Post-Reno, White House Warmer for Ashcroft

Although his road to the Justice Department was far rockier than that of his predecessor, new Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft assumes the job with one potentially invaluable asset that Janet Reno never enjoyed: the unyielding support of the White House.

That, along with his well-honed political skills, his support from a GOP-controlled Congress and the top deputies he chooses, could go far in determining how the Justice Department will operate with the former Missouri senator at the helm.

As Ashcroft’s supporters and his opponents debate where Ashcroft will lead the department in the wake of his narrow 58-42 confirmation by the Senate on Thursday, Ashcroft has made clear that he wants to follow the lead set by President Bush on a number of key law enforcement issues. And Ashcroft plans to work closely with Bush, who backed him strongly during his grueling, six-week confirmation battle.

“He and the president have a very, very good working relationship. So I think the dialogue between the two of them will be very productive,” said Mindy Tucker, who was named Friday as Ashcroft’s chief spokeswoman at the Justice Department.

In contrast, Reno’s relationship with the White House proved a liability during much of her eight years as attorney general, and some said that contributed to an erratic performance.

Reno was President Clinton’s third choice for attorney general in 1993, and the two were never close. Her role in Cabinet meetings with the president was often minimal, aides said, and Clinton publicly second-guessed her judgment years after the fact on the handling of several high-profile cases.

Indeed, there was widespread speculation that Clinton would replace Reno after his reelection in 1996. Instead, it was Republican lawmakers--who accused Reno of covering up for Clinton by refusing to aggressively investigate campaign-finance allegations against him--who tried unsuccessfully to force her from office.

Ashcroft’s critics, worried about what Ashcroft will do on contentious issues such as abortion and civil rights, will closely watch his relationship with the White House.

“You want a balance between an attorney general who has a good relationship with the White House but is still independent and is not seen as being in the back pocket of the White House,” said a former Justice Department aide under Reno who asked not to be identified.

“This attorney general is clearly coming in with a closer relationship [than his predecessor]. That could be good, or that could lead people to be suspicious of whether he’s too close to the president.”

Ashcroft’s close relations with the White House, some observers said, also could get him off to a good start with FBI Director Louis J. Freeh, who was appointed by Clinton but became a hero of sorts to Republicans when he pushed for a more aggressive investigation of Democratic fund-raising abuses.

John L. Martin, who has worked under 15 attorneys general, said Ashcroft has the potential to be an excellent head of the Justice Department, in large part because of his strong credentials as a former attorney general and governor in Missouri and as a U.S. senator.

“The first thing he has to do is surround himself with some good, solid people. The second thing he has to do is make sure he is not overcome in the job with his extreme conservative politics,” Martin said. “The moment you overpoliticize it, you’re in trouble.”

Ashcroft already has begun picking some of his top deputies, with key announcements expected next week. But at a time when he is trying to mend fences with liberals after his confirmation battle, some of the personnel decisions may not please them.

Paul McNulty, a transition chief tapped late this week for a top post in the deputy attorney general’s office, was chief counsel to conservative Rep. Dick Armey of Texas.

Larry D. Thompson, a former U.S. attorney in Georgia who is being considered as Ashcroft’s top deputy, has close ties to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, whom many civil rights activists regard as hostile to affirmative action and other causes.

And Theodore B. Olson, an almost certain selection as solicitor general, argued and won Bush’s Florida election case at the Supreme Court, a decision that effectively put Bush in the White House. Olson’s supporters reject the argument that his high-profile performance in the balloting challenge should make him ineligible for the job, which involves serving as the government’s chief advocate in cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and deciding which cases the government will pursue or defend in lower courts.

“He’s up there as an officer of the court where scholarship and intellect prevail,” said Richard Hauser, who worked closely with Olson when both were lawyers in the Ronald Reagan administration. Olson “would have been at the top of the list” for solicitor general even if the Florida election challenge never happened, he said. “Nobody has questioned his fidelity to the law. His reputation as a lawyer is excellent.”

Officials also said that the possible selection of Thompson, who is black, could help appease minority leaders who said they were offended by Ashcroft’s record on a number of racial issues. Sources of friction included Ashcroft’s praise of Southern Civil War “patriots” in a neo-Confederate magazine, his appearance at Bob Jones University at a time when it banned interracial dating, his opposition to a St. Louis desegregation plan and his derailment of the federal judicial nomination of Missouri Supreme Court Judge Ronnie L. White, who is black.

If Thompson ends up as Ashcroft’s top deputy, said a Justice Department official familiar with the personnel discussions, “the first and foremost reason is because he’s qualified to do the job. But it is also an opportunity to reach out to people of different backgrounds.”

Toward that end, Ashcroft has pledged to continue several racial initiatives that were started by Reno, including studies on racial profiling and on possible racial and ethnic disparities in pursuing federal death sentences.

In an e-mail message sent to Justice Department employees Friday, Ashcroft said he also wants to “tackle new international and cyber-criminal ventures, and develop appropriate understandings of the new economy to ensure we balance the needs of commerce with protections for consumers and the environment.”

Ashcroft and Bush also want to crack down on areas they believe were sometimes neglected during the Clinton administration, including illegal drugs, pornography and felons in illegal possession of guns, officials said.

Many Democrats worry that the get-tough-on-crime approach inevitably will mean less attention and money for protecting the environment, prosecuting civil rights violations or combating social problems such as domestic abuse and “deadbeat dads.” Many of these areas, some Republicans believe, are best left to the states.

On his first day on the job, however, Ashcroft was busy with more mundane matters, like shaking hands and introducing himself to employees in dozens of department offices.

“The very first thing he did was walk the entire building and say hello to everyone. It was very impressive,” said one Justice Department employee.

Ashcroft also met with beat reporters and quickly addressed one of the new job’s more perfunctory issues: what he should be called.

For years, attorneys general liked to be addressed as “general.” Reno didn’t like the title and abandoned it. As for Ashcroft, known in the Senate for his personable if sometimes corny demeanor, he simply asked that reporters not call him “late for dinner.”