Put up or shut up

By Creature

A few weeks back when Michael Mukasey was up for confirmation, and it looked like my senator--and Mukasey buddy--Chuck Schumer would be the deciding vote, I wrote a letter to Senator Schumer nearly begging him to vote against the nomination. Senator Schumer did not. A few days ago I received an email back from the senator explaining his vote. His decision came down to this, one, "critical reason": "[T]he Department of Justice is a shambles and is in desperate need of a strong leader committed to depoliticizing the agency's operations."

Schumer's justification for voting in favor of a flawed nominee also included this: "More importantly, Judge Mukasey has demonstrated his fidelity to the rule of law, saying that if he believed the president were violating the law he would resign."


I bring all this up not to re-open old wounds between me and my flawed senator. No, I bring up the senator's explanation because with the big news today that the CIA obstructed justice by destroying two videotapes which had documented the illegal interrogation of terror suspects, it's time for the flawed senator and his flawed nominee to step up. Schumer must insist on an investigation--insist in public or private, I don't care--and the attorney general must either prove his independence by launching such an investigation, or, if he is unwilling to do so, he must promptly resign.

It's put up or shut up time. America's waiting.

More from Glenn, Marcy, and Marty.

(Cross-posted at State of the Day.)