November 11, 2004 - The Dallas Morning News (TX) Bush Touts Texan For Attorney General Job Longtime Confidant Gonzales Would Become First Hispanic In Post By David Jackson, Dallas Morning News

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WASHINGTON ­ Texas native Al Gonzales is poised to become the nation's first Hispanic attorney general, thanks to friendship with President Bush and legal work against terrorism ­ though some of the legal work could prove troublesome at confirmation.

Facing tough questions from Senate Democrats over memos on prisoner torture and other civil liberties issues, the White House counsel vowed Wednesday to wage war while protecting civil liberties.

"The American people expect and deserve a Department of Justice guided by the rule of law," the former Texas Supreme Court justice said during a brief nominating ceremony at the White House.

In announcing his pick, Mr. Bush emphasized Mr. Gonzales' "sharp intellect and sound judgment," as well as other personal qualities: "He is a calm and steady voice in times of crisis."

With Senate confirmation considered likely, the son of migrant workers would replace Attorney General John Ashcroft, whose outspoken conservative views made him a frequent target of Democrats and civil libertarians.

Mr. Gonzales, as White House counsel, became ensnared in similar disputes likely to surface during confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

In addition to prisoner torture, they include another memo in which Mr. Gonzales questioned the relevance of the Geneva Conventions, his advocacy of the Patriot Act, his promotion of conservative judicial nominees and his legal opinions in favor of what critics call the administration's penchant for secrecy.

"These confirmation hearings will be a rare opportunity for the Senate and the public to finally get some answers on several issues for which the administration has resisted accountability," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the committee's top Democrat.

Outside analysts said Mr. Gonzales, 49, will probably take tough questioning, but, barring some surprise revelation, has an excellent shot at confirmation.

After all, with only 44 Democrats in the Senate, the minority party would be loath to filibuster the first Hispanic nominee to lead the Justice Department.

"They've got to pick their battles," said Norman Ornstein, who studies executive-congressional relations for the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington-based think tank. "I don't think this is a battle they want to pick."

Mr. Gonzales cited his heritage during brief remarks in the Roosevelt Room, speaking of a "shared hope for an opportunity to succeed."

" 'Just give me a chance to prove myself' ­ that is the common prayer for those in my community," he said. "Mr. President, thank you for that chance."

In his introduction, Mr. Bush lauded the Gonzales story: One of eight children in a two-bedroom house who went on to study at Rice and Harvard Law School, the first member of his family to attend college.

As a partner at the high-powered Houston law firm Vinson & Elkins, Mr. Gonzales rejected a job offer from aides to former President George Bush. That brought him to the attention of the president's eldest son, who made Mr. Gonzales chief counsel after his election as Texas governor. The younger Mr. Bush later appointed him secretary of state, Texas Supreme Court justice and White House counsel.

"This is the fifth time I have asked Judge Gonzales to serve his fellow citizens," Mr. Bush said in nominating him to be attorney general. "And I am very grateful he keeps saying yes."

Over the years, Mr. Bush has nicknamed Mr. Gonzales "mi abogado" ­ Spanish for "my lawyer."

As Mr. Gonzales pursues confirmation, Mr. Bush will look for a new White House counsel. Candidates include deputy chief of staff Harriet Miers, a former Dallas City Council member, and White House staff secretary Brett Kavanaugh.

If he is confirmed as attorney general, Mr. Gonzales faces many challenges.

In addition to helping protect the homeland from attack, the Justice Department is in the midst of ongoing terrorism prosecutions.

The next attorney general must also lobby Congress to renew certain contested provisions of the Patriot Act set to expire at the end of 2005.

And the Justice Department must defend the administration in a variety of cases, including anti-terrorism policies being reviewed by the Supreme Court and lower tribunals.

Nicknamed "the judge" by some White House officials, Mr. Gonzales had been rumored to be in line for a Supreme Court opening, speculation that had intensified with the illness of Chief Justice William Rehnquist.

The talk angered some anti-abortion conservatives who criticized Mr. Gonzales' interpretation of a parental notification law while a member of the Texas Supreme Court. Justice Gonzales sided with the majority in granting a 17-year-old girl an exemption to a law requiring notice to parents before an abortion.

Some conservatives also blamed Mr. Gonzales for what they saw as Mr. Bush's tepid response to a Supreme Court case on affirmative action.

Yet the Gonzales nomination for attorney general won quick endorsements from organizations such as the Christian Coalition of America.

Democratic aides to the Senate Judiciary Committee said Mr. Gonzales is well liked but faces sharp questions on a variety of fronts.

Beyond terrorism and civil liberties, his role in Texas death penalty cases may also come under scrutiny, aides said. There are also ties between his old law firm and two much-investigated companies, Enron and Halliburton. Mr. Gonzales did no legal work for either but accepted campaign contributions from both for his Texas Supreme Court race.

His role in advising then-Gov. Bush about his drunken driving arrest in the 1970s may also surface.

Still, Senate Democrats are inclined to give Mr. Bush deference on a Cabinet pick, some of their aides said. As one put it: "It's not a Supreme Court nomination."

Judiciary Committee member Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, sounded a conciliatory note, saying, "It's encouraging that the president has chosen someone less polarizing.

"We will have to review his record very carefully," he added, "but I can tell you already he's a better candidate than John Ashcroft."

The American Civil Liberties Union did not take a position on Mr. Gonzales' nomination but urged the Senate to scrutinize his "positions on key civil liberties and human rights issues."

The ACLU zeroed in on a 2004 memo in which Mr. Gonzales described certain Geneva Conventions protections as "obsolete" and "quaint." It also cited a Gonzales memo that Mr. Bush used in a 2002 decision claiming the right to waive anti-torture laws.

ACLU executive director Anthony Romero told The Associated Press that the Senate should give Mr. Gonzales a "thorough thrashing," claiming "serious questions about will Mr. Gonzales dutifully uphold domestic and international obligations that protect civil liberties and human rights."

White House officials said the Geneva Conventions is an agreement among countries and doesn't necessarily apply to terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda.

Officials, including Mr. Gonzales, have also denied approving any forms of prisoner torture.

In accepting the nomination, Mr. Gonzales said, "There should be no question regarding the department's commitment to justice for every American."

Possible Areas Of Controversy

WASHINGTON ­ When he presents himself at confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, White House counsel Al Gonzales will be a familiar face.

Gonzales has been a strong Bush ally over issues of secrecy and executive privilege.

As the administration's liaison for judicial appointments, Mr. Gonzales worked relentlessly ­ mostly behind the scenes ­ to clear the path for Republican judicial appointments. Moreover, he's been an aggressive advocate for the president in fights with certain senators over issues of secrecy and executive privilege.

But as the nominee for attorney general ­ the nation's chief law enforcement official ­ Mr. Gonzales will be asked to explain his record on at least five potentially controversial subjects.

Abu Ghraib

Early in the war on terrorism, the Defense Department announced plans to hold high-risk detainees from Afghanistan at a specially built prison in Guantánamo, Cuba. Placing prisoners outside the reach of any international laws or treaties, including the Geneva Conventions, was supported in a series of memos, some written by Mr. Gonzales.

That legal analysis sought to differentiate the treatment of soldiers from foreign countries from those of "stateless" terrorist networks. In a January 2002 memo, Mr. Gonzales wrote: "This new paradigm renders obsolete Geneva's strict limitations on questioning of enemy prisoners and renders quaint some of its provisions ..."

Cited later in the investigations of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, the memos were seen by some as having contributed to a climate that led to the mistreatment.

The Patriot Act

Several Justice Department authors of the Patriot Act ­ a post-9-11 overhaul of law enforcement search, surveillance and detention procedures ­ have credited Mr. Gonzales for laboring hard during its refinement and passage.

Certain provisions of the act have been controversial, even among parts of the Republican majority. And because some provisions of the act will expire next year, Senate critics of the law will be interested in his attitude toward civil liberties.

Mr. Gonzales is a rigorous advocate for the privileges of a wartime president, telling members of the American Bar Association, for instance, that the president should decide as "a matter of prudence and policy" exactly how to strike a balance "between protecting our country and preserving our freedoms." He acknowledged that some would be "uncomfortable" with that.

Death Penalty

During Mr. Bush's six years as governor, Texas executed a record number of death row inmates. As his chief legal counselor, Mr. Gonzales was responsible for the summaries of death penalty cases presented to the governor before each execution.

The substance of those summaries, which were meant to be confidential, have been analyzed and criticized as inadequate and incomplete in investigations that began with published reports last year in Atlantic Monthly magazine.

Bush Arrest

In the waning days of the 2000 presidential election, it was revealed that Mr. Bush had been arrested on a charge of drunken driving in 1976. As legal counsel to the governor, Mr. Gonzales was at the heart of a controversy that followed.

When the governor was called to jury duty in Austin in 1996, a jury questionnaire required him to list any arrests, on penalty of perjury. Mr. Bush left that portion of the form blank.

Mr. Bush subsequently was dismissed from jury duty, on a motion by the defendant's attorney, who cited the possibility that the defendant might later ask for a pardon. The defense lawyer later said that Mr. Gonzales had suggested making the motion.

Criminal Investigations

Two Texas companies ­ Enron and Halliburton ­ continue to be under criminal investigation by the Justice Department. Until 1995, Mr. Gonzales worked for Vinson & Elkins, the law firm that represented both companies. As a Supreme Court justice in Texas, where the position is elective, he received campaign contributions from both.

Also, Mr. Gonzales has testified in an ongoing grand jury investigation into the illegal disclosure of the identity of a CIA operative.

E-mail David Jackson at djackson@dallasnews.com

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