Sen. Lindsey Graham says that he will vote to approve Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey if he declares waterboarding to be illegal torture that can “never be employed.” Graham had previously voiced a number of concerns over Mukasey, the man selected by President Bush to replace the disgraced Alberto Gonzalez.

Graham, teaming up with his buddy Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam, pressed Mukasey to declare that the technique shouldn’t be used.

They were satisfied with the answers from President Bush’s nominee, who said he found waterboarding — an interrogation method that makes victims feel like they’re drowning — repugnant and over the line. But Mukasey stopped short of calling it illegal, saying he hadn’t been fully briefed on the method.

A few Democrats have lined up in opposition to Mukasey. The retired federal judge would replace Alberto Gonzalez, who resigned as attorney general in August. [LISA ZAGAROLI - Charlotte Observer]

The Senate Judiciary Committee, on which Graham is one of 19 members, will vote Tuesday to approve or reject the nomination.

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Photo: Mukasey