The Jewish stranglehold over American political life has been reinforced with the announcement by president George W Bush that he wants prominent New York Jew Michael B. Mukasey as next attorney general.

Should the Senate confirm him, Mukasey would become the third attorney general to serve under Mr. Bush. As the top law enforcement officer in the United States, he would preside over a Justice Department.

Mukasey’s handling of the case of Jose Padilla, an American citizen suspected of membership in Al Qaeda, has attracted particular notice from critics of the Bush administration. Although Mr. Mukasey backed the White House by ruling that Mr. Padilla could be held as an enemy combatant — a decision overturned on appeal — he also defied the administration by saying Mr. Padilla was entitled to legal counsel.

In 1993, Mr. Mukasey presided over the trial of Omar Abdel Rahman, the so-called Blind Sheik, whom he sentenced to life in prison for his role in a plot to blow up New York landmarks and tunnels. Mr. Mukasey had a reputation for decisions that were largely supportive of law enforcement that often brought criticism from civil-liberty advocates.

He has spoken in support of provisions of the Patriot Act, and last month wrote an op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal on “the inadequacy of the current approach to terrorism prosecutions,” a view that the Bush administration has expressed.

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