Attorney General Mukasey Collapses While Giving Speech UPDATE: Conscious And Alert UPDATE X2 Doing Well

Friday morning update: I put this in the headlines but I thought I'd update this as well. Looks like he just fainted after a long day and standing under the heat of some stage lighting (trust me, that stuff gets really hot). Looks like a happy ending.

Perhaps some good news...

An FBI official said Mukasey got stuck on a word during his speech to the conservative legal group, repeated it several times and then "went down hard."

A senior law-enforcement said Mukasey appeared to be talking when he was taken away. That official also spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the situation.

He was conscious during part of the ambulance ride to hospital, the official said.

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said President George W. Bush was informed about Mukasey's collapse.

"The president has him in his thoughts and will be kept apprised and hopes that he will be back up and at 'em again soon."

O'Connor said about hour after Mukasey collapsed that the last information he had was that the attorney general was alert and conscious and speaking.

Original post below the fold.

This doesn't sound good.

The 67-year-old Mukasey was rushed to George Washington University Hospital, where his condition was not immediately.

Mukasey was delivering a speech to the Federalist Society at a Washington hotel when "he just started shaking and he collapsed," said Associate Attorney General Kevin O'Connor. "They're very concerned."

Mukasey was 15 to 20 minutes into his speech about the Bush administration's successes in combatting terrorism when he began slurring his words. He collapsed and lost consciousness, said O'Conner, the department's No. 3 official. It was unclear whether he regained consciousness.

Best wishes and prayers for the AG.

posted by DrewM. at 11:07 PM

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