Obama Announces Key Justice Department Nominees
President-elect Barack Obama has announced a new round of nominees for the Department of Justice, among them David Ogden, his pick for Deputy Attorney General. The nominees are veterans from the Clinton/Reno era.
Attorney general nominee Eric Holder strongly wanted Ogden as his deputy, CBS News producer Stephanie Lambidakis reports. Orgen is known as a skilled manager, although he does not have criminal or national security experience.
Mr. Obama also announced that Elena Kagan was his choice for Solicitor General. She would be the first woman in the job, Lambidakis reports, and was Associate Counsel in the Clinton White House.
Tom Perrelli, the Associate Attorney General nominee, was a top official in the Civil Division, which is now dealing with the detainee habeas cases. He was very involved in the Clinton administration's lawsuit against tobacco companies.
Dawn Johnsen, Mr. Obama's pick to be Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel, will quickly find herself dealing with hot button issues. The Office of Legal Counsel, Lambidakis notes, is where all the controversial memos on interrogation and detainees still rest. Some of these memos haven't been released, and Mr. Obama will have to decide whether to release them, and more important, whether the reverse them – and how quickly.
The release from the transition team announcing the picks is below.
(CBS/AP)
Mr. Obama also announced that Elena Kagan was his choice for Solicitor General. She would be the first woman in the job, Lambidakis reports, and was Associate Counsel in the Clinton White House.
Tom Perrelli, the Associate Attorney General nominee, was a top official in the Civil Division, which is now dealing with the detainee habeas cases. He was very involved in the Clinton administration's lawsuit against tobacco companies.
Dawn Johnsen, Mr. Obama's pick to be Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel, will quickly find herself dealing with hot button issues. The Office of Legal Counsel, Lambidakis notes, is where all the controversial memos on interrogation and detainees still rest. Some of these memos haven't been released, and Mr. Obama will have to decide whether to release them, and more important, whether the reverse them – and how quickly.
The release from the transition team announcing the picks is below.
Author Thomas Friedman on Obama's Afghanistan plan and the war on terror.
