Bush's Supreme Court nominee Miers withdraws

Harriet Miers

WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush's nominee for the US Supreme Court, White House counsel Harriet Miers, abruptly withdrew from consideration after mounting criticism from the right and the left about her credentials for the lifetime job.

Bush said in a statement he reluctantly accepted the withdrawal of his long-time ally and would move in a timely manner to fill the vacancy left open by the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

The announcement was made with the White House on the defensive on several fronts, including possible indictment of senior officials over the leaking of a CIA operative's name and deep concern among Americans over the Iraq war.

As a reason for pulling out, Miers, 60, cited the need to maintain privacy of her White House service. Members of Congress wanted to see internal records that Bush vowed to keep confidential.

Miers said in a letter to Bush she was concerned the Senate confirmation process "presents a burden for the White House and our staff that is not in the best interest of the country."

"While I believe that my lengthy career provides sufficient evidence for consideration of my nomination, I am convinced the efforts to obtain Executive Branch materials and information will continue," she said.

Suddenly the guessing game renewed over who Bush would pick for the job. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican who said he had just spoken with Bush, said, "I expect another nomination in the very near future."

A senior Republican leadership aide said, however, that the Senate would likely wait until January before holding a confirmation hearing on the pending nominee.

Some opponents had mounted a campaign to force Miers' withdrawal ever since she was announced on October 3, and some conservative senators had expressed doubts as to whether Miers was sufficiently conservative to move the divided nine-member high court firmly to the right.

They also argued she lacked experience in constitutional law and was basically a crony of the president, all charges rejected by Bush.

Some Democrats were skeptical about whether she was against a woman's right to abortion, a hugely divisive issue that could come before the Supreme Court. A make-or-break Senate confirmation hearing for Miers was to have started November 7.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat who had urged Bush to consider Miers for the court, charged, "The radical right wing of the Republican Party killed the Harriet Miers nomination."

"Apparently, Ms Miers did not satisfy those who want to pack the Supreme Court with rigid ideologues," Reid said.

Miers decided to withdraw even though no senator, Democratic or Republican, had announced plans to oppose her.

Yet members of both parties had openly questioned if she was up to the job and said that they would withhold judgment until the confirmation hearing.

"Harriet Miers is a fine and capable person, but this was clearly the wrong position for her," said New York Senator. Charles Schumer, ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. "Her gracious withdrawal saves Harriet Miers and the nation from a difficult and agonizing process and decision."

Miers, who will stay on as White House counsel, informed Bush of her decision and walked into the Oval Office the following day and handed Bush her withdrawal letter, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

"She recognised that the process was headed to an unresolvable impasse," he said.

Bush said he shared Miers' concern about the confirmation process.

"It is clear that senators would not be satisfied until they gained access to internal documents concerning advice provided during her tenure at the White House -- disclosures that would undermine a president's ability to receive candid counsel," he said.

A senior aide to Bush said: "His respect for her obviously has grown in the fact that she was able to set aside any personal ambition and put the presidency and the process on a higher plain," the aide said.

- REUTERS