Sanders to vote against Mukasey

Sen. Bernie Sanders said Monday he will vote against confirming Michael B. Mukasey, President Bush's nominee for attorney general. The former federal judge, Sanders said, would not adequately protect people's civil liberties.

"We need an attorney general who does not believe the president has unlimited power," Sanders, I-Vt., said in a statement. "We need an attorney general who understands that torture is not what this country is about, and we need an attorney general who clearly understands the separation of powers inherent in our Constitution."

"Unfortunately," Sanders added, "it is clear that Mr. Mukasey is not that person."

In Senate Judiciary Committee hearings last week, Sanders said, Mukasey showed a disregard for civil liberties.

The panel is likely to vote next month on whether to send Mukasey's nomination to the full Senate. Vote-counters in both parties have said he is likely to garner little if any opposition.

But even Mukasey's defenders on the committee, particularly Democrats, were vexed by his refusal to say whether certain harsh interrogation methods were unconstitutional. Sanders also said he objects to Mukasey's testimony that the president has the power to conduct some surveillance without warrants.

Mukasey, 66, would be the nation's 81st attorney general. He would succeed Alberto Gonzales, who announced his resignation in August after months of political scandal.