Richard Lavinthal
2007-04-17 07:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

WASHINGTON -

If Alberto Gonzales hangs tough and survives Thursday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, he should thank Don Imus, three former Duke University lacrosse players, District Attorney Mike Nifong, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Middle East travel agent, Howard K. Stern and the late Anna Nicole Smith.

They gave Gonzales breathing room and prep time by filling the national news hole, in effect squatting on limited print, audio and video real estate that Democrats could have been exploiting to whip up more opposition to the embattled attorney general.

But should the attorney general stumble, fall or be pushed out of the Department of Justice, there’s only one man in the United States who the president should push into replacing Gonzales, and Bush won’t have to look far to find him. The logical choice is a stellar attorney, respected former federal judge, and tough former federal prosecutor. And he’s already in the Cabinet.

Michael Chertoff, who took down the mob in New York, can calm the mob on Capitol Hill, rally the troops at the Department of Justice and return to his legal roots, in one fell swoop. And the need for Chertoff goes exponentially, from logical to critical, in the unlikely event that Congress’ fishing expedition finds illegality at the Justice Department.

It’s been 26 uneventful months since Chertoff took over the Department of Homeland Security. We haven’t been attacked, but I’ll bet he’s had attacks of insomnia. It’s one of the toughest jobs in the world. What could be better for him and us for Chertoff to return to the law full time?

He’s headed the Justice Department’s criminal division and many professional, non-political, prosecutors and line employees there today know him. He could walk in and not just hit the ground running, but hit a home run at his first time at bat.

Is morale actually low in the 112,000-plus-employee department? As an attorney general with impeccable character and awesome intellect who will lead by example he’d reverse it the moment he arrived.

Only a nonpareil experienced federal lawyer should replace Gonzales. No other political, academic or caretaker candidate could calm swirling political waters like Chertoff. Remember, he was the only Republican U.S. attorney in the nation who remained in office when Bill Clinton fired all 93 U.S. attorneys. That alone says something about his federal skills and value.

Chertoff also sat on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, a highly respected federal appellate circuit. If the White House attempted to interfere politically with the Justice Department, Chertoff, for whom everything must be “straight up” would make Archibald Cox look like a slow poke.

With the exception of some missteps in the first days after Katrina, nothing can stop his confirmation. The Senate has done it three times, unanimously for secretary of Homeland Security. Taxpayers would save money since it would take the FBI maybe 20 minutes to update Chertoff’s background report.

If he were interested in staying on after 2008, he might be able to keep the job in a Republican administration. If former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani wins, Chertoff would be a lock to stay. Giuliani made him first assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York when he was U.S. attorney.

You don’t have to be an NRA member to know the difference between a smoking gun and a smoke-filled room. It’s a long shot that illegality will be exposed tomorrow. Maybe Democrats should extradite Gonzales to the Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania for a management skills investigation. The experts there might find some real evidence.

But if Gonzales departs for any reason, Chertoff ought to be the man Bush summons to serve America in a new capacity.

Richard Lavinthal is a former spokesman for three U.S. attorneys in the District of New Jersey, including Chertoff. He has not, however, spoken with Chertoff in six years.