Monday I observed that Solicitor General Paul Clement was the acting attorney general who never was. Well, not quite.
Even though President Bush originally had announced Clement as his choice to replace Alberto Gonzales until a permanent AG was confirmed by the Senate, Clement was edged out by conservative diehard Peter Keisler, in a politically calculated sleight of hand from Bush that has received remarkably little scrutiny.
Turns out though that Clement did actually serve as acting AG, for 24 hours. From the WaPo:
Clement, who was publicly tagged last month as the temporary replacement for Gonzales, wound up officially taking the helm at 12:01 a.m. Monday and relinquishing it 24 hours later, officials said.
The switch was made on Sunday by the White House with no input from Justice Department officials, said two sources with knowledge of the matter. The change added another level of uncertainty to life at the Justice Department, where nearly every top senior official has resigned in the wake of controversies under Gonzales….
That would explain why Clement’s photo appeared on the attorney general webpage for a brief time Monday even after Keisler had been announced as acting attorney general by the President. But it still does not entirely explain why Keisler was shuffled into the post. The President said it was so that Clement could prepare for the upcoming Supreme Court term, as if that was a surprise development the President had not foreseen when he first tapped Clement, which was most certainly not the case.
