The President of the United States officially has the power to appoint U.S. Attorneys. In practice, the President usually accepts the recommendation of the most senior Senator from his party when making the appointment. That’s why Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) found himself in hot water this weekend after admitting that he recommended his concubine for the position of U.S. attorney for Montana. The woman in question, Melodee Hanes, ultimately declined the opportunity to serve as U.S. Attorney because a better position came along in the Department of Justice, a position Baucus argues was awarded “based solely on her merit.” Baucus did not elaborate.
There is no word yet on whether Senate Democrats will provide the same level of scrutiny they are giving Senator John Ensign (R-NV) who also had marital problems with a staffer. My guess is no. Democrats rarely seem to have a problem with adultery in the context of abuse of power. What troubles them is the hypocrisy of those who see adultery as the immoral act it is and then fail to meet their standards. See, it’s easy to do no wrong. Just don’t have any standards to begin with.
{ 1 trackback }
{ 0 comments… add one now }