Democrats Press Attorney General Nominee on Legality of ‘Wat

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Democrats Press Attorney General Nominee on Legality of ‘Waterboarding’« Thread Started on Oct 26, 2007, 10:12pm » --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Democrats Press Attorney General Nominee on Legality of ‘Waterboarding’By CQ Staff | 7:00 AM; Oct. 26, 2007 | Email This Article By Kieth Perineread at source> http://www.cqpolitics.com/2007/10/democ ... _1.htmlThe future of Michael Mukasey’s nomination to be attorney general hinges on whether and how he clarifies his stance on an interrogation technique critics say amounts to torture.Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., said Thursday that Mukasey’s answers to written follow-up questions about “waterboarding,” a technique that simulates drowning, “will certainly influence” the timing of a committee vote on the nomination.Senate Democratic leaders — including Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada — signaled that they will be examining Mukasey’s answers closely as well. Leahy said he was “troubled” by Mukasey’s answers on the subject at his confirmation hearing and believed that committee Republicans shared his concern.Democrats said Mukasey appeared headed for confirmation after the first day of committee hearings, on Oct. 17, but got into trouble on the second day when the questioning veered into the subject of interrogation techniques. Mukasey was deliberately circumspect and apparently tried to avoid saying anything that could antagonize either Democrats or the White House. But committee members were disturbed by his vagueness.A Democrat familiar with the panel’s deliberations said that unless Mukasey is prepared to say that waterboarding is torture, he will not receive the 10 votes on the 19-member committee required for a favorable recommendation to the full Senate.