Solid Conservatives Said to Be at Front of Line

WASHINGTON —  President Bush will announce another Supreme Court nominee within days, and he appears to have narrowed the field to conservative federal appeals court judges Samuel A. Alito Jr. and J. Michael Luttig, sources close to the selection process said late Saturday.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the discussions, said several other conservative jurists remained on the president’s short list, but that Alito and Luttig had moved to the head of the line. One source said Alito was the top contender and Luttig a close second.

Bush and his aides were huddling this weekend at the Camp David presidential retreat to make a final decision. An announcement was expected as soon as today, although one source said Monday appeared more likely.

White House spokeswoman Maria Tamburri declined to comment on the status of the selection process. “I can’t confirm anything,” she said. “No announcement has been made.”

Although the sources said Alito and Luttig were the clear favorites, Bush has surprised some of his closest allies in the past by allowing word to circulate that he was about to nominate one person, then choosing someone else instead.

The selection of either Alito or Luttig would come as a relief to conservative activists and intellectuals who helped derail the nomination to the court of White House Counsel Harriet E. Miers, whose judicial credentials and ideological reliability were roundly questioned. Miers withdrew her nomination Thursday. She accompanied Bush to Camp David to help pick her replacement.

“For the conservatives, it’s a no-brainer,” said one source who had been briefed on the latest discussions. “Alito and Luttig have a lot of fans in the conservative movement. They won’t turn on the president with those two picks. He’ll get a wave of support.”

Jan LaRue, chief counsel of the advocacy group Concerned Women for America, said Alito and Luttig would receive the backing of her group and others in the conservative movement.

“They’re both at the top of just about everybody’s list,” said LaRue, whose organization had announced its opposition to Miers despite heavy lobbying by the White House to remain neutral.

Sources said the White House had decided to propose a nominee within the next few days, resolving an internal debate between Bush administration aides who favored a rapid comeback after last week’s embarrassing withdrawal of Miers and those who thought the process should proceed more cautiously to ensure that the next candidate had been fully vetted.

The question of timing was complicated by a special prosecutor’s announcement Friday that I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, a top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, had been indicted on charges of perjury, obstruction and making false statements to officials investigating the leak of an undercover CIA officer’s identity. Libby immediately resigned, but the political fallout from the leak investigation appeared likely to overshadow other White House actions for the time being.

After Bush left for Camp David Friday afternoon, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the president would make a final choice soon, but would not announce his decision before returning from Camp David this afternoon.

The president and First Lady Laura Bush were scheduled to participate in a wreath-laying ceremony this evening honoring late civil rights activist Rosa Parks. Bush is set to depart Thursday for a series of events in South America.

The choice of either Alito or Luttig is likely to spark a battle with Democrats. When the Senate confirmed John G. Roberts Jr. last month as chief justice of the high court, it was to replace another conservative, the late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who died in September.

The next nominee, however, will replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who has cast a deciding swing vote on some key decisions. Her retirement gives Bush the opportunity to put someone considered to be a solid conservative in the place of a moderate, potentially moving the court to the right.

Both Alito and Luttig are regarded as reliable conservatives in the mold of Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.

Alito, 55, sits on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in New Jersey.

Luttig, 51, serves on the 4th Circuit Court in Virginia. He once worked as a law clerk for Scalia, then as an appeals court judge.

One source familiar with the selection debate said the White House had signaled to activists that the next nominee would be someone with demonstrated allegiance to conservative legal precepts. Many conservatives had turned against Miers because they felt she had not shown that allegiance.

“They’ve gotten the message very clearly that everyone wants to see someone with a long track record of conservative judicial philosophy, and also the paper trail that demonstrates it,” said the source.

The White House’s desire to avoid alienating conservatives has apparently worked to the disadvantage of one presidential favorite: Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales. Some conservative groups have expressed fears that Gonzales might turn out to be a judicial centrist if seated on the high court.

The president’s apparent decision to name a committed conservative also runs the risk of generating considerable opposition from Senate Democrats, setting the stage for a contentious confirmation process.

“Yeah, there’s going to be a big fight,” predicted one source close to the selection process.

Another source agreed that Alito or Luttig would face more partisan fire on Capitol Hill, but this person doubted that Democrats could muster enough opposition to block the nomination.

“Half of the Democratic caucus voted to confirm him to the 3rd Circuit,” the source said of Alito.