Editorial: New hope for justice

Saturday, Oct. 20, 2007 | 7:14 a.m.

The Senate next week is expected to easily confirm retired chief federal Judge Michael Mukasey as the next attorney general.

Based on what Mukasey told the Senate Judiciary Committee during confirmation hearings this week, we believe he has the necessary integrity to return the Justice Department to its proper role as an objective law enforcement agency.

Under the former attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, the department acted in many respects as a political arm of the White House.

Mukasey was nominated to the federal bench by President Ronald Reagan. Largely because of his reputation for nonpartisan decisions, Mukasey was recommended for the attorney general's job by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

It was the well-placed criticism of Schumer and other Democrats that led to the resignation of Gonzales, a longtime ally of President Bush who served as White House counsel before assuming the attorney general's position.

Under Gonzales, the Justice Department fired U.S. attorneys perceived as not aggressive in carrying out White House election strategies, but the outrageous actions did not stop there.

The Gonzales-led Justice Department contorted the Constitution and international law to give the president unprecedented war powers.

Backed by Justice Department opinions, the president authorized the torture and secret imprisonment of anyone believed to be an enemy. (Congressional Democrats and the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately prevailed on these issues.) Warrantless spying on Americans was approved. The invoking of executive privilege became common. Congressional subpoenas were ignored.

Orchestrating much of the Oval Office's power grab was Vice President Dick Cheney, who had Gonzales on a string.

We were very much heartened this week to hear Mukasey vow to be independent of partisan politics. Mukasey said he would resign before allowing either himself or the Justice Department to be used to authorize unethical, illegal or politically motivated policy.

It is to the nation's shame that Gonzales did not share that philosophy.