Former OLC head Douglas Kmiec argues in the Legal Times that Senate Republicans should not obstruct the confirmation of Dawn Johnsen to be head of the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department. I agree. He writes:
Even as Johnsen, a professor of law at Indiana University-Bloomington, may be faulted on occasion for harsh language in her academic commentary on the missteps of the Bush Justice Department, it is that very spunk and independence of mind that make her the right tonic for a once proud, but recently tarnished, office.
Under proper supervision, the OLC is a vital internal check upon executive overreaching, a faithful defender of constitutional principle, and a reliable interpreter of congressional intent. Many notable legal figures have served as head of the office, including Nicholas Katzenbach, Malcolm Wilkey, Theodore Olson, Walter Dellinger III, Justice Antonin Scalia, and the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) properly insists that the next OLC chief must be of the