Crony withdraws nomination for #2 justice spot because of ties to Abramoff [View All]

[dajoki]

NYT
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/08/politics/08justice.html?th&emc=th

Bush's Nominee for No. 2 Justice Post Withdraws
By ERIC LICHTBLAU
Published: October 8, 2005

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 - President Bush's pick for the second-ranking position at the Justice Department abruptly withdrew his nomination Friday after facing weeks of questions over his ties to the lobbyist Jack Abramoff as well as his role in formulating policies for the treatment of suspected terrorists.

The nominee, Timothy Flanigan, a former deputy White House counsel who is now a senior lawyer at Tyco International, had been scheduled to face yet another round of questioning next week from senators who had grown skeptical about his nomination as deputy attorney general.

With the stalled nomination likely to drag on for weeks or longer, Mr. Flanigan told President Bush in his withdrawal letter on Friday that the president and Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales "deserve to have a full leadership team in place at the Department of Justice."

Of chief concern to Democrats and some Republicans was Mr. Flanigan's role at Tyco, where as its general counsel he oversaw Mr. Abramoff's work lobbying for the company, which is based in Bermuda, to retain its tax-exempt status. Critics of the nomination said they were also troubled by the fact that Mr. Flanigan had no experience as a criminal prosecutor and that he helped shape administration policy on the treatment of suspected terrorists in American custody, as deputy White House counsel under Mr. Gonzales.