The Woman Who Could Nail Bush
by Scott Horton The Daily Beast 30 March 2009
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-03-26/partisan-war-breaks-out/ (http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-03-26/partisan-war-breaks-out/)
Until recently, the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, often considered the "brains" of the department, has been known mostly to legal experts. But for the past eight years, it was the epicenter of allegations of political manipulation and, worse, the source of infamous memoranda on torture. In tapping Eric Holder as attorney general, President Obama has promised to restore standards of professionalism to the department. For Republicans, this is tantamount to a declaration of partisan war.
On March 19, the nomination of Indiana University law professor Dawn Johnsen to head the OLC was endorsed by the Judiciary Committee with every Republican voting against her and Sen. Arlen Spector (R-PA) abstaining. The nomination was to have been brought to the Senate floor for a vote on Monday and then again on Wednesday, but it has been held back. Republican leaders, it appears, are playing with the notion of making Johnsen the target of their first filibuster.