John Ashcroft Approved As Attorney General on 58-42 Vote

Bush Nominee Had Been Pressed On Civil Rights, Forfeiture, Other Issues

President Bush's nomination of former Senator John Ashcroft (R-MO) as Attorney General, sparked a great deal of controversy.

A number of groups organized to oppose the nomination, including:

A broad coalition of civil rights, gun control, women's rights, pro-choice, criminal justice and drug policy groups
People for the American Way
DRCNet

On the other side, several conservative organizations organized to support the nomination, according to the Free Congress Foundation.

Attorney General Ashcroft faced tough questioning from his former colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee, including several questions in writing from Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE), and Senator Russ Feingold (D-MN).

The Common Sense for Drug Policy Legislative Group prepared this report on former Senator Ashcroft and his record on drug issues. Also, CSDP Legislative Group President Kathleen Stoll submitted this statement on the nomination.

Common Sense President Kevin B. Zeese was quoted in the Kansas City Star in a story regarding Ashcroft's position on and possible collusion in the practice of adoptive forfeiture, whereby state and local agencies get the feds to take over forfeiture actions and thus get around rules which require that forfeited funds go to education -- as is the case in the state of Missouri ("Forfeiture Response Irks Leahy," Jan. 27, 2001; see also this article on Senator Ashcroft by Daniel Forbes in Progressive Review, and this column from the Baltimore Sun.).