Conservatives Eye Possible AG Nominee

Outgoing Attorney General Alberto Gonzales wipes his eye tears during his farewell ceremony on his last day of work, Friday, Sept. 14, 2007, during a ceremony in the Great Hall at the Justice Department in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) (Pablo Martinez Monsivais - AP)

WASHINGTON -- Conservatives on Saturday lined up for and against potential attorney general nominee Michael Mukasey, the man they believe has ascended to the top of President Bush's list of replacements for Alberto Gonzales.

Earlier in the week, Democrats in the Senate threatened to block confirmation of another prospect _ Theodore Olson, a longtime GOP ally and former solicitor general who represented Bush before the Supreme Court in the contested 2000 presidential election.

The behind-the-scenes battle over who will succeed Gonzales heated up over the weekend as the president, who was at Camp David, moved closer to announcing his choice.

So far, the White House has stayed quiet about who will replace Gonzales. An announcement is expected this week, and some legal conservatives and Republicans told The Associated Press that the White House appeared to be signaling that Mukasey was Bush's pick.

That prompted questions and praise for the former U.S. district judge from New York, who is an adviser to Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign.

Brian Burch, president of the Catholic-based advocacy group Fidelis, said he started getting calls early Saturday from members of his group and other conservative groups who were worried that Bush was getting ready to nominate Mukasey.

"His federal judicial record has been at times hostile to the issues that we care and have concern about, like abortion," Burch said.

Others hailed Mukasey's record.

"He is really tough as nails. He was a really first-rate, brilliant judge, and he's got impeccable conservative law-and-order values," said Jay Lefkowitz, a former domestic policy adviser at the Bush White House who handled Justice Department issues. "I think he would be very well-positioned on national security issues, on prosecuting the war on terror. He would be coming from outside the White House and ... could restore confidence in the department."

Mukasey also has boosters among some of Bush's toughest Democratic critics.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., previously recommended Mukasey for a Supreme Court vacancy.

In June 2005, the liberal Alliance for Justice put Mukasey's name on a list of four judges who, if chosen for the Supreme Court, would show the president's "commitment" to picking someone who could be supported by both Democratic and Republican senators.