463 partner Tom Galvin penned the following column on Michael Chertoff's nomination as the head of the Department of Homeland Security. Chertoff was approved by a key Senate committee yesterday, and a full Senate vote could come as soon as today.
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Chertoff Right for DHS
February 7, 2005
By Thomas Galvin
eWeek
Few jobs can prepare you to run a mammoth, still-forming department of 180,000 employees and 22 divisions, but Chertoff's experience running the Department of Justice's Criminal Division from 2001 to 2003 prepared him to deal with a large bureaucracy.
Few jobs can prepare you to deal with the politics of fighting a war on terror in a polarized political environment, but Chertoff's tenure as chief counsel for the Senate's Whitewater investigation prepared him to deal with the blood-sport politics he'll face.
And Chertoff is no stranger to taking on tough cases. As a federal prosecutor in New Jersey, he prosecuted Jersey City's mayor and investigated racial profiling by police.
After the bizarre rise and fall of Bernard Kerik as would-be DHS chief, the prospect of Chertoff taking the reins of the department is a welcome relief. The job of protecting our nation from terrorism is difficult enough without the handicap of eroded credibility due to personal peccadilloes.
To read about the recent internal audit at the DHS that revealed alarming security weaknesses, click here.
Michael Chertoff has integrity. I learned this firsthand when I was a reporter covering the Whitewater probe. It was a politically charged investigation, taking place on the eve of President Clinton's re-election. Chertoff was in charge of an investigation that Republicans prayed would kill Clinton's magic. Many senators liberally leaked information to hurt Clinton.
Chertoff, who was certainly no Clinton partisan, was the keeper of the information but never leaked it—not even when directed to by a senator. I know because I was there when a senator instructed him to give me confidential information, and Chertoff refused.
Chertoff understands the importance of cyber-security for protecting our critical infrastructure and national assets. While serving as head of the DOJ's criminal division, he toured Silicon Valley and saw the importance of this infrastructure to the nation's economy. Chertoff will have many priorities, but it's a safe bet he won't lose sight of cyber-security.
Chertoff didn't have to take the job. He was appointed by Bush to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2003, and a long judicial career awaited him—perhaps even a shot at becoming a Supreme Court justice. He has proved he can win approval by the Senate, which has confirmed him four times for jobs. Chertoff has never failed to answer a call, and the nation should be grateful that, once again, he has answered.
Thomas Galvin is a partner at 463 Communications LLC. He was formerly a reporter for several publications, including the New York Post and the National Journal, and was vice president of government relations at VeriSign.
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