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McCain, Warner, Graham Subtly Endorse Mukasey

October 31, 2007 5:04 PM

ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf Reports: It was not a ringing endorsement, but the White House and Attorney General nominee will take whatever they can get right now.

The ranking and emeritus Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee have written the Attorney General Nominee, Judge Michael Mukasey, asking him to clarify his position on waterboarding ... but only after he is confirmed as Attorney General. This implies that they will support his nomination on the merits of what he has already said. 

Earlier Wednesday, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, said Mukasey's nomination was in jeopardy unless he clarified his position on torture.

Most of the letter sent today by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. John Warner, R-Va, the former chairman of that committee and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is a refutation on both legal and moral grounds of torture and  the practice of waterboarding, a practice that Mukasey had ceded in a letter to Democrats on the judiciary committee yesterday is "repugnant" to him.

But he would not entirely disavow himself of the practice since he said he is not fully read in to top secret justifications for interrogation policies in the Bush administration.

"We share your revulsion at the use of waterboarding and welcome your commitment to review existing legal memoranda covering interrogations and their consistency with current law," the Republican Senators wrote today. "It is vital that you do so, as anyone who engages in this practice, on behalf of any U.S. government agency, puts himself at risk of criminal prosecution, including under the War Crimes Act, and opens himself to civil liability as well."

But then they close with this innocuous statement that seems to indicate they will support his nomination:

"We must wage and win the war on terror, but doing so is fully compatible with fidelity to our laws and deepest values.  Once you are confirmed and fully briefed on the relevant programs and legal analyses, we urge you to publicly make clear that waterboarding can never be employed," the Senators write.

McCain had told George Stephanopoulos this weekend that Mukasey's answer on torture concerned him. Today's letter suggests he, Virginia Republican John Warner and South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham will support Mukasey.

Only the Democratic Presidential candidates in the Senate have officially indicated they'll oppose Mukasey.

October 31, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (1)

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Posted by: Michael Parkatti | Oct 31, 2007 5:21:47 PM

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