Cronyism at its Highest Level

Cronyism at its Highest Level

October 4, 2005

Yesterday the president continued to reward his cronies by nominating current White House Counsel Harriet Miers to replace Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Little is known about Harriet Miers, except her deep loyalty and personal ties to the president. What is certain about the nomination is the American public’s right to know more about Harriet Miers’ qualifications and ability to serve on the Supreme Court.

• Webster defines cronies as "close friend of especially long standing": According to Alexander Hamilton, who wrote in the Federalist papers, "He would be both ashamed and afraid to bring forward, for the most lucrative stations, candidates who had no other merit than that of coming from the same State to which he particularly belonged, or of being in some way or other personally allied to him.…” By either definition – Webster’s or Hamilton’s – Miers is a crony whose appointment deserves even closer scrutiny for her close and personal relationship with the president.
  
  
• President Bush tends to reward ideology or loyalty. In selecting Miers, apparently loyalty has won out. Miers has had a major impact on the White House. She describes her current role as a “lawyer to the presidency and the president.” She has been his personal lawyer, general counsel to both his gubernatorial campaigns and his pick to lead the Texas Lottery Commission. Whether someone so closely allied with the president has the impartiality required to become Supreme Court justice is in serious question. For instance, talking points distributed by Mehlman stressed that Miers was "heavily involved in the War On Terror" and, as White House counsel, provided the president with guidance on "the legal parameters for the War On Terrorism." Mehlman's comments suggest that Miers has indicated to Bush – at least implicitly – that, as Supreme Court justice, she would affirm the legality of the administration's counterterrorism policies.
  
  
• Miers’ public records need to be unveiled. During the confirmation process of Chief Justice John Roberts, President Bush made available documents relating to Roberts’ work at the White House, including his work as associate counsel to Reagan from 1982-1986. Failure to reveal similar documents for Harriet Miers would leave the public and the Senate with insufficient information to determine her qualifications to be a Supreme Court justice.