Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy famously was on the receiving end of an expletive from Vice-President Dick Cheney a few years ago. And this morning Leahy demonstrated during his opening statement of the Eric Holder confirmation hearing that there is no shortage of rank hypocrisy on Capitol Hill.
Leahy said the attorney general’s job is “too important to delay because of partisan bickering.” He had no such qualms in 2001 when he led a bitter and extended opposition to John Ashcroft’s nomination for the job, even though the Missouri senator’s ethical record was spotless. By contrast, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-PA, and other legal experts have raised serious concerns about Holder’s record, including his expediting some of President Bill Clinton’s most outrageous last-minute pardons, and his refusal to investigate obvious fund-raising abuses in the Clinton-Gore White House.
Indeed, Leahy is the last senator who should criticize partisan obstruction, as he has been since 2001 a master of brutally unfair partisan delays and opposition on Bush administration justice department and federal judicial appointments. For example, Leahy has refused to hold a single hearing for appellate judicial nominee Peter Keisler, who has been universally praised for integrity, brilliance, and objectivity, solely as payback for past Republican actions. No wonder Cheney’s patience was exhausted.
