Schumer was for voting judicial...

Thank you for writing to me about one of the most important issues currently facing our nation, and that is the effort by some members of the United States Senate to violate rules of this august body in order to end filibusters against judicial nominations, an effort that has become known as the "nuclear option." This term appropriately describes what some of my colleagues are attempting to do because if they were to be successful in this effort, it would mark the first time in the history of the United States that the Senate changed its internal rules of governance...

Conservative Radio is reporting that groups like the NRA are not supporting breaking the so-called senate "filabuster" so as not to upset democratic senators who have supported the NRA in the past.

The high road on filibusters The Virginian-Pilot © April 19, 2005 Sen. John Warner has a zipped lip on a possible Republican rules change that would ban filibusters of judicial nominees. Talking a nomination to death, or threatening to do so, is an annoying way of allowing the minority to gain an upper hand. To some, it was annoying when GOP Sen. Jesse Helms used the filibuster time and again to block Democrat Bill Clinton’s nominations; to others, it’s annoying when President Bush can’t get his nominations through the Senate because of the same rules. But the filibuster is also...

Right-wing Christian groups and the Republican politicians they bankroll have done much since the last election to impose their particular religious views on all Americans. But nothing comes close to the shameful declaration of religious war by Bill Frist, the Senate majority leader, over the selection of judges for federal courts. Senator Frist is to appear on a telecast sponsored by the Family Research Council, which styles itself a religious organization but is really just another Washington lobbying concern. The message is that the Democrats who oppose a tiny handful of President Bush's judicial nominations are conducting an assault "against...

Yesterday, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) spoke on the judicial nomination process. I have little doubt that if his speech were given by a someone on the other side, it would quickly be denounced as hate speech. Throughout his press conference in support of the Democrats' unprecedented judicial filibuster, Senator Schumer denounced groups that disagree with him as "a bunch of extreme fringe ideological groups who want to take America back to the 1930s or the 1890s." If you recall, Senator Schumer was one of the first senators to call for an "ideological litmus test" for judicial nominees. This ideological litmus...

Brian Sandoval, midway through his term as Attorney General, has the support of Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign.

Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) said filibusters of judicial nominees "can't be tolerated by the American people." He again held out the possibility of ruling such filibusters unconstitutional -- the so-called nuclear option -- which would trigger a fierce retaliation, Democrats say. But for now, Frist said, "I'm trying to show restraint."

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter cautioned fellow Republicans yesterday against employing the "nuclear option" for judicial nominees that would deprive Democrats of long-standing parliamentary tools to block Senate action. Click here for the rest of the story.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter warned on Thursday that an impending showdown over President Bush (news - web sites)'s judicial nominees could lead to turmoil in the Republican-led Senate. Specter said if fellow Republicans invoke the "nuclear option" by changing the Senate's rules to ban procedural hurdles against the nominees, Democrats could as promised retaliate with other moves of their own to "screw things up." "If we have a 'nuclear option,' the Senate will be in turmoil and the Judiciary Committee will be hell," Specter said. "We can take an extended foreign trip, all of us."...

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I will spend a few minutes correcting the record in response to a question of press availability on Tuesday about whether Democrats were opposing as a caucus all of the renominated judges that previously were denied an opportunity for an up-or-down vote when a bipartisan majority stood ready to confirm them last year. The Senate minority leader said, "Renomination is not the key. I think the question is, those judges that have already been turned down in the Senate" -- in other words, he said these judges, even though they commanded the support of a bipartisan...

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- Evangelist Pat Robertson indicated Tuesday that if Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist expects backing of religious conservatives for a possible 2008 presidential bid, he had better get President Bush's judicial nominees confirmed by the Senate, or at least voted on. "It is the ultimate test," Robertson said at the National Press Club. "He cannot be a leader and allow Democrats to do what they did in the last session." The Democrats' ability to stall White House picks for the federal bench was one of the most contentious issues of Bush's first term. With a Senate comprised of...

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., is trying out a tougher-guy routine with Democrats this year and hoping it pays off with a big increase in approval of judicial nominees. The stakes are higher for at least a couple of reasons. President Bush in the near future may have to nominate a replacement for severely ill Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Also, Republicans presiding over the Senate, House and White House believe their November election wins were big and broad enough to be called a mandate for bolder changes. So, Frist apparently feels he must succeed in speeding along...

"I was extremely disappointed to learn today that the president intends to begin the new Congress by resubmitting extremist judicial nominees," Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said in a statement. The judges that President Bush has nominated are mainstream Americans. You want know what is extreme, it is when liberals judges decided for example that partial birth abortion is a fundamental right. The vast majority of the electorate are opposed to partial birth abortion. A recent poll showed that ¾ in red states opposed such abortions, 2/3 in swing states opposed such abortions, and 55% in blue states opposed...

With a Supreme Court nomination battle looming large on the horizon and ongoing issues with judicial nominations (including the "nuclear option", etc.), I want to start a ping list for those of you interested in this battle. I will be knee deep "in the fray" in this issue and will have good information to pass on to you all. This ping list will VERY much be worth your while. For more information on judicial nominations in general, go to www.fairjudiciary.com, but in the meantime, if you would like to be notified of information on judicial nominations issues in general and...

Senate Republicans are preparing to implement a sophisticated, multipronged plan to confirm President Bush’s expected nomination to replace ailing Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Well-funded liberal groups are also ramping up their efforts to block any conservative nominee. Activists working with White House and Senate staffers say the 80-year old Rehnquist’s battle with thyroid cancer has sharply focused attention. The controversy over comments that Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), incoming Judiciary Committee chairman, made downplaying the chances of anti-abortion-rights nominees being confirmed also accelerated planning. “The groups on the center-right are prepared to mobilize at a moment’s notice,” said Jay...

Laury Gordon Estrada ESTRADA, LAURY GORDON Of Alexandria, VA, passed away unexpectedly on November 28, 2004. She was 46. She is survived by her loving mother, Ruby Gordon; and her devoted husband, Miguel Estrada. She also leaves behind her three loving dogs, Zeus, Ruby and Jackson and her chestnut mare, Lily, all of whom she loved deeply. Laury worked for many years as an Attorney in various positions in the Department of Justice, including the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering section, the Office of Legislative Affairs and the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. She was...

Excerpts from speech: "Tonight I want to share with you my thoughts about the filibuster of judicial nominees: it is radical; it is dangerous; and it must be overcome." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "With the filibuster of Miguel Estrada, the subsequent filibuster of 9 other judicial nominees, and the threat of 6 more filibusters, the Minority has abandoned over 200 years of Senate tradition and precedent." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "This radical action presents a serious challenge to the Senate as an institution and the principle so essential to our general liberty -- the separation of powers." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "It would be easy to attribute the Minority's...

Subj: Bill Frist update Date: 11/12/2004 6:05:45 PM Central Standard Time From: Senator.Bill.Frist@publicaster.com It’s Friday afternoon and we are preparing to proudly welcome the new senators to an orientation (under the leadership of Lamar Alexander and George Voinovich, working with Sec of the Senate Emily Reynolds) that begins on Sunday. Then we follow with a week that includes our leadership elections, a Senate bipartisan dinner at the Supreme Court, retirement dinner for our departing Republican senators (to which one prominent retiring democrat senator is invited!!), our lame duck session (which we will complete before Thanksgiving). We will be addressing the...

Call Bill Frisk Office # (202)224-3344, Tell him if he wants conservative support in his white house bid in 2008, he must stop Specter. Call the white house (202) 456-1111 and tell the President Christian that conservative America does not want Specter in charge!

Ralph Neas is at it again. Armed with an overflowing treasure chest of donations from the Hollywood Left, union bosses, and trial lawyers, People for the American Way president Ralph Neas is orchestrating the activities of more than 10,000 Democratic attorneys in battleground states. Using the coalition of leftist organizations brought together through years of trench warfare over judicial nominations and a database of attorneys, Neas is working to successfully accuse Republicans of suppressing voters. The lawsuits in Florida have already begun. With 2,000 lawyers dispatched to that state alone, this was certainly bound to happen. Nine lawsuits have been...

by Craig E. Richardson U.S. Senate Majority Hangs in Balance The Republicans currently control the Senate by a margin of 51-49 and issues such as abortion, embryonic stem cell research, gay “marriage,” and judicial nominations are key factors in many races. As a result, Catholic voters will play an important role in settling which party controls the Senate for the next two years. South Dakota tops the list of senate races to watch and it represents one the Republican’s best opportunities to pick-up a seat held by a Democrat. Minority Leader Tom Daschle, the top Democrat in the Senate, is...

WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- Last week a tripartite agreement was announced that would allow the Senate to vote on a backlog of President George W. Bush's judicial nominees. Several weeks ago, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) proclaimed a blockade of all nominees in retaliation for the recess appointments of judges William Pickering and Bill Pryor. The deal was struck between the leadership of both parties and signed off by White House Chief of Staff Andy Card. In exchange for permitting votes on dozens of judicial nominees, Daschle extracted a promise from President Bush not to make any more recess...

From MANUEL MIRANDA For Immediate Release Contact: March 1, 2004 NEW PROOF COMES OUT OF DEMOCRAT TECH NEGLIGENCE “I told you so,” Miranda says. Washington, DC. Today a former Grassley intern, with deep computer security experience, has stepped forward with a sworn affidavit attesting that he knew over two years ago that the Senate Judiciary Committee network lacked security protocols and was an open server, and that he discovered that documents of both Republican and Democrat staff could be accessed in the same manner recently described by Hatch staffers. The affidavit also states that the Grassley staffer informed other Grassley...

WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- After nearly three years of political wrangling over the nomination of Judge Charles W. Pickering, President Bush exercised his prerogative to put him on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals while the Senate was in recess. Senate Democrats stymied Pickering's nomination through procedural obstacles when they were in the majority and finally resorted to a filibuster when faced with the certainty of confirmation if a floor vote were taken. In a statement Friday, Bush said that he was using his constitutional authority to appoint Pickering because "a minority of Democratic Senators has been using unprecedented obstructionist...

<p>Senate Republicans have thrown their support behind the investigation into how internal memos written by Democratic staffers on the Judiciary Committee wound up in the Wall Street Journal and The Washington Times.</p> <p>Since the memos surfaced ? revealing how Democrats planned with liberal interest groups to block President Bush's judicial nominees ? Democrats have accused Republican staffers of hacking into their computers, downloading the 14 memos and leaking them to reporters.</p>

Two Senate Republicans are considering filing a lawsuit aimed at putting an end to delaying tactics by Democrats trying to block President Bush's nominations to the federal bench. Freshman Sens. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said Wednesday they have their staffs as well as outside experts looking at whether such a suit -- filed, in essence, against the Senate itself -- would be feasible. Their announcement comes in the midst of the debate over nominees Miguel Estrada, a Washington lawyer, and Priscilla Owen, a Texas Supreme Court justice. Democrats charge both are too conservative for...

This Wednesday beginning at 6:00 pm, the Republican leadership of the United States Senate is going to force the Dems to actually filibuster President Bush's judicial nominees. As you all know, they have been preventing our President's eminently qualified judicial nominees from coming before the full senate for a vote. This is an unprecedented move in the history of our Republic. We will meet at JC Nichols Fountain (just east of the Plaza at 47th and Main) at 5:30-7:00 pm on Wednesday, November 12, to support the Republican leadership's efforts to draw national attention to the Dem's hollow and self-serving...

Kay Daly of the Coalition for a Fair Judiciary has asked the D.C. Chapter of Free Republic to assist in coordination efforts during the upcoming 30-hour marathon Senate session to call attention to the blatant Democrat obstruction of judicial nominees. The session will begin on Wednesday and end sometime Friday. All FReepers and Lurkers in good standing within the metro D.C. area or within easy driving distance in nearby states are invited and encouraged to show their support by their presence in the Senate Gallery and at press conferences to be held frequently during this extended session. If you cannot...

On C-span now, 6:21am Eastern Time. Rick Santorum explaining that 51 Republicans must stay on the floor to break the filibuster.

Enough is enough on Capitol Hill. It's now at the point of saying shame on them. I refer to the partisan antics taking place in the Senate. We elect and pay the salaries of those men and women we send to Washington -- who we trust are going to represent us well. But when it comes to confirming much-needed federal judges, we're relegated to watching members of the Senate act ridiculously and selfishly along partisan lines. It's hurting all of us. There are vacancies on the court -- and backlogs of cases to be heard -- yet Democratic senators are...

CNSNews.com) - Senate Democrats won't have Miguel Estrada to filibuster anymore: Twenty-eight months after President Bush named the Hispanic attorney to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Estrada is saying "never mind," The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. In a letter to President Bush, the 41-year-old attorney asked that his nomination be withdrawn so he can end two-and-a-half years of limbo and return to his law practice -- and who can blame him, the newspaper said in an editorial. "His withdrawal should embarrass Republicans who have been outwitted on judgeships by Ted Kennedy and...

Gregory Peck, who died earlier this month, had many roles for which he will long be remembered. The one that may have had the most influence on this country was the "voice-over" he provided in 1987 for a TV commercial falsely characterizing Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork as favoring poll taxes and literacy tests, among other horrors.The same liberal groups that "Borked" Bork are preparing a campaign against President Bush's nominee, should one or more justices retire. Sens. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) have called on President Bush to "consult " with them to avoid a "divisive confirmation...