GOP senators voice reservations about TSA nominee Erroll Southers

Reporting from Washington —  A group of Republican senators warned the White House on Wednesday that it had “serious reservations” about the nomination of the top law enforcement official at Los Angeles World Airports to lead the federal agency in charge of airline safety.

Their warning letter stems from conflicting accounts that Erroll Southers, nominated as director of the Transportation Security Administration, gave the Senate about an incident in the late 1980s when he tapped databases for information about his ex-wife’s boyfriend.

Southers, who was a special agent with the FBI at the time, was censured by the bureau for his actions.

His TSA nomination has been pending for four months.

Originally, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) held up the nomination over concerns that Southers would support the unionization of TSA screeners.

But now six more Republicans are balking. Their letter reads: “We believe that Mr. Southers submitted erroneous and possibly misleading information regarding ethical violations during his service with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

They posed 13 questions, including whether the FBI forced Southers to leave.

The letter was signed by DeMint and fellow Republicans John McCain of Arizona, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts of Kansas, and Mike Johanns of Nebraska.

Coburn’s office released a separate statement Wednesday that said: “Dr. Coburn believes Mr. Southers was not truthful with the committee. He will object to Mr. Southers’ nomination moving forward until he provides the committee with a more complete and accurate description of the circumstances surrounding his censure and subsequent failure to provide the committee with key information.”

Neither the White House nor Southers responded to a request for comment.

During the nomination process, Southers gave statements about the incident to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

But Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the panel’s top Republican, had noticed a discrepancy between his account and the FBI’s letter of censure, the Republicans told the White House. Collins asked Southers for a fuller explanation.

On Nov. 20, Southers sent a letter to Collins and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn), chairman of the committee, saying he had consulted documents and discovered that his recollection had been wrong.

He corrected his previous statement, saying he had checked two databases, not one, and he had searched them himself, rather than asking a police officer to do it.

“This man had just moved in with my ex-wife and our infant son, and I wished to determine whether there were any outstanding warrants for his arrest,” Southers wrote.

“I am distressed by the inconsistencies between my recollection and the contemporaneous documents, but I assure you that the mistake was inadvertent, and that I have at all times taken full responsibility for what I know to have been a grave error in judgment,” he wrote.

On Wednesday, California’s Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, reiterated his support for Southers.

“Erroll brings vast homeland security experience at the federal, state and local levels, which is coupled with hands-on airport security expertise,” the governor said. “California is safer and better prepared because of Erroll’s commitment, hard work and dedication, and he is more than qualified for this role.”

peter.nicholas@latimes.com