    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book II)]
    [November 3, 2007]
    [Pages 1420-1422]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    November 3, 2007

        Good morning. On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee is expected
    to vote on Judge Michael Mukasey's
    nomination to be our next Attorney General. I thank the committee for
    scheduling this vote. I urge them to approve this fine man's nomination
    and send it to the full Senate as quickly as possible.

    [[Page 1421]]

        In a time of war, it is vital for the President to have a full
    national security team in place, and the Attorney General is a key
    member of that team. The Attorney General is America's top law
    enforcement officer, with critical responsibilities for preventing
    terrorist attacks and protecting our Nation.
        Judge Mukasey is uniquely qualified
    to fill this vital role. He served nearly two decades on the Federal
    bench, and some of his most important legal experience is in the area of
    national security. He presided over the trial of the terrorist known as
    ''the Blind Sheikh'' and his
    codefendants in the conspiracy to destroy prominent New York City
    landmarks, including the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.
        And when the World Trade Center was attacked again on September the
    11th, 2001, Judge Mukasey quickly
    reopened his court, even though it was just blocks from Ground Zero. He
    and other judges in his district worked day and night to ensure that
    applications for warrants were processed, investigations could proceed,
    and the rule of law was upheld.
        This is the kind of leader America needs to head the Department of
    Justice at this important moment in our history. Judge Mukasey is a man of achievement. He is a man of character.
    And he has been praised by Republicans and Democrats alike for his
    honesty, intellect, fairness, and independence.
        Since I sent his nomination to the Senate, Judge Mukasey has provided nearly 6 hours of testimony. He
    patiently answered more than 200 questions during his hearings, and he
    responded promptly to nearly 500 written questions. Yet some Senators
    are working against his nomination because they want him to take a
    position on the legality of specific techniques allegedly used to
    question captured terrorists.
        As Judge Mukasey explained in a
    letter to Judiciary Committee members, he cannot give such a legal
    opinion for several reasons. First, he does not know whether certain
    methods of questioning are in fact used because the program is
    classified. He's not been given access to that information, and
    therefore, he is in no position to provide an informed opinion.
        Second, he does not want our
    professional interrogators in the field to take an uninformed opinion he
    has given in the course of a confirmation hearing as meaning that any
    conduct of theirs has put them in legal jeopardy.
        Finally, he does not want an
    uninformed legal opinion to give terrorists a window into which
    techniques we may use and which we may not. That could help them train
    their operatives to resist questioning and withhold vital information we
    need to stop attacks and save lives.
        Congressional leaders should not make Judge Mukasey's confirmation dependent on his willingness to make
    a public judgment about a classified program he has not been briefed on.
    If the Senate Judiciary Committee were to block Judge Mukasey on these
    grounds, it would set a new standard for confirmation that could not be
    met by any responsible nominee for Attorney General. And that would
    guarantee that America would have no confirmed Attorney General during
    this time of war.
        Senate leaders should move Judge Mukasey's nomination out of committee and bring it to the Senate
    floor for an up-or-down vote. In this time of war, America needs the
    best people leading our efforts to protect the American people. With
    Judge Mukasey serving as Attorney General, our national security team
    will be stronger, and the Senate should confirm this good man as quickly
    as possible.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 7 a.m. on November 2 in the Cabinet
    Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on November 3. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    November 2, but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The
    Office of the Press

    [[Page 1422]]

    Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of this address.