WASHINGTON, D.C. – GOP frontrunner Rudy Giuliani will unveil his "Justice Advisory Committee" this week on a two-day swing through heavily Republican western districts of Iowa, home of the first presidential caucuses in 2008.
The committee signals an important moment for building his relationship with social conservatives a he tries to convince skeptical Iowans he can compete seriously in the caucuses.
Former U.S. solicitor general under President Bush, Ted Olson, will chair the panel. Former Bush administration Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson and filibustered judicial nominee Miguel A. Estrada will be among the "who's who" of conservative legal and judicial advisers to Giuliani.
Giuliani hopes to reassure the GOP that he will appoint conservative judges and run a judicially conservative administration.
It also may help persuade skeptical Iowans that the former New York City mayor does intend to compete in Iowa's caucuses. He has bowed out of an Ames, Iowa, straw poll and has a small organization compared to several other candidates in that state and his own teams in other states.
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