Washington, D.C. – Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-Texas) issued the following statement regarding President-elect Obama’s picks for senior level positions at the Justice Department. President-elect Obama intends to nominate former Clinton Administration attorney David Ogden to be Deputy Attorney General, Harvard Law School Dean Elena Kagan to be Solicitor General and Professor Dawn Johnsen to be the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel.
“While President-elect Obama’s nominees for senior Justice Department positions seem well qualified, I am concerned about their lack of national security experience in a post 9-11 world. Many served in the Clinton Administration, which failed to heed the warnings of the World Trade Center bombing, East Africa embassy bombings and the attack on the USS Cole. Clinton Administration policies left America vulnerable to national security threats, and since then, Congress has enacted laws to help law enforcement officials gather and share intelligence. Weakening these laws could be devastating to all Americans.
“Specifically, the nomination of Professor Dawn Johnsen to head the Office of Legal Counsel raises significant concerns considering her position on the intelligence community’s ability to conduct interrogations and gather critical, time-sensitive intelligence to prevent terrorist attacks. As the attorney to the entire executive branch, Ms. Johnsen must put aside her political agenda regarding interrogations and simply interpret and apply the laws based on legal and judicial precedents.
“Intelligence gathering is critical to preventing terrorism here at home. I hope President-elect Obama’s incoming team at the Justice Department will remember the lessons of September 11 and make national security and keeping America safe their top priority.”
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