It has been a year since President Obama nominated Dawn Johnsen to lead the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), yet the office charged with providing independent legal advice to the president and the executive branch still remains without a leader. Months of obstruction by Senate Republicans have prevented an up-or-down vote on her nomination. The president should be able to appoint a lawyer to this important, long-pending position without further delay.
As a former head of this office, Johnsen is well qualified for the job. She understands both the need to ensure a strong legal foundation for our national security and the need to vigilantly respect Americans’ civil liberties. Through the confirmation process, Johnsen has responded to questions on a wide range of topics, from executive power to protecting against obscenity and child pornography and enforcing and defending the Constitution. She has left no doubt that she will thoughtfully analyze — not simply rubber-stamp — the legality of administration policies.
