Rear Adm. John D. Hutson, who served as the Navy's judge advocate general from 1997 to 2000 before he retired, has said that while Mr. Gonzales may have an inspiring personal story he was at the forefront of an effort to subject detainees to coercive practices that was on the wrong side of history and betrayed longstanding American principles.
Admiral Hutson is one of several military legal experts, all former generals or admirals, who will release a letter on Monday asserting that Mr. Gonzales's legal judgments might disqualify him for the post of attorney general. The letter to the Judiciary Committee said Mr. Gonzales's actions "fostered greater animosity toward the United States, undermined our intelligence gathering efforts, and added to the risks facing our troops serving around the world."
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) expects a lot of Democratic support for Gonazales:
Mr. Schumer said the threshold for winning confirmation to a president's cabinet was far lower than for lifetime nominations to the Supreme Court, which have produced intense battles.
"Generally, for an executive branch position the president gets the benefit of the doubt," he said. "The general feeling on the committee is that he has probably met that lowered threshold."
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) will be one of those grilling Gonzales. The Times recounts the main points of contention with his record:
- His role in developing the administration's claim of authority to imprison indefinitely "unlawful enemy combatants," which could include United States citizens and would not be reviewable by the courts.
- His role in supervising a legal task force that concluded that Mr. Bush was not bound either by an international treaty prohibiting torture or by federal law because he had the authority as commander in chief to approve any technique needed to protect the nation.
- The Jan. 25, 2002, memorandum he wrote to the president saying the Geneva Conventions did not apply to the conflict in Afghanistan. He described the conventions as "quaint" because he said they required "that captured enemy be afforded such things as commissary privileges, scrip (i.e., advances of monthly pay), athletic uniforms and scientific instruments."
In addition,
Mr. Gonzales will also be questioned about his role in the tightly constructed definition of torture in an August 2002 Justice Department memorandum.
Whoa...that's not all. Gonzales needs to be questioned on his record as clemency advisor in death penalty cases to George W. Bush. Call your senators at (202) 224-3121. A switchboard operator will connect you directly with the Senate office you request. Leave a message with your name, stating that you are a constituent, and leave a request for your senator to question Gonzales about this.
Update: Law Prof Michael Froomkin at Discourse.Net is no happier with Schumer's response than we are. Read Digby too.