Ashcroft Stands His Ground
Wednesday, January 17, 2001
By John P. Martin
WASHINGTON — Senators continued grilling Attorney General-designate John Ashcroft on Wednesday, probing his record as Missouri's top prosecutor and pressing him to explain how his opposition to abortion and support for gun owners might affect his leadership of the Justice Department.
Larry Downing/Reuters
Tuesday: John Ashcroft speaks during the opening day of his confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill.
In the second day of hearings, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee took up where they left off on Tuesday, challenging the 58-year-old Ashcroft with his own words and sparring with Republicans defending President-elect Bush's nominee.
For his part, Ashcroft continued to insist that the conservative values that made him a vocal advocate in the Senate would not influence his ability to enforce the law. Under questioning from Arlen Specter, R-Pa., Ashcroft acknowledged that as Missouri attorney general, he concluded it was unlawful for a Christian group to distribute religious materials on college campuses, despite personally agreeing with the group's message.
Ashcroft Charged With a 'Metamorphosis'
Still, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said she was "deeply puzzled" by Ashcroft's previous testimony and wondered skeptically if she and others were witnessing "a kind of [political] metamorphosis" of the former senator.
Feinstein called Ashcroft "an implacable foe for a woman's right to choose for a quarter century," noting that he had called the legalization of abortion "a miserable failure" and, as Missouri governor, he proclaimed the anniversary of Roe v. Wade a day in memoriam for aborted babies.
But Ashcroft countered that he had at times opposed legislation that would have banned abortions in cases of rape or incest. He also pledged to maintain the Justice Department task force focused on protecting health clinics and said he would not advise Bush to use abortion as a litmus test for any Supreme Court appointments, despite his personal beliefs.
"It's also fair to say that I know the difference between an enactment role and an enforcement role," he said.
When Feinstein noted that Ashcroft opposed legislation to ban assault weapons, Ashcroft conceded that he believed there were "constitutional inhibitions on the rights of citizens to bear arms." Some are good and some are bad, he said. "But as attorney general, it is not my judgment to make that call," he said.
Boycott Brouhaha
Under questioning from Sen. Herbert Kohl, D-Wis., Ashcroft defended his 1979 decision as state attorney general to sue the National Organization for Women when that group launched a boycott to protest the state's decision not to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.
"The boycott was hurting the people of Missouri and we believed it to be in violation with antitrust laws," he said.
But he was reluctant to weigh in on the antitrust implications of pending airline mergers or the government's ongoing battle with Microsoft, saying he needed to study the cases further.
"I can tell you I believe that competition to me is very important," he said.
Gary Hershorn/Reuters
Tuesday: Ashcroft, in foreground, sits at his hearing with Sens. Christopher Bond, R-Mo., and Kay Bailey Hutchinson, R-Texas.
Again and again, Democrats probed the conservative stances that Ashcroft proudly held in the Senate. Kohl took issue with a statement Ashcroft made two years ago, when he said, "If ever there was a time to unfurl the banner of unabashed conservatism, it is now."
Ashcroft replied that he believed that differing opinions sowed the seed of healthy debate. "If we were all right there in the middle together, we wouldn't need the legislative process," he said. "The legislative process is the process of disagreement; it's the process of debate."
Kennedy in the Thick of Things ... Again
Despite the contentiousness of the issues, the hearing was civil and Kohl acknowledged that Ashcroft is likely to be confirmed. The only sparks occurred during an exchange between Sen. John Kyl, R-Ariz, an Ashcroft defender, and Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., who has emerged as Ashcroft's most pointed critic.
Kyl said Kennedy's opening day remarks suggesting that Ashcroft opposed school desegregation and voter registration drives in St. Louis were part of a litany of inaccuracies "distorting Senator Ashcroft's record."
Kennedy fired back, more at Kyl then at Ashcroft. He noted for instance, that the next attorney general might be responsible for overseeing probes into voter registration fraud in Florida. "That might not be important to you, Senator," he said, his voice rising. "But I think it's important to the person who's going to be the head of the Justice Department. And I don't retreat on it!"
The most closely watched of 10 Cabinet nomination hearings this week, Ashcroft's hearing was moved to the famed Senate Caucus Room, the site of such historic events as the McCarthy hearings and the confirmation battle for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
The hearing is expected to continue at least through the end of the week.
foxnews.com |
