In the hate-to-say-we-told-you-so category, Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn has vowed to hold up Eric
Holder's nomination to be attorney general because he's scared Holder will prosecute Bush functionaries for torturing people.
Holder, who would be the first black AG, refused in his nomination hearings last week to say he wouldn't pursue prosecutions. After days of faux scandal over his role in Bill Clinton's controversial pardons, the hearings laid bare the Republicans' real anxieties. One GOP senator after another tried and failed to pin Holder down on the question of accountability for the Bushies. Now Cornyn is pressing the matter.
As Politico reports: "The Judiciary Committee was originally scheduled to vote today on Holder’s nomination as attorney general, but Republicans have objected, and under committee rules they can delay the vote for up to a week. …
"It could well be there will be a request to delay the markup for a week so those questions can be asked and answered," Cornyn said. "Part of my concern relates to his statements at the hearing with regard to torture and what his intentions are toward our intelligence personnel who were operating in good faith based on their understanding of what the law was."
Cornyn is apparently vying for the title of Sen. Obstructionist. He also tried holding up Hillary Clinton's nomination for secretary of state, but backed down. We'll see if he holds out any longer when it comes to keeping war criminals out of jail.
Meanwhile, Barack Obama's Justice Department staffing is gearing up and getting rave reviews from some of the Bush team's harshest critics, over at Talking Points Memo.