Justice Department Office of Legal Policy nominee Christopher Schroeder was a man of few words at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday. He didn’t have much choice.
His hearing Wednesday morning was postponed because senators had to gather for a ceremonial reading on the Senate floor of charges against impeached Texas U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent. At first, it seemed Schroeder’s hearing would be held another day. Then suddenly, it was back on. But the live Webcast on the Senate Judiciary Committee site wasn’t working. And reporters didn’t have time to make it to the hearing. So we can’t really tell you what happened, other than it appeared to be pretty informal
Schroeder declined to give an opening statement and opted instead to introduce his family, we’ve learned. He then gave brief answers to detailed queries from Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) on expiring Patriot Act provisions, the indefinite detention of suspected terrorists and fixing the past abuses of the Bush Justice Department. He said he wasn’t familiar enough with the details to give full answers to many of the senators’ questions.
Schroeder, a former Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel in the Clinton administration, will be in charge of judicial nominations and legal policy if confirmed to run the OLP.
