Dawn Johnsen Withdrawing Nomination After Long Battle

[babsbunny]

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/04/dawn-johnsen-withdrawing-nomination-after-long-battle.php

Christina Bellantoni | April 9, 2010, 5:32PM

Dawn Johnsen today has withdrawn her nomination to lead the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel, following a more than year-long confirmation fight with Senate Republicans.

The White House said President Obama accepted Johnsen's withdrawal request today, adding a statement lauding her accomplishments as a "highly-respected constitutional scholar."

[BrklynLiberal]

1. I find it amazing that this "bipartisanship" crap is still being bandied about....

"the President believes it is time for the Senate to move beyond politics and allow the Office of Legal Counsel to serve the role it was intended to - to provide impartial legal advice and constitutional analysis to the executive branch. "

[katandmoon]

2. Why no recess appointment for her, President Obama?

[robinblue]

5. WH did not want to risk it as the votes were not there. per Huff post article.

[SoCalDem]

3. Frnkly, if someone has no criminal record, they should be automatically "approved"

when a new president enters office. A president should be allowed to pick his/her own "team".. they will rise or fall on their own merits.

Supposedly, they do not "make policy", so all this ridiculous nitpicking is insanity..no matter which party is in power.

If a president makes a goofball selection, it will become readily apparent, and then they can resign or be fired.

[troubledamerican]

9. By your rule: Rumsfeld cost 4000 U.S. lives before he got canned. Very expensive theory.

[SoCalDem]

10. his approval happened in the senate... and his eventual demise happened as well

not any different ..

a person's worth will become evident..and even the most weasely bastards that were allowed in by dems in the senate during BushII still failed once in..

the fact that OUR people gave them the Good Housekeeping seal of approval..(at least with as many votes as necessary, turned it all into a "bipartisan" issue, that could be (and was) turned on us)..

[Turbineguy]

4. "highly-respected constitutional scholar."

That was her downfall.

[chill_wind]

8. And more than an academic. She knew her way around

in the DOJ/OLC

(...)

By any measure, Johnsen is a superb choice for the job. She served in the OLC for five Clinton years; indeed, Johnsen was acting head of the OLC from 1997-1998. For over the past dozen years, she has been a leading scholar on Justice Department issues. Prof. Johnsen is certainly patient. She patiently waited a year for Senate confirmation for her to fulfill exactly the same role she did for over a year in the Clinton Justice Department.

Speaking Truth to Power, Too Often

Dawn Johnsen is a distinguished academic and advocate, championing privacy, reproductive choice, the rule of law, separation of powers, and DOJ integrity. So why have Republicans, like Sen. John Cornyn, blocked her appointment for over a year? Perhaps the scholar dared to speak truth to power once too often.

In her 2008, Slate commentary, Johnsen dissected the flawed reasoning of the infamous torture memos and other legal opinions written by then OLC attorney John Yoo. She dared connect the bloody dots from Yoo’s poison pen directly to George W. Bush’s oval office: “President Bush asked for this kind of distorted legal advice. Remember, from day one, the President sent his lawyers the express message that they were NOT to interpret the law impartially and straight up.”

(...)

http://www.mainjustice.com/2010/02/04/commentary-the-case-for-dawn-johnsens-confirmation/

[Gold Metal Flake]

6. She was not corporate enough.

Why no recess appointment for her, President Obama?

[chill_wind]

7. She had strong convictions

about BushCo Torture,Inc and other matters.

We saw the winds shift abruptly last spring with the demise of Greg Craig. The recess thing, finally, perhaps told her everything she needed to know about direction and priorities.


Main Justice:

Commentary: The Case for Dawn Johnsen’s Confirmation

By Victor Williams and Nicola Sanchez | February 4, 2010 3:12 pm



Is Barack Obama now ready to fight partisan confirmation obstruction against his nominees? When Ben Bernanke’s reappointment was jeopardized, the president fully engaged the fight. Obama worked the phones himself to help Senate leadership line up 60 cloture votes. But what about the additional 300 critical federal executive, regulatory and judicial positions that remain empty?

At his question session during the Senate Democrat retreat, Obama was adamant that if “government is going to work for the American people,” Republican confirmation obstruction “has to end.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid recently detailed national security dangers resulting from Republican obstruction of defense, intelligence and homeland security appointments. And, Sen. Tom Harkin is prioritizing labor-related confirmation fights. Of equal concern should be the growing number of Department of Justice vacancies, especially in those offices charged with establishing legal policy and vetting scores of other federal nominees, including judges.

Deputy Attorney General David Ogden’s resignation effective early this month leaves the Justice Department without a permanent number two executive official. And the three recently renominated Assistant A.G.s (Dawn Johnsen, Christopher Schroeder, and Mary Smith) will rejoin the long queue of other Obama nominees waiting for a Senate floor vote. It is past time for the Senate majority and the Administration to fight for Justice.

more: http://www.mainjustice.com/2010/02/04/commentary-the-case-for-dawn-johnsens-confirmation/