Ken Starr on Whitaker: It Is a ‘Lawful Appointment’

EXCERPT:

STARR: "I have the greatest respect for General Mukasey, Judge Mukasey, and I may be wrong, but the way I read the Vacancies Act, Bill and Sandra, it's a statute passed by Congress, it does give the president this interim authority to fill a vacancy with someone in whom he has confidence. Legitimate questions have been raised, but I think it’s a lawful appointment."
SMITH: "Can you just explain why to those who disagree?"
STARR: "Well, under the Vacancies Act the president has tremendous leeway in who he sees fit to — and remember, this is the executive branch. There is only one key officer in the executive branch, the Constitution Article 2 vests power in him. It doesn’t mean it’s unfettered power, he's not a monarch. We all understand all that, the rhetoric aside. But under this law passed by Congress, the President enjoys, where a vacancy exists, an enormous amount of discretion.”