Thornburgh OKd to Succeed Meese : Senate, in 85-0 Vote, Confirms Moderate as Attorney General

The Senate voted unanimously Thursday to confirm Richard L. Thornburgh as attorney general in a move that members said would restore stability and integrity to the Justice Department following the departure of Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III.

The 85-0 vote capped an unprecedentedly short, one-month confirmation process that stood in sharp contrast to the one-year inquiry the Senate conducted of Meese before approving his nomination in January, 1985.

The change in leadership at the department will occur quickly when Meese holds a farewell press conference scheduled for this morning and Thornburgh’s swearing-in takes place shortly after.

Wins Bipartisan Praise

Thornburgh, a Republican moderate, one-time prosecutor and former two-term governor of Pennsylvania, won bipartisan praise for his extensive experience and integrity during the Senate’s 25-minute discussion of his qualifications. A day earlier, he had received the unanimous approval of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which had questioned him last week.

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), a committee member, said in a floor speech that Thornburgh’s speedy confirmation was “perhaps setting a record for confirmation of an attorney general” because there was “substantial urgency” for a change at the Justice Department.

“Aside from the presidency, there is no post more important in our government than that of attorney general,” Specter said. “It is the symbol of justice for all Americans.”

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), acting Judiciary Committee chairman, said in recommending Thornburgh’s approval that “the stewardship of Atty. Gen. Meese has failed . . . the public trust.”

‘Different, Better Mold’

“Gov. Thornburgh will be an attorney general of a different and better mold,” Kennedy said. “I am confident that he will do as much as he can to repair the damage and injustices of the Meese regime.”

The attorney general announced his pending resignation last month after independent counsel James C. McKay completed a 14-month investigation of Meese’s official conduct without seeking any criminal indictment. Although McKay found that Meese had “probably” violated tax laws and conflict-of-interest regulations, Meese said he could leave office because he had been “vindicated.”

Meese Denies Accusations

Meese has stoutly denied accusations by two former department officials who resigned earlier this year, charging that morale at the Justice Department had reached an all-time low. The officials, Deputy Atty. Gen. Arnold I. Burns and Assistant Atty. Gen. William F. Weld, left the department to distance themselves from Meese’s legal troubles.

To replace these officials, as well as a third who resigned to accept a federal judgeship, the Judiciary Committee approved the nominations of Deputy Atty. Gen. Harold G. Christensen, Associate Atty. Gen. Francis A. Keating II and Assistant Atty. Gen. Edward S. G. Dennis.

However, the Senate adjourned Thursday night until Sept. 7 without taking action on those nominees.

Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, the Judiciary Committee’s ranking Republican, who had engineered Meese’s stormy confirmation three years ago, did not criticize Meese directly. But the senator declared that Thornburgh “will be an outstanding attorney general” because he possessed qualities that included “integrity and good judgment.”

“He’s had a distinguished career in everything he has tried to do,” Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) said of the nominee.

Director of Institute

Thornburgh, 56, has been serving as director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, a post in which “he has devoted time to a favorite pursuit, teaching young people about becoming active in government,” Sen. John Heinz (R-Pa.) told his colleagues.

A former U.S. attorney based in Pittsburgh, Thornburgh headed the Justice Department’s Criminal Division from 1975 to 1977 during the Gerald R. Ford Administration before serving as Pennsylvania governor from 1979 to 1987.

In a television interview Thursday in Philadelphia, Thornburgh said that although Vice President George Bush had supported his nomination, he had no indication that Bush would retain him if elected President in November.

“I look on this as a six-month assignment,” Thornburgh said.

“Every day will be important because the process of law enforcement is a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week, year-round proposition. . . . We’ll let the future take care of itself.”