Justice Department Nominee Johnsen 'Should Be Confirmed,' Editorial Says

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology;  Public Health;  Litigation / Medical Malpractice
Article Date: 12 May 2009 - 7:00 PDT

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"The irony is overwhelming" that "Republicans in the Senate are opposing -- and may try to filibuster" -- the confirmation of Dawn Johnsen, President Obama's pick to head the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, a Los Angeles Times editorial says. According to the editorial, Republicans' "argument" is that Johnsen, an Indiana University law professor, "is a partisan activist who would politicize the Office of Legal Counsel, which is charged with providing the executive branch with an objective analysis of existing law." It adds, "For good measure, she is accused of being an abortion-rights zealot because of her role as legal director of" NARAL Pro-Choice America from 1988 to 1993.

The editorial states, "The Republicans' opposition to Johnsen is hypocritical, given their acquiescence in the rank politicization of the Office of Legal Counsel in the Bush years." It adds that Senate Judiciary Committee member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) "has noted that the nominee has not been a cloistered academic." Feinstein after a recent committee confirmation vote said that she voted in favor of Johnsen because Johnsen "assured her 'in no uncertain terms' that she would leave her views as an activist behind when she returned to the office, where she served during the Clinton administration," according to the editorial. Feinstein said, "I take her at her word."

"So do we, and only partly because Johnsen has broad support from the legal community," the editorial states. It concludes, "Obama has made his choice, she is eminently qualified, and Feinstein isn't the only one who will hold Johnsen to the professional standards dishonored by the last administration. She should be confirmed" (Los Angeles Times, 5/11).

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