BOLTON UPDATE: No vote on senate floor

On May 26, Senators voted against cutting off debate on the nomination of John Bolton to be U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Senators Joseph Biden (D-DE) and Christopher Dodd (D-CT) insisted that the vote was meant to compel the Bush Administration to hand over documents relating to their investigation of Bolton that they have requested on numerous occasions since early April.  The Administration has refused, offering no legal or Constitutional explanation, saying instead that the documents are "not relevant" to the investigation.

Before the cloture vote, the senate spent a little more than 24 hours debating the merits and dangers of the Bolton nomination. Senators Jon Kyl (R-AZ), John Ensign (R-NV), George Allen (R-VA), and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said they would support Bolton with enthusiasm, calling him an ideal choice. Senators John McCain (R-AZ), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Richard Lugar (R-IN) offered more measured support for Bolton, saying that the President was entitled to his nominee. And Senators George Voinovich (R-OH), Biden, Dodd, Carl Levin (D-MI), Barack Obama (D-IL), Russell Feingold (D-WI), Barbara Boxer (D-CT), and others opposed Bolton fiercely, citing a litany of transgressions and misconduct at the State Department and a series of policy positions that would weaken Bolton's hand at the UN.

With Senator Voinovich's impassioned plea that his colleagues vote against Bolton, it became clear that objections to the nomination were not political or partisan, but rather held the best interests of the United States in mind. Over 10 of Bolton's colleagues in the Bush Administration objected strongly to the nomination, citing Bolton's repeated attempts to stretch intelligence to suit his views and punish intelligence officers that disagreed with him. The debate exposed the broad, bipartisan opposition to the nomination. By week's end, Senator John Thune (R-SD) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) had added their names to the list of senators opposing Bolton.

Sens. Biden and Dodd have vowed to prevent a vote before they receive the information they requested, which, in fact, goes to the heart of senators' doubts about the Bolton nomination. On ten separate instances, Bolton requested the names of Americans in conversations intercepted by the National Security Agency. When the NSA intercepts conversations between Americans and foreign nationals, they are required by law to remove the names of the Americans. Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Ranking Member Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) confirmed that the requests appeared to be routine, but Sen. Rockefeller confirmed what others had privately suspected: that Bolton inappropriately shared and misused the names and information in the intercepts. Sens. Biden and Dodd are insisting that Biden and Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-IN) have the opportunity to see the names of the individuals Bolton was so intent in discovering.

The second part of the information request deals with Bolton's attempt to stretch intelligence to paint a bleak picture of Syrian weapons of mass destruction. Bolton testified to the Foreign Relations Committee that he had no hand in drafting testimony on Syria that was ultimately rejected, but others have privately and publicly disagreed. Sens. Dodd and Biden have requested information about the preparation of the testimony on Syria.

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Updated May 27, 2005