Don Nickles: “I congratulate Senator Hatch and Senator Leahy for bringing the nomination of Ted Olson to be Solicitor General to the…”

“I congratulate Senator Hatch and Senator Leahy for bringing the nomination of Ted Olson to be Solicitor General to the floor of the Senate. I am delighted we are going to have a vote on Mr. Olson. I know him well. I think he will be an outstanding Solicitor General not only for this President and this administration but for our country as well. Mr. Olson's qualifications are beyond reproach. He was an undergraduate at the University of the Pacific and received his law degree from the University of California at Berkeley. He has been a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, one of the nation's leading law firms, from 1965 to 1981, and also from 1984 until the present time. He served as Assistant Attorney General from 1981 to 1984, providing legal advice to President Reagan and Attorney General William French Smith and other executive branch officials. He has handled a lot of very important cases. Probably the best known case was Bush v. Gore. No matter which side of that case you supported, you had to admire the skill with which he argued a very complicated and, needless to say, very important case. In addition, he has argued numerous other very significant cases before the Supreme Court and other federal and state courts. I will include for the Record a highlight of seven of these important cases. Ted Olson has been on both sides of the courtroom battles. He has defended the Government and counseled the President.”