Attorney General Nominee Praised

Oct 17, 07:55 AM

Current Headlines: U.S. President George Bush's nominee for attorney general, Michael Mukasey, was praised by a senior Democrat before confirmation hearings began Wednesday.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt, met with Mukasey in private for 30 minutes Tuesday and told CNN afterward that various concerns had been allayed.

Everything I've heard from him I hear a man who's not willing to give up his independence to anybody -- not to either political party, not to a president. That's the way the attorney general should be, Leahy said. What I've seen, I would expect him to be confirmed, because we know that we need somebody to clean up the Department of Justice.

Regardless, the retired federal judge will face two days of questioning from the committee. Leahy said he expects Mukasey's views on the use of torture will arise after former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales authorized using various violent interrogation techniques.

A vote on Mukasey is likely by the end of October or early November, committee sources said.