American Idle: Dawn Johnsen committee vote delayed

On February 4, the Senate Judiciary Committee had scheduled a vote on Dawn Johnsen, nominee to head the Office of Legal Counsel, but the vote never happened. After spending more than an hour considering other nominees also scheduled for votes, the committee ended its meeting because a number of senators had to leave to attend to other business, causing the committee to lose the quorum necessary to hold votes.

Johnsen is supremely well-qualified. Before a distinguished career as a Constitutional law professor, Johnsen served as acting head of the OLC for a full year during the Clinton administration. Her performance in this role was so exemplary that it was lauded by Republican-appointed Doug Kmiec, head of the OLC under presidents Reagan and Bush senior. Kmiec praised Johnsen’s independent judgment, saying that she “repeatedly separated policy preference from rendered opinion.” Johnsen also has the support of her Republican home state senator. Despite outstanding qualifications and recommendations, Johnsen’s nomination has sat idle in the Senate, requiring a second nomination by President Obama. Hopefully, with the support of Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Arlen Spector (D-PA), Johnsen’s confirmation vote will be able to successfully move past a legislative quagmire.

It is past time that Republicans in the Senate stopped reducing judicial and executive nominations into a partisan, ideological battlefield. The American people deserve a fully functional government that can ensure adherence to the rule of law. A proper OLC director with integrity and good judgment is crucial to that end. The office is routinely called upon to draw fine distinctions in the potential legality of proposed policies and executive orders, to ensure that the President follows established law. After gross misconduct of OLC attorneys in recent years, the OLC would be well served by a director with the experience, integrity, and intellect of Dawn Johnsen.

Sen. Reid Speaks Out Against Obstruction of Obama Nominees

Yesterday, Majority Leader Harry Reid took to the floor of the Senate to highlight the adverse effects of Republican obstructionism. In the first four months of the Bush administration, when the Senate was controlled by the President’s party and Democrats were in the minority, there wasn’t a single filibuster of a Bush nominee. Yet, in the first four months of the Obama administration, Republicans filibustered eight of his nominees.
We know Obama’s nominees were not filibustered because they were controversial or unqualified, as their final votes were in the 80 to 97 vote range. As Senator Reid said,

I would try to explain the Republican reason for their refusal, but as with so many other things they oppose, a rationale simply doesn’t exist. Senate Republicans are simply so opposed to everything – absolutely everything – that they even oppose putting people in some of the most important positions in our government.
These delay tactics waste precious time when Congress should be working on issues such as health care, the economy, climate legislation, and filling the rampant vacancies in our judicial system.

The Senate must vote to confirm nominees such as Professor Dawn Johnsen, who was tapped to head the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) on February 11, 2009 and has still not had a vote despite her eminent qualifications, experience in the OLC during the Clinton administration, and support from distinguished Republicans and Democrats.

We’re glad Senator Reid has spoken out against these harmful delays and in favor of putting the president’s team in place to work for the American people.
Now it’s up to Majority Leader Reid to call the question and let the Senate vote on these highly qualified, outstanding nominees.

The Waiting Is the Hardest Part

Crucial Justice Department nominations are still being held up in the Senate.

Dawn Johnsen, nominated to head the Office of Legal Counsel, and Tom Perez, whom the president picked to lead the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, have been waiting for many months to be confirmed. Seven and five months, respectively. The last action on Johnsen's nomination occurred on March 19 and the last action for Perez on June 4. Both were placed on the executive calendar, but Republicans are obstructing the much-needed restoration of the DOJ’s role as a guardian of civil rights and liberties.

While there may be a vote on the Perez nomination as early as later next week, nothing is certain, and we need to keep up the pressure on all senators – with the message that these are vital positions that need to be filled. There is no reason to object to or obstruct the confirmation process of these highly qualified nominees.

Call your senators now and urge them to do all they can to help confirm Dawn Johnsen and Tom Perez. Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202)224-3121, ask to be connected with your senators’ offices, and tell them it is time to put an end to the partisan games.

The Justice Department was severely damaged during the Bush administration and the leadership of Dawn Johnsen and Tom Perez in two of its most important offices will help get it back on track defending our rights and liberties [not sure if I missed this in the original, but there shouldn't be a colon here] .

Call now. And ask others to do the same.

What We Learn from Van Jones: Vicious Attacks Must Not Silence Progressive Leaders

The resignation of Van Jones silences a much-needed progressive voice in the administration. There is no doubt he will once again don the mantle of advocacy he wears so well and continue to do great work fighting for the environment and civil rights.

Unfortunately, Mr. Jones is not the first, nor will he be the last, target of manufactured right-wing outrage or partisan witch hunts. Just ask Justice Sonia Sotomayor, whose stellar career and accomplishments were reduced by the right wing to attacks on her “wise Latina” phrase. Or ask Tom Perez and Dawn Johnsen, two nominees to senior Justice Department posts who still await confirmation amidst partisan gameplaying.

Those yelling the loudest now about targeting administration officials--many of whom are women and people of color--for "extremist views" are the same voices who passionately defend the likes of John Ashcroft, Jay Bybee, and Donald Rumsfeld.

Van Jones’ forced resignation is a hard lesson for our progressive community. We have always known the corrosive effect the organized right wing has on reasonable debate, and their willingness to lie and wage baseless attacks on the character of good and strong leaders.

But instead of each group defending leaders of our own communities, all of us -- environmentalists, civil rights, women’s, human rights groups, you name it – must work together to defend progressive leaders from the kind of vicious attacks that have denied America a creative, innovative public servant like Van Jones, and that threaten to keep Dawn Johnsen, Tom Perez, and others from serving in the Obama administration.

Van Jones has much more to offer this country, and Alliance for Justice looks forward to proudly standing with him and other committed progressives to fight for the change America needs.

Law professors make the news as students return to school

Yesterday, the Blog of Legal Times reported that Dawn Johnsen, President Obama’s nominee to head the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel, will “teach a seminar this fall at Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law. She will commute weekly from Washington to Bloomington, Ind., while she continues to wait for confirmation, said Debbie O’Leary, a spokeswoman for the law school.”

Meanwhile four people were arrested for protesting law professor John Yoo’s return to the University of California Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law. Yoo, author of the infamous torture memos, was Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel – the office that is still lacking a leader because of Dawn Johnsen’s stalled nomination.

According to the AP, “Christopher Edley Jr., Berkeley's law school dean, has rejected calls to dismiss Yoo, saying the university doesn't have the resources to investigate his Justice Department work, which involved classified intelligence.”

For very different reasons, neither Professor Johnsen nor Professor Yoo should be back in the classroom this fall. Attorney General Holder needs to call for a full-scale investigation of the torture memos so that we can discover what, if any, action should be taken against Yoo, and the Senate needs to confirm Dawn Johnsen to head the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel so that the department can get back on track.

Welcome to Washington, Mr. Franken

The Minnesota State Supreme Court declared Al Franken the winner in the Minnesota Senate race, and opponent Norm Coleman conceded. Franken will be seated in the Senate next week and will join the Judiciary Committee in time for the Sotomayor confirmation hearings on July 13.

We welcome Franken to the committee and hope that he finds our in-depth reports on Judge Sotomayor’s record helpful reading before the hearings commence. We also hope that his arrival in the Senate will move forward the long overdue vote on Dawn Johnsen’s nomination to head the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel.

Cloture for Koh, What About Johnsen?

Great news, the Harold Koh cloture vote was a success earlier today and the vote on his nomination to be legal adviser to the State Department will likely be held tomorrow. It will be refreshing for the American people to have such a wonderful legal mind at the State Department, particularly in light of recent international events. Yet, the Office of Legal Counsel in the Department of Justice is still waiting for leadership. Why isn’t Dawn Johnsen’s confirmation moving forward? With the support of both home-state senators and widely respected experts on both the left and right, and all of the important issues facing the executive branch - especially the Department of Justice - it is time for this highly qualified nominee to be confirmed.

Mainers Urge Senators to Support Vote on Johnsen

This morning, the Maine Women’s Lobby delivered a petition signed by Mainers to the Augusta offices of Senators Snowe and Collins. The petition signers urge their senators to support a prompt vote on President Obama's nomination of Dawn Johnsen to head the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel.

The petitions were signed by members and supporters of Alliance for Justice, NARAL Pro-Choice America, Planned Parenthood, People for the American Way, the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism, CREDO, and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.

Prof. Johnsen is eminently qualified to serve in this position. But her nomination is being held hostage by a threatened filibuster by Senate Republicans to further their partisan political agenda. Some of those who oppose her appointment also seem to have a problem with female nominees. Despite her experience that directly qualifies her for this job, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said he does not think she has the "seriousness" to take on this responsibility.

Instead of further delay, the Senate should hold a vote and get back to other priority issues such as the economy, health care, and education.

Read more about Prof. Johnsen’s nomination.
Send a letter to your Senators supporting a prompt vote on the nomination.