Former Ambassador James Hormel on John Ashcroft’s nomination for attorney general

(CNN) – The United States Senate began a full day of debate January 31 on the nomination of former Senator John Ashcroft for attorney general. Ashcroft is one of President Bush's most controversial Cabinet choices. Critics argue that as the head of the Justice Department, Ashcroft’s conservative political and religious views may prevent him from enforcing civil rights laws.

James C. Hormel, former United States ambassador to Luxembourg, was granted a recess appointment to this position on June 4, 1999. Hormel has publicly opposed Ashcroft’s nomination, charging that as a senator, Ashcroft opposed his original nomination in October 1997 because Hormel is gay. Hormel is a member of the board of directors of the American Foundation for AIDS Research and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

CNN Moderator: Welcome to CNN.com’s Burden of Proof Chat, Ambassador Hormel. Many civil rights groups are opposing Senator Ashcroft's nomination for attorney general. Which groups specifically have concerns about him and why?

James Hormel: I prefer to address issues with which I have direct experience. I know Mr. Ashcroft has a long record of opposing civil rights advances, but my experience involves his opposition to my nomination as ambassador to Luxembourg. This apparently was based solely upon his judgment that my sexual orientation would disqualify me for that post.

Question from chat room: Mr. Hormel, what prompted you to go public with your concerns about Mr. Ashcroft?

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James Hormel: I chose to go public out of my deep concern that Mr. Ashcroft would not adequately represent the interests of the broad spectrum of Americans in the office of attorney general.

Question from chat room: Mr. Hormel, it's been reported that when you were nominated as ambassador to Luxembourg, Mr. Ashcroft did not meet with you. Do you think a meeting might have swayed his opinions? Were you aware in advance how vehement his opposition would be?

James Hormel: I had no knowledge of whether Mr. Ashcroft intended to oppose my nomination. He did not appear at my hearing, and he did not submit any written questions prior to the committee vote.

After he voted against my nomination, I wrote to him, asking to meet with him and reminding him that I had served as his dean of students when he attended the University of Chicago Law School. Receiving no reply, I called his office several times to request a meeting. My calls were never returned.

I can only assume that Mr. Ashcroft had chosen not to give me the courtesy of meeting with him -- a courtesy which he has expected for himself during the course of his own confirmation hearing -- because he had already made up his mind and did not want to deal further with the subject.

Question from chat room: Ambassador, what were Ashcroft's objections to your nomination and were they true?

James Hormel: Good question. The committee made repeated attempts to get Mr. Ashcroft to state specific objections. You may know that hundreds of written questions were submitted to him following his hearing, mainly because he had been so evasive.

When asked what he meant by the phrase "the totality of the record" in reference to his remark about my qualifications, Mr. Ashcroft gave no specific reply other than to state that he did not believe, based on the totality of my record of advocacy, that I could effectively represent the United States in Luxembourg, which he called the most Roman Catholic country in Europe. He left the inference that there was something in that record which would offend the people of Luxembourg.

At that time, however, the government of Luxembourg had already given its official consent to my appointment and the Foreign Relations Committee, of which Mr. Ashcroft was a member, was well aware of that fact. Mr. Ashcroft also stated that he had known me for many years, but when asked to give any evidence to support that claim, he evaded the answer by saying that he had not kept a detailed record of his contacts with me. The reason that he cannot identify any substantive contact between us is that there simply wasn’t any.

Furthermore, when asked why he had not attended my hearing, not asked me any questions in writing and not responded to my requests to meet with him, Mr. Ashcroft replied, "I opposed the confirmation of Ambassador Hormel in committee. That was the extent of the action I took concerning his nomination. Given the pressing demands of fulfilling the responsibilities of a United States senator, there were other interests in the Senate upon which I was primarily focused." In fact, the Senate was not even in session at the time of my requests.

Also, contrary to his statement that he did nothing other than vote against my confirmation in committee, several months later Mr. Ashcroft wrote and co-signed a letter addressed to his Senate colleagues soliciting their opposition to my nomination.

Question from chat room: Mr. Hormel, would you oppose Mr. Ashcroft for any other Cabinet position, barring attorney general?

James Hormel: Under normal circumstances, I believe the president is entitled to wide latitude in the selection of his Cabinet. With respect to the attorney general's position, however, I believe that one has to consider more carefully not only a person's qualifications, but also the record of action, which reflects how that person would conduct that very sensitive office.

CNN Moderator: Do you have any final thoughts for us today?

James Hormel: I hope that citizens will take every opportunity to express their reasoned viewpoints to their members of Congress. This is the best way to ensure that their reasoned views will be appropriately considered and represented in our government.

Today we have a president who received less than a plurality of the popular vote. It behooves that president to exercise extreme care to bring about programs that serve those people who did not support him on Election Day.

CNN Moderator: Thank you for joining us today, Ambassador Ashcroft.

James Hormel: Thank you very much for having me.

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Senate debating Ashcroft nomination
January 31, 2001

Human Rights Campaign
American Foundation for AIDS Research

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