Michael Mukasey
Michael B. Mukasey ( born July 28, 1941 in New York City ) is an American lawyer and politician ( Republican), who served for 18 years as a judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, of which six years as chief judge. He was nominated on 17 September 2007 by President George W. Bush as the successor to Alberto R. Gonzales for the 81st United States Attorney General. After the approval of the Senate, he joined on 9 November 2007 at his office.
Born in the Bronx Michael Mukasey went to Columbia College, Columbia University and received his bachelor's degree there in 1963. At Yale Law School he received his Bachelor of Laws in 1967. He then worked as a deputy federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, among others from 1972. In 1976 he went to New York law firm of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler.
He was a strict " law-and- order" man, but found support even in circles of the Democratic Party. The torture under interrogation, he was tolerant; he argued that waterboarding was not torture.
With the end of George W. Bush's term in January 2009, Michael Mukasey retired from the government. Since then he has worked as a partner at the international law firm Debevoise & Plimpton.