Enough is enough

Showing his contempt for Congress, President Bush last week renominated Steven G. Bradbury for a senior position in the Justice Department, despite the Senate’s steadfast refusal to approve him.

There is good reason for the Senate’s refusal. As the acting head of the Office of Legal Counsel since 2005, Bradbury has created an atrocious record, signing off on a series of classified memos that gave the CIA the legal authority to continue torturing suspected terrorists. He also approved an opinion that has given Bush’s key advisers, such as former counsel Harriet Miers, immunity from testifying before Congress.

Senate Democrats have asked the president to appoint someone else since October, when Bradbury’s role in the torture memos came to light.

Senate Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said, “The president has thumbed his nose at Congress and chosen an individual who has been involved in authorizing some of the most controversial policies of this administration.”

The Office of Legal Counsel is powerful. It is responsible for issuing opinions, which become binding, on whether the administration’s actions and policies are legal. The office has been the cause of friction for administrations in the past, including in Bush’s first term, when it declared presidential policies illegal.

Bush solved that problem with Bradbury, a yes-man who will give the administration legal cover for its dubious policies. No wonder Bush wants to keep Bradbury in office.

The White House may be in violation of federal law, which allows nominees to work for only 210 days without Senate approval. Bradbury’s name was first sent to the Senate on June 23, 2005 — more than 930 days ago. But flouting the law has become something of a specialty for the Bush administration.

Bradbury’s continued service without Senate confirmation and Bush’s reappointment further erodes the credibility of the Justice Department. It is time for the White House to withdraw Bradbury’s nomination and end this once and for all.