It once seemed that the WH and its Congressional henchmen would fight to the death to have John Bolton's nomination as U.N. ambassador sent to the full Senate. Now that's not so certain, and if you believe the reporting, Bolton's nomination looks to be in real trouble now...
Of course, it all depends on how stiff the spines of three Senators are: Rhode Island's Chaffee (he's not exactly been a profile in courage on this nomination), reliably independent-minded Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, and George Voinovich of Ohio, who jumped ship with Foreign Relations chairman Richard Lugar to stall a vote on Bolton's nomination.
Says the NYT:
The nomination appears to hang on what emerges on several points. One is whether the Senate panel substantiates accusations from a former contract worker on an Agency for International Development project that Mr. Bolton, as a private lawyer hired by her employer, tried to intimidate her in 1994. A co-worker has corroborated some of the charges made by the former contract worker, Melody Townsel, while the president of the company has challenged some of her claims. A second point involves documents sought by the committee from the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency, to clarify conflicting accounts about Mr. Bolton's role in several matters, including his attempts while working as an under secretary of state to seek the transfer of several employees, and his requests for identifying information about American officials who were mentioned in or participated in conversations intercepted by the National Security Agency. He addressed some of these issues in his public testimony last week, but Democrats have said there is evidence some of his answers were less than candid. Finally, Mr. Bolton's prospects may hinge on calculations made by the nominee himself, or by the White House, and particularly Vice President Dick Cheney, who is regarded as his main patron. For now, President Bush and his team appear to see the battle as a test of wills, but new information, or the potential for another bruising hearing, may turn his cause into an unacceptable political liability. Mr. Chafee told CNN that the committee's Republicans might consider whether to recommend that the nomination be withdrawn.
And interestingly, Condi Rice's endorsement seems to have had little impact on the proceedings. It doesn't say much for her that she is supporting the nomination of a man who purportedly withheld information from her regarding Iran's nuclear program when he was a State Dept undersecretary and she was National Security Advisor... |
