Bush's administration is starting to look like a West Virginia family reunion. I hope the PC crowd will forgive me.
Justice Department Nominee Tied to Lobbyist Withdraws By ERIC LICHTBLAU WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 - President Bush's pick for the second-ranking position at the Justice Department abruptly withdrew his nomination today after facing weeks of questions over his ties to the lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his role in formulating torture policies, officials said.
The nominee, Timothy Flanigan, was scheduled to face yet another round of questioning next week from senators who had grown increasingly skeptical about his nomination as deputy attorney general.
Of chief concern to Democrats and some Republicans was Mr. Flanigan's role at Tyco as general counsel in overseeing the lobbying work of Mr. Abramoff in pushing for Tyco and other companies to maintain their tax-exempt status.
Officials say Mr. Flanigan's withdrawal reflects the fact that Mr. Abramoff has become so tarnished that anyone connected to him risks significant political damage in Washington, including Tom Delay. .
Mr. DeLay, the former House Republican majority leader who is a friend of Mr. Abramoff, relinquished his post last week after he was indicted in Texas in connection with political fund-raising. He has described the charges as the fruit of an investigation unleashed by an unscrupulous, publicity-happy prosecutor.
White House officials and Senate Republicans were saying as recently as late September that they were confident that Mr. Flanigan would be confirmed. But Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee continued to express concerns that Mr. Flanigan had not been forthcoming about his relationship with Mr. Abramoff.
Mr. Flanigan's confirmation hearing was in July. He also answered two rounds of written questions from Democrats, some of them dealing with Mr. Abramoff.
But Mr. Flanigan's answers did not satisfy Senators Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, and Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, also a Democrat.
Mr. Flanigan, a senior lawyer at Tyco, oversaw lobbying work that Mr. Abramoff did for the company in 2003. Mr. Abramoff successfully lobbied Congress to allow offshore companies like Tyco, which is based in Bermuda, to retain their tax-exempt status.
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