Mukasey: 'We do law, but the result is justice'

Attorney General Michael Mukasey (l) speaks at his official swearing in as Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, Susan Mukasey and President Bush listen. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

by Mark Silva

“We do law, but the result is justice,’’ Michael Mukasey said at his swearing-in today as the 81st attorney general of the United States.

Now he can be "read into'' the full practices of the government, as President Bush put it during some of the controversy over Mukasey's confirmation, in which he refrained from making any legal judgment about "waterboarding'' carried out in the interrogation of suspected terrorists.

Bush, voicing full confidence in his new appointee to restore order to a Justice Department shaken by political infighting, also praised his past appointee, Alberto Gonzales, “a fine man and a fine American,’’ who was not here for Mukasey’s swearing in by another Bush appointee, Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., in the Great Hall of the Justice Department.

“Judge Michael Mukasey is the right man to take on these vital challenges,’’ Bush said. “Michael understands the law from both sides of the bench. He served for more than 18 years as a U.S. District Court Judge in New York, including six years as the Chief Judge. He was a lawyer in private practice. He has served an Assistant United States Attorney in Manhattan, where he headed the Official Corruption Unit.

Although Mukasey already had been officially sworn in last week, he said today that he did not feel that he had officially become attorney general until taking the oath in front of his employees – with some of the 110,000 Justice Department workers nationwide watching the ceremony on closed-circuit television. Joined by his family, including two grandchildren, he reminisced about the oath he had first taken as an assistant U.S. attorney in 1972.

“My job involves not only an oath, but also a pledge, which I now give you," Mukasey told the Justice employees. “And that is to use all of the strength of mind and body that I have to help you to continue to protect the freedom and the security of the people of this country, and their civil rights and liberties, through the neutral and evenhanded application of the Constitution and the laws enacted under it."

He pledged to “ask myself in every decision I make whether it helps you to do that, to take the counsel not only of my own insights but also of yours, and to pray that I can help give you the leadership you deserve.

”What each person here does, on a day to day basis, is law," Mukasey said. "We don't do simply what seems fair and right according to our own tastes and standards."

Mukasey, 66, confirmed by the Senate last week by a vote of 53-40, will likely serve for little longer than a year, for the remaining time of Bush’s term. In that time, he will attempt to restore the independent image of a department tainted by political scandal that forced Gonzales, a close friend and aide of the president, to resign under pressure.

An internal Justice inquiry is investigating charges that, under Gonzales, politics were allowed to influence decisions about prosecuting cases or hiring career attorneys. The allegations stemmed from an ongoing congressional inquiry of last year's firings of nine U.S. attorneys, and prompted questions about Gonzales' honesty.

If Gonzales was absent from the ceremony, another former Bush attorney general, John Ashcroft, was joined by ex-Atty Gen’l Richard Thornburgh.

“The job of the attorney general is one of the most important in our nation's government,’’ Bush said at the cermoney. “The attorney general must run the world's largest law firm, and the central agency for enforcement of our federal laws. He must aggressively prosecute gun criminals and drug dealers, hold corporate wrongdoers to account, protect victims of child abuse and domestic violence, and uphold the civil rights of every American.

“In this time of war, the job of the attorney general is also vital to America's national security. The attorney general is responsible for our law enforcement community's efforts to detect, prevent, and disrupt terrorist attacks here at home. He must make certain that our intelligence and law enforcement communities work hand-in-hand to protect the American people from terrorist threats. He must ensure that we do everything within the law to defend the security of all Americans -- while at the same time protecting the liberty of all Americans.

“Judge Mukasey also understands the challenges facing our nation in this time of war. He has written wisely on matters of constitutional law and national security. He knows what it takes to fight the war on terror effectively. And he knows how to do it in a matter that is consistent with our laws and our Constitution.

“As our new attorney general, Michael Mukasey follows in the footsteps of a fine man and a fine American -- Al Gonzales. I have known Al since our days working together in the State of Texas. As White House Counsel and as Attorney General in my administration, Al Gonzales worked tirelessly to make this country safer and to ensure that all Americans received equal justice before the law. Over many years, I have witnessed his integrity, his decency, and his deep dedication to the cause of justice. I am grateful for his friendship. I thank him for his service to our nation...

“As he embarks on his new responsibilities, Michael Mukasey has my complete trust and confidence,’’ Bush said. “You’ll find out what I found out: Judge Mukasey is a decent man, an outstanding lawyer, and a strong leader, and I am really looking forward to his wise counsel in the months ahead.’’

Mukasey offered these thoughts as well:

“What each person here does on a day-to-day basis is law. If that sounds prosaic and rather limited, try thinking for a moment about the alternative, with a result -- where the result depends on the opinion of one person or a group of people as to what they feel is right. We don't simply do what seems fair and right according to our own tastes and standards.

“But when you step back and look at the thousands of decisions that are made every day under those rules and regulations and laws and constitutional provisions that this Department enforces, the cases you handle, the prisoners in your care, the investigations you pursue; when you look at that, the result is something glorious.

"The result is what gives this Department its name. We do law, but the result is justice. And that is why our ultimate client, the people of this country, can and do rest secure in the knowledge that our unswerving allegiance is to the law and the Constitution, and that the result of faithful performance of our duty is justice.’’