AP reports here that President Bush has named Alice S. Fisher as head of the Criminal Division.

What is amazing here is not his appointment, as the nomination has been pending for some time (see post here) , but rather that he decided to bypass Congressional approval. The nomination had been blocked by a Senator who wanted additional time to investigate a matter that might be related to Guantanamo. 

The one perhaps political hot potato in DOJ is being handled by a special prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald.  Although Fitzgerald’s office handles criminal matters that might on occasion come through the criminal division of the DOJ, in light of the circumvention of the appointment process one would think that Fisher will stay very clear of anything that might impede Fitzgerald’s investigation.

(esp)