Reply #8: Flanigan Withdraws Nomination at Justice

[deminks]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20051007/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/bush_justice_nominee_1

WASHINGTON - Timothy E. Flanigan has withdrawn as a nominee to be deputy attorney general amid a delay in his confirmation because of his dealings with indicted Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, The Associated Press has learned.

Flanigan, a senior lawyer for Tyco International Ltd., wrote President Bush that he was withdrawing because of "uncertainty concerning the timing of my confirmation." The AP obtained a copy of the letter Friday.

He was nominated in May to be the No. 2 official at the Justice Department — Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' top deputy. It's a role he also held when Gonzales was White House counsel in Bush's first term. But Flanigan's nomination has been held up over questions about his connection to Abramoff.

Lawmakers also have questioned Flanigan sharply about his role in crafting administration policy allowing aggressive interrogation techniques be used on detainees in Afghanistan and Iraq.