WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats are blocking conservative icon Theodore Olson’s appointment as solicitor general – possible payback for his alleged role in digging up dirt on the Clintons.
Hoping to avoid an all-out fight, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) yesterday ordered a one-week delay on Olson’s confirmation hearing to give lawmakers more time to review testimony and documents.
Hatch acknowledged “legitimate questions” had been raised about whether Olson was truthful in a recent appearance before Congress when he claimed only a bit part in the so-called “vast right-wing conspiracy.”
Protests against Olson being named solicitor general – who represents the White House before the Supreme Court – started last week after the committee heard conflicting stories about Olson’s service on the board of American Spectator magazine.
Olson, who aided President Bush in the recount battle and Paula Jones in her suit against Clinton, denied a role in the Arkansas Project, a private, $2.4 million effort to unearth the Clintons’ scandals.
“I was not involved in the project,” Olson said.