New homeland security chief appears to be a safe choice

United States President &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/mailbox/22/101/399/14556_ballots.html ' target=_blank>George W. Bush has nominated federal judge Michael Chertoff to become secretary of homeland security.

Judge Chertoff is a former prosecutor and was the architect of the anti-terrorism Patriot Act after the September 11 attacks in 2001. He is a US Appeals Court judge in Philadelphia.

After the debacle involving the nomination of former &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/usa/2002/10/10/37970.html ' target=_blank>New York police commissioner Bernard Kerik, who abruptly withdrew from consideration a month ago in the face of some uncomfortable personal revelations, Judge Chertoff appears to be a safe choice, says ABC News.

"In all of his roles, Mike has shown a deep commitment to the cause of Justice and an unwavering determination to protect the American people. Mike has also been a key leader in the &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/mailbox/22/99/391/10882_terrorim.html ' target=_blank>war on terror," Bush said in a White House ceremony with the balding, gaunt Chertoff at his side.

Chertoff, 51, of New Jersey, is a former assistant attorney general at the Justice Department and in the mid-1990s was a special counsel for the US Senate’s committee that investigated the Whitewater affair involving former President Bill Clinton, according to a Justice Department resume, reports the Indian Express.