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New Obama Appointment Has Castro Ties:  President Obama made a terrible mistake nominating Mari Del Carmen Aponte to be ambassador to El Salvador. Aside from the fact that Aponte has given tens of thousands of dollars to Democrats, why would Obama waste more political capital trying to get this controversial and incompetent nominee into government?

Rep. Steve Kings Demands DOJ Fulfill ALG FOIA Request:  ALG filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Justice Department's (DOJ) Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) attempting to confirm allegations that Johnsen has been performing duties pursuant to that office without being confirmed by the Senate, including making hiring decisions.

Uncommon Knowledge:  This week's edition of Uncommon Knowledge features Roger Ailes, the President of Fox News.

Climate Change:  Having It Both Ways:  In my previous column, we saw that defenders of Global Warming are trying to have it both ways when it comes to finding confirmations of their theory. They appeal to opposite sorts of natural phenomena as confirming evidence: Lack of snow in Vancouver, receding glaciers and recent milder winters on the one hand and this year's record-setting snows on the other.

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"Clearly, Harry Reid wants to railroad this nomination through without

any confirmation of these very serious allegations.  It's up to individual

members of the Senate to keep their holds on Johnsen and to at least

demand a recorded vote so that Senate members may be held accountable

for their support."—ALG President Bill Wilson.

March 8^th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today applauded Congressman Steve King (R-IA) for "holding the Department of Justice accountable to fulfill ALG's outstanding Freedom of Information Act request on Obama DOJ nominee Dawn Johnsen."

Dawn Johnsen is Barack Obama's nominee for Assistant Attorney General to the Office of Legal Counsel.

"ALG thanks Congressman King for acting on this urgent matter.  The U.S. Senate, and the American people, have a right to know whether Johnsen circumvented the constitutional process of 'advice and consent,'" Wilson said.

ALG filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Justice Department's (DOJ) Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) attempting to confirm allegations that Dawn Johnsen, Barack Obama's nominee for Assistant Attorney General to the Office of Legal Counsel, has been performing duties pursuant to that office without being confirmed by the Senate, including making hiring decisions.

The ALG FOIA request, filed on October 26^th, 2009, has gone unheeded in spite of a 20-day statutory requirement. 

According Congressman King's letter, "In order to confirm or dismiss allegations regarding Ms. Johnsen's violation of pre-confirmation etiquette and potential disregard for the Constitution's clearly defined Senate confirmation process, I respectfully request that you provide my office with copies of all records of communications between any Office of Legal Counsel officials and Dawn Johnsen regarding personnel decisions that involve hiring, firing, promotion, discipline or any other personnel actions for career and non-career Office of Legal Counsel officials.

"These are the same materials that have been requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by Nathan Paul Mehrens, Counsel for Americans for Limited Government.

"Under the FOIA, all federal agencies are required to receive any response to the request that was filed on October 26, 2009.  The processing time for this request has far exceeded the period allowed under the FOIA.  I am, therefore, making my own request to you for this information and also enclosing a copy of Mr. Mehrens' original request.  I look forward to your response and to both requests being fulfilled in a timely manner."

King recently outlined some of his further objections to the nominee in an exclusive interview with the Washington News Observer.

The story was broken by the National Review Online, where according to the report, Johnsen may have been "involving herself in OLC's decisions on hiring junior lawyers.  If those reports are accurate, Johnsen's actions would seem a serious violation of the Senate's understanding of pre-confirmation etiquette—an etiquette that is especially punctilious for nominees who have generated controversy—and would give senators additional reason to oppose her nomination."

Since the request was filed, over 90 business days has elapsed.  Now, Mehrens has sent a follow-up letter to the DOJ, and Wilson urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to postpone consideration of Johnsen.

Despite the unfulfilled FOIA request, however, the committee voted to approve Johnsen 12 to 7 on March 4^th, as reported by FOX News. 

 According to the law, "Each agency, upon any request for records… shall… determine within 20 days (excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) after the receipt of any such request whether to comply with such request and shall immediately notify the person making such request of such determination and the reasons therefor, and of the right of such person to appeal to the head of the agency any adverse determination."

"Clearly, Harry Reid wants to railroad this nomination through without any confirmation of these very serious allegations," Wilson said, concluding, "It's up to individual members of the Senate to keep their holds on Johnsen and to at least demand a recorded vote so that Senate members may be held accountable for their support."

Attachments:

Freedom of Information Act Request, October 26^th, 2009.

Letter to Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel, February 24^th, 2010.

Letter to Senate Judiciary Committee, February 25^th, 2010.

Letter from Congressman Steve King to DOJ Office of Legal Counsel, March 1^st, 2010.

ALG Backgrounder on Dawn Johnson, December 10^th, 2009.

"Because the Justice Dept has refused to comply with the [Freedom of Information] law and the real possibility exists that Ms. Johnson has violated the law in acting prior to confirmation, I call upon you to delay or defeat this nomination."—ALG President Bill Wilson.

February 25^th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today in a letter urged members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to delay the confirmation of a controversial nomination to the Justice Department by Barack Obama until it can be confirmed whether the nominee circumvented the constitutional process of "advice and consent."

The committee is set to begin mark-up on the nominee today at 10AM.

ALG filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Justice Department's (DOJ) Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) attempting to confirm allegations that Dawn Johnsen, Barack Obama's nominee for Assistant Attorney General to the Office of Legal Counsel, has been performing duties pursuant to that office without being confirmed by the Senate, including making hiring decisions.

"Because the Justice Dept has refused to comply with the [Freedom of Information] law and the real possibility exists that Ms. Johnson has violated the law in acting prior to confirmation, I call upon you to delay or defeat this nomination," Wilson wrote.

According to National Review Online, Johnsen may have been "involving herself in OLC's decisions on hiring junior lawyers.  If those reports are accurate, Johnsen's actions would seem a serious violation of the Senate's understanding of pre-confirmation etiquette—an etiquette that is especially punctilious for nominees who have generated controversy—and would give senators additional reason to oppose her nomination."

The ALG FOIA request, filed on October 26^th, 2009, has gone unheeded in spite of a 20-day statutory requirement. 

"That was over 120 days ago, and flies in the face of the Freedom of Information Act," Wilson wrote in his letter.

According to the law, "Each agency, upon any request for records… shall… determine within 20 days (excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) after the receipt of any such request whether to comply with such request and shall immediately notify the person making such request of such determination and the reasons therefor, and of the right of such person to appeal to the head of the agency any adverse determination."

According to a letter to the Justice Department from ALG Counsel Nathan Mehrens, the organization has made repeated attempts to contact the Freedom of Information office within the Office of Legal Counsel, and received no response until the morning of Feb. 12^th. 

"After numerous failed attempts to obtain a response, i.e., unreturned voicemails, etc., from your office regarding the FOIA request referenced above I finally was able to get you on the phone on Friday, February 12, 2009. As you will recall in that call you stated that the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) has not even started to work on the FOIA request. You also declined to provide an estimated date of completion for the FOIA request," wrote Mehrens.

Wilson said in a statement the committee was "duty-bound" not to act until the Justice Department completed the FOIA request, and in his letter wrote, "The information we have requested is critical to your committee's decision on whether or not to confirm Ms. Johnsen."

Attachments:

Freedom of Information Act Request, October 26^th, 2009.

Letter to Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel, February 24^th, 2010.

Letter to Senate Judiciary Committee, February 25^th, 2010.

ALG Backgrounder on Dawn Johnson, December 10^th, 2009.

From NetRightNation.com:

Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today in a letter urged members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to delay the confirmation of a controversial nomination to the Justice Department by Barack Obama until it can be confirmed whether the nominee violated the law.

The committee is set to begin mark-up on the nominee today at 10AM.

ALG filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Justice Department's (DOJ) Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) attempting to confirm allegations that Dawn Johnsen, Barack Obama's nominee for Assistant Attorney General to the Office of Legal Counsel, has been performing duties pursuant to that office without being confirmed by the Senate, including making hiring decisions.

"Because the Justice Dept has refused to comply with the [Freedom of Information] law and the real possibility exists that Ms. Johnson has violated the law in acting prior to confirmation, I call upon you to delay or defeat this nomination," Wilson wrote.

According to National Review Online, Johnsen may have been "involving herself in OLC's decisions on hiring junior lawyers. If those reports are accurate, Johnsen's actions would seem a serious violation of the Senate's understanding of pre-confirmation etiquette—an etiquette that is especially punctilious for nominees who have generated controversy—and would give senators additional reason to oppose her nomination."

The ALG FOIA request, filed on October 26^th, 2009, has gone unheeded in spite of a 20-day statutory requirement.

"That was over 120 days ago, and flies in the face of the Freedom of Information Act," Wilson wrote in his letter.

According to the law, "Each agency, upon any request for records… shall… determine within 20 days (excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) after the receipt of any such request whether to comply with such request and shall immediately notify the person making such request of such determination and the reasons therefor, and of the right of such person to appeal to the head of the agency any adverse determination."

According to a letter to the Justice Department from ALG Counsel Nathan Mehrens, the organization has made repeated attempts to contact the Freedom of Information office within the Office of Legal Counsel, and received no response until the morning of Feb. 12^th.

"After numerous failed attempts to obtain a response, i.e., unreturned voicemails, etc., from your office regarding the FOIA request referenced above I finally was able to get you on the phone on Friday, February 12, 2009. As you will recall in that call you stated that the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) has not even started to work on the FOIA request. You also declined to provide an estimated date of completion for the FOIA request," wrote Mehrens.

Wilson said in a statement the committee was "duty-bound" not to act until the Justice Department completed the FOIA request, and in his letter wrote, "The information we have requested is critical to your committee's decision on whether or not to confirm Ms. Johnsen."

Attachments:

Freedom of Information Act Request, October 26^th, 2009.

Letter to Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel, February 24^th, 2010.

Letter to Senate Judiciary Committee, February 25^th, 2010.

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