<DOC>
[108 Senate Hearings]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access]
[DOCID: f:90013.wais]
S. Hrg. 108-172
CONFIRMATION HEARING ON NOMINATIONS OF ROBERT D. MCCALLUM, JR. TO BE
ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND PETER D. KEISLER TO BE ASSISTANT
ATTORNEY GENERAL, CIVIL DIVISION
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
MAY 8, 2003
__________
Serial No. J-108-10
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary
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COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah, Chairman
CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, Iowa PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont
ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts
JON KYL, Arizona JOSEPH R. BIDEN, Jr., Delaware
MIKE DeWINE, Ohio HERBERT KOHL, Wisconsin
JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California
LINDSEY O. GRAHAM, South Carolina RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, Wisconsin
LARRY E. CRAIG, Idaho CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York
SAXBY CHAMBLISS, Georgia RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois
JOHN CORNYN, Texas JOHN EDWARDS, North Carolina
Bruce Artim, Chief Counsel and Staff Director
Bruce A. Cohen, Democratic Chief Counsel and Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
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STATEMENT OF COMMITTEE MEMBER
Page
Hatch, Hon. Orrin G., a U.S. Senator from the State of Utah...... 1
prepared statement........................................... 106
PRESENTER
Chambliss, Hon. Saxby, a U.S. Senator from the State of Georgia
presenting Robert D. McCallum, Jr., Nominee to be Associate
Attorney General............................................... 2
NOMINEES
Keisler, Peter D., of Maryland, Nominee to be Assistant Attorney
General, Civil Division, Department of Justice................. 39
Questionnaire................................................ 41
McCallum, Robert D., Jr., of Georgia, Nominee to be Associate
Attorney General, Department of Justice........................ 4
Questionnaire................................................ 7
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Responses of Peter D. Keisler to questions submitted by Senators
Leahy and Durbin............................................... 96
Responses of Robert D. McCallum, Jr. to questions submitted by
Senators Leahy, Durbin, Grassley and Kohl...................... 70
NOMINATIONS OF ROBERT D. MCCALLUM, JR. TO BE ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY GENERAL
AND PETER D. KEISLER TO BE ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL, CIVIL DIVISION
----------
THURSDAY, MAY 8, 2003
United States Senate,
Committee on the Judiciary,
Washington, D.C.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 3:34 p.m., in
Room SD-226, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Orrin G.
Hatch, Chairman of the Committee, presiding.
Present: Senators Hatch and Chambliss.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. ORRIN G. HATCH, A U.S. SENATOR FROM
THE STATE OF UTAH
Chairman Hatch. Today, it is my great pleasure to have two
Department of Justice nominees before the Committee: Robert
McCallum to be Associate Attorney General and Peter Keisler to
be Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division. Both Mr.
McCallum and Mr. Keisler are currently serving the Justice
Department with great distinction, and, coincidentally, each of
them holds or has held the position for which the other has
been nominated.
Let me first say a few words about Robert McCallum. Mr.
McCallum is returning to the Committee for his second hearing
in 2 years, and we welcome you back. On May 23, 2001, Mr.
McCallum appeared before the Committee for a hearing for his
current position as head of the Justice Department's Civil
Division. He was reported favorably by the Committee by voice
vote and also confirmed on the Senate floor by voice vote. I
have no doubt that after today's hearing, Mr. McCallum will
again be approved by this Committee and by the full Senate for
his position at the Department.
The position of Associate Attorney General, as everybody
knows, is an extremely important one. The Associate Attorney
General advises both the Attorney General and the Deputy
Attorney General and supervises many important components of
the Department, including the Antitrust, Civil, Civil Rights,
Tax, and Environmental and Natural Resources Divisions.
Mr. McCallum is well qualified for his position. After
graduating from Yale Law School, he spent nearly 30 years
litigating a wide range of complex matters and maintained a
sophisticated civil trial and appellate practice. His clients
included insurance companies, banks, business corporations,
partnerships, and individuals involved in commercial disputes,
also regulatory issues and personal injury claims.
As head of the Civil Division, Mr. McCallum has shown that
he is an enormously talented and committed public servant.
Since his confirmation on September 17, 2001, just days after
the September 11th tragedy, he has led the Civil Division with
great skill, I think during very challenging times for our
country. So I commend the President on his decision to promote
Mr. McCallum to the position of Associate Attorney General, and
I am certain that he will continue his exemplary public service
once confirmed to his new post.
I know that Senator Chambliss is here to speak in further
support of Mr. McCallum's nomination, and I will turn to Mr.
Keisler after Senator Chambliss gives his remarks. And I just
want to express to everybody how grateful I am to have this
great former Member of the House on the Senate Judiciary
Committee serving with me. I just feel really blessed to have
you with us, Saxby, and we will turn the time over to you.
[The prepared statement of Chairman Hatch appears as a
submission for the record.]
PRESENTATION OF ROBERT D. MCCALLUM, JR., NOMINEE TO BE
ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, BY HON.
SAXBY CHAMBLISS, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF GEORGIA
Senator Chambliss. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is indeed a
privilege and a pleasure to be associated with you and to serve
under you as a member of this very distinguished Committee, and
your service speaks for itself. You are a great American and
certainly a great leader of not just this Committee but of our
Nation.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to introduce to you a fellow
Georgian, Mr. Robert Davis McCallum, Jr., who is President
Bush's nominee to be the Associate Attorney General. But before
I do so, I would like to introduce his wife, Mimi, who is also
with us today, and ask her to stand. Mimi, where did we go?
Chairman Hatch. We are sure happy to have you here, Mrs.
McCallum.
Senator Chambliss. Mr. McCallum has had a tremendous legal
background and is exceptionally qualified for this position,
which is a promotion for him within the Department of Justice.
For almost 2 years now, Mr. McCallum has been the Assistant
Attorney General for the Civil Division in the Department of
Justice. Prior to joining the Department of Justice, Mr.
McCallum worked as a partner in the Atlanta-based firm of
Alston and Bird, which is one of the premier law firms in the
country. It is a firm, Mr. Chairman, which I had the privilege
of being associated with numerous times throughout my 26-year
legal career in Georgia.
During the 1980's, while still working with Alston and
Bird, Mr. McCallum served as a Special Assistant Attorney
General for the State of Georgia, counseling the State in the
area of eminent domain. He has co-authored the ``Practice and
Procedure'' section of the Mercer Law Review three times and
has written a chapter in the reference book ``Gynecological
Surgery: Errors, Safeguards, and Salvage.''
Mr. McCallum has lectured at numerous continuing legal
education seminars sponsored by the State Bar of Georgia on
various topics, ranging from the lawyer-expert relationship,
direct and cross-examination, voir dire issues, and
environmental issues.
Mr. McCallum earned his bachelor's degree from Yale
University where he graduated cum laude, earned his law degree
from the Yale Law School.
As Associate Attorney General, Mr. McCallum will advise the
Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General on formulating
and implementing DOJ policies and programs over a broad range
of matters involving civil justice, Federal and local law
enforcement, and public safety. His office will oversee several
key divisions at DOJ, including Antitrust, the Civil Division,
Civil Rights, Environmental and Natural Resources, the Tax
Division, the Violence Against Women Office, the Office of
Information and Privacy, the Executive Office of U.S. Trustees,
and the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission. We are truly
fortunate to have someone as qualified as Mr. McCallum to serve
as Associate Attorney General, especially when you consider
that he chose to leave private practice and certainly take a
tremendous pay cut to work for the Federal Government.
I applaud his past service, his future service, and I
welcome him here today, and I thank you for your consideration
of his nomination.
Chairman Hatch. Well, thank you, Senator Chambliss. We
really appreciate you taking time from what I know is a busy
schedule, because I can't keep up with mine, and I know you are
busy, too. We appreciate you coming, and it is an honor to Mr.
McCallum. Thank you so much.
I am going to invite Peter Keisler to come to the table as
well. Maybe you can switch those cards around. Let me also
mention that I am going to take care of both of you in one
sitting, if I can, if you don't mind.
Mr. Keisler is also a Yale Law School graduate. Following
his D.C. Circuit clerkship, he was hired as an Assistant
Counsel to President Reagan. Within 1 year, he was promoted to
Associate Counsel to the President. In 1989, Mr. Keisler left
the White House to enter private practice at what is now
Sidley, Austin, Brown and Wood, a prestigious national law
firm. He began as an associate and was elevated to partner in
1993. He remained in private practice until 2002, when he
joined the Department of Justice as Acting Associate Attorney
General. In March 2003, Mr. Keisler was appointed as Principal
Deputy Associate Attorney General and currently serves in that
position. There can be no doubt that Mr. Keisler's vast
experience with civil litigation matters, both in private
practice and at the Department of Justice, has more than
adequately prepared him to head the Civil Division, where he
will be responsible for management and oversight of the largest
litigation department within the Government, or should I say
component within the Government.
I have met with Mr. Keisler and believe that the President
made a wise choice. I have known him for years, and I think the
President has made a wise choice in nominating him to this
position. But my colleagues need not take solely my word for
it. I have received several letters on Mr. Keisler's behalf
that I would like to share.
Two former Clinton Department of Justice officials,
Randolph Moss and Joseph Guerra, who served, respectively, as
Assistant Attorney General and Deputy Assistant Attorney
General of the Office of Legal Counsel, wrote that Mr. Keisler
``is an extraordinary legal talent...Peter is equally prized
for the other aspects of the professionalism he displays--such
as personal integrity, a balanced temperament, a courteous and
good-humored demeanor, and respectful treatment of others with
whom he works, both colleagues and opposing counsel.''
Professor Litman, a lifelong Democrat and former United
States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania during
the Clinton administration, writes, ``I can say from personal
experience that Peter will treat all his colleagues, from
support staff to Presidential appointees, with graciousness and
respect. The Committee can have confidence that Peter will also
be conscious of the impact of the Department's actions on
people's lives, and will approach his responsibilities with a
well-developed sense of fairness and compassion.''
Stephen Sachs, former United States Attorney for the
District of Maryland during the Johnson administration and
Maryland's Democratic Attorney General from 1979 to 1987, wrote
in enthusiastic support of Mr. Keisler's nomination. His letter
states, ``I am a lifelong liberal Democrat. Peter...is not.''
Well, I hardly knew that. ``But while we have different views
on some matters of public policy, I know that we both place a
high value on the importance of public service and share a
profound respect for the rule of law. I have no doubt
whatsoever of Peter's dedication to the essentially apolitical
mission of a great ministry of justice. Intellectual integrity
is his calling card. For Peter Keisler, those lofty phrases
etched on the walls at Justice are living commands, not empty
rhetoric. The Department of Justice and the Nation will be
well-served by this appointment.''
These are just a few of the letters I have received on Mr.
Keisler's behalf, demonstrating the strong bipartisan support
he enjoys. Clearly, Mr. Keisler's legal ability and personal
integrity have earned him admiration on both sides of the
political spectrum.
Now, I would like to compliment both of these gentlemen on
their nominations and offer them my full support, and I look
forward to hearing from them.
So, Mr. McCallum, we will take you first. I hope you will
introduce those who are with you, and then give any statement
you care to give, and then maybe we will have a question for
you.
STATEMENT OF ROBERT D. MCCALLUM, JR., OF GEORGIA, NOMINEE TO BE
ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Mr. McCallum. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My wife, Mimi, is
the only family member that was able to make it to the hearing
today, and I'm honored to appear before you and the Committee
for consideration of my nomination.
Chairman Hatch. Mimi is my former dinner partner, so I want
to tell you, you are a lucky guy. We welcome you, Mimi. We
welcome you here.
Mr. McCallum. I'm grateful to the Committee for the careful
attention that it will give to my nomination and for allowing
me this opportunity to answer any questions that you or other
Committee members may have concerning my nomination. I'll look
forward to providing you and the Committee members, not just at
this hearing but also afterwards, with whatever information
might be helpful to you and to the Senate in discharging the
Senate's constitutional responsibilities to advise the
President on his nominees.
I have introduced my wife, but I must say I need to
recognize that she has supported me every step of the way on
this decision to enter public service. Our decision to leave
private practice and to leave our home of 30 years to come to
Washington was, as you can well imagine, a joint decision. It's
one that we both have enthusiastically embraced, and I must
thank her for all that she's done to support me in that regard.
We do have two sons and a new daughter-in-law, and none of
them can be here with us today, but they send their regrets to
the Committee. My elder son, Davis, is a theater director in
New York, and he's currently in Ashland, Oregon, assistant-
directing plays for the next 4 months at the Oregon Shakespeare
Festival. So it's been too far a distance for him to travel and
get back there, given his schedule.
His wife, our new daughter-in-law, Sara, is currently
clerking for the United States District Court, the Southern
District of New York, with Judge Jed Rakoff, and her
obligations with Judge Rakoff, who is known as a tremendous
work horse on that very, very busy district, requires her to
remain in New York.
And then my younger son, Bailey, is a teacher with the Gore
Range Natural Science School in Red Cliff, Colorado, and,
again, distance precludes his presence here today.
In addition to my wife, I'd also like to take this
opportunity to thank Senator Zell Miller and especially Senator
Saxby Chambliss for encouraging me and supporting me in this
nomination for this new position. I am extremely proud of my
home State and proud that it's represented by two such fine
public servants in the United States Senate. And I am both
appreciative of and humbled by their support of my nomination.
As I did in my first confirmation hearing, I would also
like to take this opportunity to recognize and express my
thanks to your former colleague, the late Senator Paul
Coverdell. It was, in fact, Paul who, as a Georgia State
Senator in the Georgia Legislature from my particular district,
encouraged me to participate in local government activities,
and I would like to think that Paul Coverdell is looking down
and is proud of my nomination.
Mr. Chairman, over the past 19 months, I have been
privileged to serve with the advice and consent of the Senate
as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the
United States Department of Justice. I took the oath of office
on September 17, 2001, the Monday after the terrorist attacks.
And as you can well imagine, those events have generated a
significant overlay of new and different cases, new issues
relating to the war on terrorism.
At the same time, the normal, usual litigation portfolio
involving the interests of the United States has continued
unabated. In those circumstances, I have done my utmost to
provide the management direction, the supervision, and the
leadership necessary to meet both those new challenges and
those old ones. And I have been privileged to work with some of
the finest attorneys, both political appointees and career
staff, that I have ever encountered.
I certainly recognize that this Committee, in evaluating my
nomination for Associate Attorney General, has the
responsibility to review and assess my performance in my
existing position, and I encourage the Committee to do so, and
I will be as responsive as I possibly can be to any inquiries
that the Committee cares to make.
Needless to say, I was honored to be asked by the Attorney
General and the President to assume broader responsibilities in
the position of Association Attorney General. If confirmed by
the Senate in this new position, it would afford me the
opportunity to work more closely, even more closely with the
Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General, two
outstanding individuals who have provided the entire Department
of Justice with inspiring leadership and very efficient
management. It would afford me the opportunity also to work
more closely with my current fellow Assistant Attorney Generals
in Civil Rights, Environment and Natural Resources, Tax,
Antitrust, and Justice Programs.
I'm ready, willing, and hopefully able, if the Senate sees
fit to confirm me, to assume these new responsibilities and to
meet these new challenges.
Thank you.
[The biographical information follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairman Hatch. Thank you, Mr. McCallum.
Mr. Keisler, do you have any comments or introduce anybody
who is here with you?
STATEMENT OF PETER D. KEISLER, OF MARYLAND, NOMINEE TO BE
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL, CIVIL DIVISION, DEPARTMENT OF
JUSTICE
Mr. Keisler. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. It's a
great privilege for me to be able to appear before you today.
Thank you for having me here, and I would love the opportunity
to introduce my family, if that's all right.
Susan Gomory Keisler, my wife. I have had a lot of great
opportunities as a result of obtaining a law degree, but far
and away the greatest was that I met Sue at the law firm where
we both started practicing.
Chairman Hatch. That is great. Sue, we are happy to have
you here.
Mr. Keisler. And my daughter, Sydelle.
Chairman Hatch. Hi.
Mr. Keisler. Who is 8 years old and is in second grade. And
my son, Alex.
Chairman Hatch. Hi, Alex. How are you doing?
Mr. Keisler. Six years old and is in kindergarten. And my
youngest son, Philip, who is 3 years old and is in nursery
school.
Chairman Hatch. Well, that is great. They are pretty well
behaved, is all I can say. I am not used to that in the Hatch
family.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Keisler. I am not entirely used to it either, Senator.
We promised them ice cream if all goes well.
Chairman Hatch. Well, that is good.
[Laughter.]
Chairman Hatch. That is good.
Mr. Keisler. I am also very, very pleased to have my father
Bill Keisler here who came down from New York this morning. It
means a great deal to me to have him here.
Chairman Hatch. We are honored to have you here. You have a
great son. I have known him for a long time.
Mr. Keisler. And I certainly wish my mother could have been
here as well. She passed away many years ago.
Chairman Hatch. I am sorry to hear that.
Mr. Keisler. A few months after I received my law degree. I
think of her often, and particularly at moments like these.
I would also like to introduce my niece, who is holding
Philip, Sarah Seitz. She is on leave from Wellesley and is
living with us while she interns for a non-profit which helps
victims of domestic violence; and my father-in-law, Ralph
Gomory, and his wife, Lillian Wu, who have also come down here,
and it means so much to me to have them here.
Chairman Hatch. We are honored to have all of you here.
Mr. Keisler. I'd also like to take this opportunity, Mr.
Chairman, to thank the President for nominating, to thank the
Attorney General for his confidence in me, and to thank you and
the Committee for having me here today. I'd also like to thank
you and Senator Durbin for taking time out of your busy
schedules to meet privately with me earlier. I very much
appreciate that.
The Civil Division, as you know, Mr. Chairman, has broad
litigating responsibilities on behalf of the United States in
areas as diverse as torts, contracts, constitutional law,
administrative law, fraud, bankruptcies, and many others. I
always felt it a great privilege when I was in private practice
to be able to participate in the legal process and stand up in
court as an advocate for a client. But I think it is a special
privilege to do that on behalf of the United States, to stand
up in the courts of the United States on behalf of the people
of the United States. And I think that that client in
particular is entitled to the highest levels of
professionalism, integrity, skill, and hard work from its
lawyers, and I think the thing that has most impressed me in
the approximately 1 year I've served at the Justice Department
is to see that level of advocacy and professionalism delivered
every day by the 700-plus men and women who serve as attorneys
in the Civil Division and by the hundreds and hundreds of other
attorneys at the Department of Justice. And if I'm fortunate
enough to be confirmed, I want to pledge to do my utmost to
uphold that great tradition.
I also want to commit that, in addition to addressing any
questions you may have today, that if I'm confirmed I want and
intend to make myself personally available to the Committee, to
provide it with whatever information it needs to further its
legislative and oversight responsibilities.
Again, Mr. Chairman, thank you so much for having me here,
and I'd certainly be happy to address any questions you might
have in evaluating my nomination.
[The biographical information follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairman Hatch. Well, thank you. Thank you both.
Basically you have answered my questions in your
statements, and I don't see any reason--I know you both so
well, and I have such respect for you, and I believe other
members of the Committee do as well. That is why I think they
are not here, because normally they show up to really give you
a rough time, and they are not here doing that. So I will tell
you what we are going to do. It is no secret I am going to
support both of you for these excellent positions. They are
very important positions. You have covered them. You have
talked about some of the things that are on my mind. And we are
going to keep the record open until next Tuesday at 5:00 p.m.
for any questions any other members of the Committee desire to
submit to you.
I would ask you to get the answers back as soon as you can.
Wednesday would be soon enough because we will put you on the
next markup, which will be next Thursday.
Now, you may be put over for a week because anybody has
that right on the Committee, but I doubt that anybody will put
you over. But if they do, we will live with that. But the key
is to get those answers to questions back.
I have been informed that there are no other Senators
coming, so I don't see any reason to keep you or your families
any longer. I believe both of you will serve with tremendous
distinction in these very important jobs at this time in our
country's history. I know both of you have the legal acumen and
ability to do it. I know both of you have the integrity and the
sense of purpose and realism to be able to handle these jobs in
ways that would make all of us proud.
And I know that both of you will do so without regard to
politics and do it in a way that really benefits everybody in
this country, regardless of where they come from or what their
particular ideological beliefs are. If I didn't know that, I
would have a lot of questions for you.
So we have seen both of you in action. We know both of you,
and I have known you, Peter, since you graduated from Yale. And
I just want to compliment both of you for being willing to
serve, leave your private practices and your homes and for your
willingness to come here and be part of this team at Justice,
which I happen to believe is a pretty darn good team doing a
very good job under very trying times.
So, with that, we will recess until further notice. Thank
you for being here, and thanks to all your family members for
being here.
Mr. Keisler. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. McCallum. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
[Whereupon, at 3:55 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]
[Question and answers and a submission for the record
follow.]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
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